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Moving voting day from a Tuesday to a Sunday would also make a big difference. There are many people who have have informed opinions but can't afford to take of
by athenot 8y ago
Moving voting day from a Tuesday to a Sunday would also make a big difference. There are many people who have have informed opinions but can't afford to take off work (write-up for being late to work/take off early, lost income, transport issues). Also that would avoid removing a school day since most public schools are used for polling.
Another option would be to switch to make mail-in ballots only.
- RankingMember 8y agoI'm in favor of ditching Columbus day and replacing it with November 6th as a national holiday for that reason.
- calvinbhai 8y agowhy not rename Columbus day into something like "we seek forgiveness" day? how does it make sense to have November 6th as a holiday in a country where more than 50% people don't/can't vote?
- optimuspaul 8y agoSome have already renamed Columbus Day, they call it "Indigenous Peoples Day"
- forgottenpass 8y agoMight as well go whole-hog and call it "Repent, Sinner. Repent!" day.
- justinpombrio 8y ago> how does it make sense to have November 6th as a holiday in a country where more than 50% people don't/can't vote? The point of making it a holiday is so that people wouldn't have to work that day, to increase the percentage of people who will/can vote. I agree that <50% is too low: let's get that number up, yeah?
- calvinbhai 8y agoI meant, more than 50% include those who are ineligible to vote due to being under age,imprisonment or being an immigrant (legal and illegal). Giving a holiday is just an easy way for people to plan an extra long weekend.
- ctrl-j 8y agoI've never once worked a job where we got Columbus day off.
- jermaustin1 8y agoEvery company I've worked for in NY/NJ has had the day off... except my current gig for an Italian company. Go figure.
- Nav_Panel 8y agoMarkets are open on Columbus Day so most finance and fintech people don't get it off. I didn't.
- tomjakubowski 8y agoHuh. The Merc used to have (still has?) a "bring your kid to work" type event on Columbus Day. They even brought us into one of the pits—back when they were still regularly open for business—to do a mock derivatives trading session. I guess it had never occurred to me before that those pits were being used for real trades on the same day—or maybe the brick and mortar exchanges were open, just "online-only", on Columbus Day.
- ascagnel_ 8y agoNY/NJ has a heavy Italian influence, so the day acts as more of an "Italian Heritage Day" at this point.
- uxp100 8y agoNot just at this point. It's been seen as at least partially an Italian heritage day for longer than it's been an official holiday.
- wasdfff 8y agoAt my job, Columbus Day is officially observed on December 24.
- Shivetya 8y agohow do you validate mail in ballots? I am more worried about votes where we have to verify an absent voter simply because the chance of fraud increases. Fraud not only in not knowing if it is the actual voter but also because we cannot insure their vote was not forced. my state had early voting for weeks so there really isn't a "voting day" issue here. (Georgia). Now I have not looked but how many other states offer early voting? We need multiple issues fixed in US voting. (just a random list) 1) spreading the number of days to vote across a week or more 2) providing an easy method to confirm a person is eligible to vote and vote on the candidates they want to vote on. 3) providing a means to vote from outside your district for your own district, this is mostly solved by expanding the voting period. 4) providing in clear language what non candidate reforms are being voted on 5) randomizing how candidates appear on a ballot 6) removing one party votes. people need to choose, we don't need drones 7) removing the primary system which exists to stymie third party options
- cafard 8y agoOregon already has vote by mail exclusively, and absentee voting has been around for years. As for verifying an absent voter, back about 1980 when I voted absentee, I had to have the form notarized.
- lordlimecat 8y agoHow do they measure fraud rates? Is it even possible to determine if it is occurring, and if so to what degree? Saying "rates are low" without any actual metric is never convincing.
- Frondo 8y agoOregon has had mail-in ballots only for decades and voter fraud is as close to a non-issue as statistically possible, easily on par with in-person voter fraud -- which is also extremely rare. It also boosts turnout and saves money, and it's great to sit there and look over your ballot at your leisure. We used to have voting parties where we'd all sit around and actually talk about the ballot issues and candidates one by one. Nothing's ever felt so much like democracy in action as that. tl;dr vote-by-mail is great and fraud is virtually non-existent, e.g. Oregon's two decades of vote-by-mail.
- acdha 8y agoMy $.10 proposal: change Veterans Day to be the 2nd Tuesday in November. Almost no cost, there's a strong “they served so you would have this right” angle, and it'd pair naturally with other civic events.
- cypherpunks01 8y agoThat's a pretty good idea! Would have the positive effect on voter turnout without negative economic effect of an extra holiday.
- toyg 8y agoWith all due respect, ideologically linking the military and democracy is a horrifically bad idea. The two systems embody completely opposite concepts.
- anc84 8y agoSeems fitting for the US, as sad as it is... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationale_for_the_Iraq_War#Bringing_democracy_to_the_Middle_East https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationale_for_the_Iraq_War#Bri...
- maxerickson 8y agoI would like to know more.
- starbeast 8y agoWhen you vote, you are exercising political authority, you're using force. And force, my friends, is violence. The supreme authority from which all other authorities are derived. (Other than being an authority, presumably. Notwithstanding authorities on violence, such as Heinlein)
- lbotos 8y agoIf this was a subtle starship trooper reference, bravo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdrjzE1SE58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdrjzE1SE58 (depictions of violence, satire) For those that don't know, Starship troopers is a scathing satire about how "war makes fascist of us all".
- asdkhadsj 8y agoI hate going anywhere, and I am so happy to have mail-in ballots. I can't recommend them enough, it's insanely low effort.
- JustSomeNobody 8y agoThey won't do that. The people a certain party doesn't want voting will get bussed to voting stations by local churches, etc. Tuesday is a day that certain people have to be at work, working. And politicians like that.
- burfog 8y agoNote which party has more voters who work, and which party have more voters who do not. The motivation would be opposite to what you suggest.
- JibJabLab 8y agoThat might be difficult as many churches are polling stations and they'd have services on that day. They could effectively be closed for 4-7 hrs that day. For many, their service would trump any political duties you might feel they are owed.
- lexs 8y agomove the polling station then?
- the_watcher 8y agoIt's already a struggle to find enough polling stations that are large enough in some places.
- Macha 8y agoSunday does free up another set of large buildings that are often even government owned - schools. A lot of polling stations in Europe are schools for that reason.
- holtalanm 8y agoWell, for one, employers are legally REQUIRED to allow their employees time off to vote. At least I thought that was the case. Please correct me if I am wrong.
- TylerE 8y agoState by state. Many do not. In most where it is offered the time is limited (2 hours typically), which with long lines and travel time may not be enough. It is also unpaid time.
- maxerickson 8y agoI live in a tiny precinct and thus lack perspective, but the wait time is pretty solvable by spending money.
- TylerE 8y agoIf we had fair elections, yes. When the republicans control the majority of local government they have no desire to make voting easier for the working class, or students.
- hcg 8y agoForcing people ot wait hours for voting is a tactic used to discourage voters and more effectively disenfranchise groups you don't want voting. White majority area has 15 minute lines, black majority has 2 hours.
- maxerickson 8y agoYeah, I get that. But wealthy New York City, where Democrats run the election commission, was a notable shit show in the recent election. Dealing with the unequal provision of resources is a big deal, I don't mean to dismiss it, it just isn't the only issue.
- hcg 8y ago
- twtw 8y agoI'm not sure - CA has permanent vote by mail available to all eligible voters, and saw about a 38% voter turnout yesterday. Texas does not, and saw about a 40% voter turnout. If getting to the polling place is the bottleneck, I would expect CAs vote by mail option would increase voter turnout relative to somewhere without it. (Cue someone saying I can't compare TX to CA - it seems like if I can't that demonstrates that there are other factors that matter just as much or more)
- SeanBoocock 8y agoOne thing in Texas’s favor is its early voting setup. Early voting was available from October 20th to last Friday, including weekends, typically from 7am to 7pm.
- bradstewart 8y agoEarly voting in TX is indeed great. Now if we could get rid of the 30day waiting period for voter registration...
- saltcured 8y agoI don't know much about TX, but in CA I think some voter apathy comes from the consistent results over many consecutive elections. I think you would need to look at local turnout to see how it varies when there are hotly contested decisions, i.e. districts where a seat might flip from one party to the other. In yesterday's election, we had two Democrat candidates vying for a US Senate seat, rather than a bipartisan contest. The candidates from other parties were already squeezed out during our new open-primary election process. Practically speaking, we don't have direct, proportional representation in most decisions. As a result, people sometimes fall into a trap where they think their personal vote will not really matter. It feels lost in the margin. The same discrete result happens whether they vote or not. This is equally true whether their views align with or against the expected outcome.
- umvi 8y agoI don't think so. In Maryland anyone can vote early at their convenience. That rules out work since you can just fill out the ballot at your leisure.
- dforrestwilson 8y agoWhy do I even need to elect a Congressman/woman to make decisions for me? Just let me do it directly now that the technology is here. We should vote on issues in real time, or within a week or month-long window. It would incentivize people with time and interest to be more involved, and get rid of that pesky agency problem. At the very least we can marginalize the role of politicians and perhaps be less disappointed in them.
- adrianN 8y agoJesus no. Even full time politicians don't have the time to read all the bills they vote on. You really don't want to reduce complex legislation to single sentence statements that casuals can vote on in between checking their Facebook feeds. See Brexit for an example how that would turn out.
- macintux 8y agoImagine the vast quantities of money that would be spent on advertising, on both sides of every single bill.
- tomjen3 8y agoYou don't need to read the bills, you just need somebody to check if there are any mines in them. You can find some who share your political views.
- icebraining 8y ago
- tmaly 8y agoa Saturday or Sunday would have a much higher turnout. However, you would still be excluding a large number of lower income service workers that work on the weekend.
- jermaustin1 8y agoPresumably, they also work on Tuesdays, right?
- pbhjpbhj 8y agoHas it been tested, I'm not convinced. One group effected negatively could be parents. They may find it more difficult to vote if their kids aren't in school. Particularly single parents. (I vote after the kids go to bed - but have taken a child to the polls a couple of times - but I have a partner to stay home and make that possible).
- tmaly 8y agoI took my daughter to the polls this year. She had a ton of fun feeding the ballot to the optical scanner and getting a sticker
- leetbulb 8y agoI attempted to vote in the wrong county. My buddy attempted to vote in the wrong district within his county. Luckily I am a telecommute worker with relaxed hours. He on the other hand was debating whether he should return to work or risk being late. The reasoning for such extremely strict geographic restrictions, I am unsure of, but surely it would also argue against mail-in ballots (and I would assume smartphone voting). Side question: How are people temporarily living in distant areas from their registered county (working, attending school, etc) able to vote? I'm sure there's a large handful of people in this situation unable to cast their vote.
- pwg 8y ago> The reasoning for such extremely strict geographic restrictions, I am unsure of, but surely it would also argue against mail-in ballots (and I would assume smartphone voting). One reason is a holdover from the days when the eligible voter roles were physically printed on reams of paper to be lined through in pen as each eligible voter 'checked in' to be given a ballot. If your system for preventing double voting is by a line drawn in pen across a voters entry in a paper printout, then you have to allocate voters to one, and only one, voting location (because you can't 'line through' in pen multiple geographically disperse paper printouts containing the same name quickly enough to avoid double voting risks). > Side question: How are people temporarily living in distant areas from their registered county (working, attending school, etc) able to vote? This is the purpose of the absentee ballot system. If you know you are "away" on election day, you apply for an absentee ballot and vote that way. Most of the recent "early vote" system has simply been an expansion of allowing voters to vote "absentee" by having them show up at the city/county offices before election day, fill out an "absentee" form (with less stringent requirements for proof of being "away"), get a ballot, vote, and drop it in the count box.
- InitialLastName 8y ago> One reason is a holdover from the days when the eligible voter roles were physically printed on reams of paper to be lined through in pen as each eligible voter 'checked in' to be given a ballot. Way back when, meaning yesterday? My polling place had two different people with voter lists in front of them. One was a big book I had to sign under my name (once the lady finally paged, one page at a time, through to my name), the other was a huge sheet organized by address where my name was crossed off after I voted.
- IncRnd 8y ago> There are many people who have have informed opinions but can't afford to take off work (write-up for being late to work/take off early, lost income, transport issues). They don't need to take off work. Every state in the US lets people mail-in votes or vote early in person.
- buzzdenver 8y agoI second mail-in ballots. Everyone automatically gets them in Colorado, you essentially have 2 weeks to fill them out and drop them off.
- moneil971 8y agoEarly voting also helps, many states let people vote through the weekend before Nov. 6. Or mail in ballots, but yes, making it officially on a weekend would simplify quite a bit.
- smpetrey 8y agoFuck that, emulate the Australians and move it to a Saturday. Go one step further and make it a national holiday. Need to work? Mail-in your ballot before-hand and work if you must.
- smileysteve 8y agoIn America; a lot of people work on Saturdays; and less, but still many people work on national holidays.
- smileysteve 8y agoWeekend voting can be a part of early voting; But mail-in or smart phone solves the availability problem much better than a holiday (where the very people who don't have the flexibility to take off work now would likely still not be able to take off work (like thanksgiving, memorial day, and labor day)
- reading-at-work 8y agoI live in Oregon, and we do have mail-in ballots. Can confirm that it's great.
- mcv 8y agoOther options include making it a national holiday, or making it easy to vote close to home or work, and keep voting stations open for a very generous period. Basically, you should be able to vote quickly before or after work without it cost more than 15 minutes.