Thank you all for your insight. The reason for my op-ed was not to create an argument based on who is capable of voting or not. If citizens are more informed about their policies well in advance of the election, we allow people to have the chance to gain greater information and thus greater informed. By simply stating that people are ignorant and should not be allowed to vote undermines the idea of democracy. In the past, men prevented women from being allowed to vote simply because they regarded the opposite sex as unequal & more ignorant. The purpose of this piece was to give readers the chance to consider the high voter turnout in states like Oregon, Colorado, & Washington where the democratic institution has much higher rates of participation. States with higher turnout have demonstrated a push for more policies that are in step with the interests/needs of the greater population. There are no evidence that policies in these states have become 'dumber' because of high voter turnout.