7 ms·

How about we don’t have a mail in vote and just make the day a holiday.

rabidrat 6y ago
How does that help when some places have only one polling station for 100k people? And there is a global pandemic, so we don't want 100k people congregating in the same crowded space?
- BurningFrog 6y ago
  Yeah, polling stations are dimensioned for typical turnout, which includes a majority voting by mail.
  - erentz 6y ago
    Not really. Minorities are routinely disenfranchised through polling station closures. See all the polling station closures during the primaries using COVID as the reason. “Black voters, on average, wait 45 percent longer to vote than white voters; Latino voters wait 46 percent longer” https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/613408/ https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/613408/ See also the particularly egregious Kentucky example where they even tried to close the station while people were still in line. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-primaries-kentucky-1.5623343 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-primaries-kentucky-1.562334... The examples of this kind of suppression are sadly countless here in the US.
- frobozz 6y ago
  Do that, and set up a sensible network of polling places with appropriate opening hours so that everyone can vote easily without 100k people all turning up at the exact same time and trying to squeeze into the same crowded space.
AdmiralAsshat 6y ago
We've actively lobbied for that for years--Republicans have refused, because they know that the people working low-income jobs whose managers will not let them off to go vote tend to lean Democratic. There are some states where the best we've managed is being allowed to take "unpaid" time off to go vote, with the caveat that your employer cannot fire you for doing so. Some states don't even have that much. Guess which way those states tend to vote.
- alwaysdoit 6y ago
  Well, many of those people also don't get to take Federal holidays off. See "Black Friday", "Presidents' Day Sale", etc.
  - ac29 6y ago
    Black Friday is not a federal holiday, its the day after a federal holiday, which many office workers customarily get off (but not retail workers as you mentioned). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_holidays_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_holidays_in_the_United...
- bfieidhbrjr 6y ago
  If you've actively lobbied for that for years, in multiple states and those darn Republicans refused it... Then those years would include times when there was a Democrat president and congress, and governors. So maybe blaming the other side is just politically convenient?
  - Lendal 6y ago
    Florida's state govt has been in complete control of Republicans (all houses + gov) for over 30 years, despite Republican voter registrations being in the minority.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- pandaman 6y ago
  Are the Republicans really that strong in CA, NY, IL? If this is true, why not to do it at city level, surely there are not that many Republicans in the San Francisco, Seattle, or NYC city councils?
  - valbaca 6y ago
    Seattle has mail-in ballots. So we don't need the day off
et-al 6y ago
Because the whole point of Trump appointing an inexperienced postmaster general is to cripple the USPS to reduce voter turnout.
MrRadar 6y ago
That might work in a normal election year, but this year that solution would still put people in a bind between risking getting a severe infectious disease and exercising their democratic rights.
poulsbohemian 6y ago
As much as I'd like to see it be a holiday (because I think it places the right degree of emphasis on its importance), the reality is that voting by mail works great. In fact, living in Washington state and having voted absentee before VBM became universal... I'm not sure I've ever voted in a polling place (and I've got a lot of grey hair). I can't say enough good things about being able to take my time to research candidates and vote when it is convenient for my schedule, rather than some 9-8 window on a particular day.
valbaca 6y ago
In-person voting is being stifled as well. Look at the Georgia primary. https://www.npr.org/2020/06/09/873054620/long-lines-voting-machine-issues-plague-georgia-primary https://www.npr.org/2020/06/09/873054620/long-lines-voting-m... Mail-in ballots are so good that once you do them, you'll be dumbfounded at why this isn't the absolute standard country-wide. Like I can't describe how simple it is and nice to be able to research candidates on your own with the full ballot in front of you. Using phones and such is prohibited at in-person voting. The other advantage is you aren't fully limited by the mail. There are drop-off bins at locations like public libraries. We trust our mail to do nearly everything official with the government: your ID, vehicle registration, selective service number, passport, IRS PIN, jury summons, US census etc ALL come through the mail and ONLY through the mail, but for voting we don't??? why?!?
- pseudalopex 6y ago
  Voting in person means you can't prove how you voted. That makes it harder for someone to bribe or bully their way into office.

How does that help when some places have only one polling station for 100k people? And there is a global pandemic, so we don't want 100k people congregating in the same crowded space?

BurningFrog 6y ago
Yeah, polling stations are dimensioned for typical turnout, which includes a majority voting by mail.
- erentz 6y ago
  Not really. Minorities are routinely disenfranchised through polling station closures. See all the polling station closures during the primaries using COVID as the reason. “Black voters, on average, wait 45 percent longer to vote than white voters; Latino voters wait 46 percent longer” https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/613408/ https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/613408/ See also the particularly egregious Kentucky example where they even tried to close the station while people were still in line. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-primaries-kentucky-1.5623343 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-primaries-kentucky-1.562334... The examples of this kind of suppression are sadly countless here in the US.
frobozz 6y ago
Do that, and set up a sensible network of polling places with appropriate opening hours so that everyone can vote easily without 100k people all turning up at the exact same time and trying to squeeze into the same crowded space.

AdmiralAsshat 6y ago

We've actively lobbied for that for years--Republicans have refused, because they know that the people working low-income jobs whose managers will not let them off to go vote tend to lean Democratic. There are some states where the best we've managed is being allowed to take "unpaid" time off to go vote, with the caveat that your employer cannot fire you for doing so. Some states don't even have that much. Guess which way those states tend to vote.

alwaysdoit 6y ago
Well, many of those people also don't get to take Federal holidays off. See "Black Friday", "Presidents' Day Sale", etc.
- ac29 6y ago
  Black Friday is not a federal holiday, its the day after a federal holiday, which many office workers customarily get off (but not retail workers as you mentioned). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_holidays_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_holidays_in_the_United...
bfieidhbrjr 6y ago
If you've actively lobbied for that for years, in multiple states and those darn Republicans refused it... Then those years would include times when there was a Democrat president and congress, and governors. So maybe blaming the other side is just politically convenient?
- Lendal 6y ago
  Florida's state govt has been in complete control of Republicans (all houses + gov) for over 30 years, despite Republican voter registrations being in the minority.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
pandaman 6y ago
Are the Republicans really that strong in CA, NY, IL? If this is true, why not to do it at city level, surely there are not that many Republicans in the San Francisco, Seattle, or NYC city councils?
- valbaca 6y ago
  Seattle has mail-in ballots. So we don't need the day off

et-al 6y ago

Because the whole point of Trump appointing an inexperienced postmaster general is to cripple the USPS to reduce voter turnout.

MrRadar 6y ago

That might work in a normal election year, but this year that solution would still put people in a bind between risking getting a severe infectious disease and exercising their democratic rights.

poulsbohemian 6y ago

As much as I'd like to see it be a holiday (because I think it places the right degree of emphasis on its importance), the reality is that voting by mail works great. In fact, living in Washington state and having voted absentee before VBM became universal... I'm not sure I've ever voted in a polling place (and I've got a lot of grey hair). I can't say enough good things about being able to take my time to research candidates and vote when it is convenient for my schedule, rather than some 9-8 window on a particular day.

valbaca 6y ago

In-person voting is being stifled as well. Look at the Georgia primary. https://www.npr.org/2020/06/09/873054620/long-lines-voting-machine-issues-plague-georgia-primary https://www.npr.org/2020/06/09/873054620/long-lines-voting-m... Mail-in ballots are so good that once you do them, you'll be dumbfounded at why this isn't the absolute standard country-wide. Like I can't describe how simple it is and nice to be able to research candidates on your own with the full ballot in front of you. Using phones and such is prohibited at in-person voting. The other advantage is you aren't fully limited by the mail. There are drop-off bins at locations like public libraries. We trust our mail to do nearly everything official with the government: your ID, vehicle registration, selective service number, passport, IRS PIN, jury summons, US census etc ALL come through the mail and ONLY through the mail, but for voting we don't??? why?!?

pseudalopex 6y ago
Voting in person means you can't prove how you voted. That makes it harder for someone to bribe or bully their way into office.