Wanted: Uninformed Voters

A new scientific study claims these voters play a key role in the democratic process.

Princeton University researchers believe they have found a purpose for uninformed voters (aside from, you know, electing crazy people into office). In their latest study, the team found that politically uninformed voters were important in achieving democratic consensus, because they tended to side with the majority and dilute the influence of outspoken minorities. The authors applauded them for preventing deadlock and keeping minorities from having disproportionate influence, though they warned that too many uninformed voters could cause chaos. One catch, though, to their study: it was conducted on fish. They reached their conclusions after observing that untrained fish tended to follow the preferences of the trained majority fish, even if it meant acting against their natural preferences. GOP nomination process: explained.