3 ms·

Allow early voting. Isn't early voting a thing?

• alkonaut 9y ago
  Most democracies I hope have both: Election Day is sunday/holiday and early/absentee voting is free without any particular reason. Why not have all of it? What’s the “cost”?
  • smileysteve 9y ago
    Many states already have weekend (and weekday) early voting. So, I ask, what is the change? Why will changing 1 of 3 weeks + 1 day of days significantly change voter turnout?
    • alkonaut 9y ago
      Again, most advanced democracies simply tick all boxes. Why? Because if a proposal is made that would increase turnout or make it easier to vote, you shouldn’t be able to come out against it without looking like you are protecting your own interests (and no one should survive that politically in this context). So: - auto registration - unrestricted early/absentee voting - official Election Day on weekend or made public holiday. It’s not that hard. As for your question “will it significantly change?” - I’m not sure. But it won’t make it worse and it will at least give an impression that someone is trying to make it easier to vote. Significant improvement shouldn’t even be necessary in this case. Just improvement or even percieved improvement (democracy is as much about a feeling of empowerment as it is actual empowerment).
• smileysteve 9y ago
  In my state (GA), early voting is a thing, and is available multiple weekends (and weekdays) before the election. But if early voting on Sundays is a thing already, how does moving election day from Tuesday to Sunday change turnout?