Early voting could go nationwide, experts say

[AstroManLuca]

Originally posted by: cubby1223
Actually, come to think of it, why is election day a Tuesday instead of a Saturday?

I can think of two concrete reasons:

1. Election day on Saturday would basically disenfranchise any orthodox Jews who would probably consider voting to be a form of work.

2. A lot of people take the weekend off to go on trips. Of course, they could just vote absentee, but I bet many would say "screw it" and just not participate.

I agree with you, though, that early voting should be kept to within a few days of the election. I know that most people have their minds made up pretty early on, but imagine what would happen if the 2012 election allowed anyone in the country to vote a month early and then there was a big scandal in late October. I say allow early voting starting on the Friday before the election.

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: cubby1223

Originally posted by: alchemize
Get in the 90's.

Let's do it over the internet. No reason it can't be made completely secure.

Over the public internet? I can think of a dozen reasons off the top of my head why that will never work.

And yet we file taxes online?

Publish individual votes online. Everyone prints their receipts with a unique ID. Check your ref # to validate. Voila, even if you hack it, you have a paper trail.

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca

Originally posted by: cubby1223
Actually, come to think of it, why is election day a Tuesday instead of a Saturday?

I can think of two concrete reasons:

1. Election day on Saturday would basically disenfranchise any orthodox Jews who would probably consider voting to be a form of work.

2. A lot of people take the weekend off to go on trips. Of course, they could just vote absentee, but I bet many would say "screw it" and just not participate.

I agree with you, though, that early voting should be kept to within a few days of the election. I know that most people have their minds made up pretty early on, but imagine what would happen if the 2012 election allowed anyone in the country to vote a month early and then there was a big scandal in late October. I say allow early voting starting on the Friday before the election.

If you're going to make it 2 days I think one of them should be on the weekend and one during the week.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
I agree with you, though, that early voting should be kept to within a few days of the election. I know that most people have their minds made up pretty early on, but imagine what would happen if the 2012 election allowed anyone in the country to vote a month early and then there was a big scandal in late October. I say allow early voting starting on the Friday before the election.

Is this what most are having issues about? The amount of time as opposed to any time? I know that I was given something like 2 weeks in my state. I don't have an issue with there being something like 1 week instead of 2 and fix the rest of the problem with infrastructure.

 

[AlricTheMad]

So I'm guessing you were never a nurse working a 12 hour shift?
A surgeon called to an emergency complicated surgery?
Stuck somewhere there was 12-24" of snow?

Most people do have the opportunity and choose not to. I imagine there are a lot of people who would like to and are unable to because of life circumstances on that one single day.

2-3 day voting opportunity gets my vote..

The only problem I see is getting the election workers. These are minimally paid volunteers and a lot of districts have trouble getting enough for 1 day.

 

[Drakkon]

My boss (since required by law in my state) is giving us up to 3 hours off Tuesday morning only to go and vote. We couldn't get off early or at lunch, it had to be at the beginning of day. She says we "should all vote early anyways so it shouldn't be that big of a deal." If we take more than 3 hours we will be required to take a half day or something because it will be considered vacation time.

For me and everyone like me that works in a job where we have a boss like this a national holiday would be nice, a 3 day weekend approach could work even better. What a better way to honor Veterans than have voting to be extended over Veterans Day weekend? Early voting seems to have worked here fairly well too, seems like a good portion have already voted. If it went national I'm sure it could help a lot of areas. I just voting at the final moment on final day just because feel more significant that way.

 

[robphelan]

our company actually bussed us to the local Univ during lunch during early voting.. wait was ~1 hr.. instead, I went to a near by library & was done in 10 mins.

 

[Lemon law]

I think having the early voting experiment was a good idea for 2008. Where is the rush, because we can now study the pro and con results before deciding to adopt or reject the idea for the election of 2010.