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As a UK citizen, some of the voting practices I see in the US seem really mind-boggling: - Not enough polling stations - Long lines as the norm in many places
by iainmerrick 9y ago
As a UK citizen, some of the voting practices I see in the US seem really mind-boggling:
- Not enough polling stations
- Long lines as the norm in many places
- Polling stations closing early -- I've seen 8pm
- Exit polls released before voting closes
I guess these are generally due to the US being a large country spanning several time zones, with low population density. But they seem fixable, especially if you care enough about the integrity of the vote to commit enough staff and money to the process.
Given the ridiculous amount of money that gets ploughed into campaigning in the US, it seems bizarre that you can't spare a fraction of that to improve the process. But it seems like what little money is available is captured by hucksters selling electronic voting machines.
(Not that the UK system is perfect! Our voting system is pretty bad. Both countries could really use PR.)
- maxerickson 9y agoThe simple explanation is that those things are often done with purpose. Lack of resources can also be an issue, voting is generally administered at the county level and state/federal funding is pretty limited.
- iainmerrick 9y agoYeah, the targeted voter suppression is terrifying (and apparently legal! But hopefully that can be remedied in the courts. The recent progress on gerrymandering seems promising.)
- tomkat0789 9y agoAnecdote: the small city I used to live in once scheduled polls on the same weekend night as three popular local sports events. Can any system work with arbitrarily rotten politicians?
- tjoff 9y agoThat voting is a regular workday seems unworthy of a democracy.
- iainmerrick 9y agoThe UK votes on a weekday too! Though I think it's the combination of weekday voting and short polling station hours that's bad. Weekend voting would feel weird to me, but you're probably right that it's better.
- jharger 9y agoI feel like weekend voting would help for those who work "regular 9-5 jobs" but those who are young, and say still in college/university and working weekends, would now have a more difficult time voting. The weekend type jobs usually won't let you have time off to vote, they schedule you that time because they're busy, so it might be much more difficult for those people. At least the weekday election day somewhat levels the playing field, at least as I see it.
- ekimekim 9y agoWhy not leave the polls open for multiple days then?
- abawany 9y agoTexas has early voting for about two weeks prior to poll day, which makes voting convenient. That said, the recent attempts at voter suppression and gerrymandering abuse are saddening.
- ben-schaaf 9y agoWhy not just make it a public holiday? Maybe even offer some cheap food at each venue.
- aninhumer 9y agoI'd go beyond that even. The US loves pageantry and celebrating freedom. But what event could be more appropriate for a celebration of freedom than voting day itself? You could have small festivals at every voting booth to encourage people to come out to vote, and you could even move the ballot boxes as part of a big parade so there's absolutely no doubt in the process.