Wow: 30% of 2008 election ballots were cast before Election Day
By SilentPatriot Wednesday Jan 14, 2009 7:15pm
I'm a huge fan and advocate of early voting, but even I didn't think the numbers would be this high. Wow.
United States Elections Project:
In the presidential election of 2008, approximately 39.7 million or 30% of all votes were cast prior to Election Day, November 4, 2008. This is a significant increase from 20% in 2004 and part of the upward trend experienced since 1992, when 7% of all votes were cast early. These numbers are likely to increase in subsequent presidential elections as more states adopt early voting and more voters become comfortable with the practice. A summary of these early voting laws can be found at Paul Gronke's excellent Early Voting Center. I discuss the bright future of early voting - among other trends - in this article available at the on-line political science journal, The Forum.
What a beautiful trend line. I hope these numbers keep rising and rising until Congress recognizes that the current system is pretty broken and very antiquated. I'm a fan of declaring Election Day a national holiday and giving everybody the day off to exercise their constitutional right and duty without having to worry about work and whatnot. I'm also a fan of vote-by-mail (see how well it works in Oregon) and expanded Motor Voter efforts. What electoral changes would you like to see?
h/t Markos, who quips, "no more 'election day.'"
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Proof of desperation.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations...
A good percentage of voters in Washington state also cast their votes before election day.
...affectionately known as WKKK, calls early voting "un-American." I suppose that's because it cuts down on the number of people whose votes get tossed and gets more Dems elected, but still.
Un-American.
Go figure. I say let's push for it to rise to at least 40% by 2012.
except in the primary elections...
i'm just glad i didn't vote early for my first pick, edwards...
... never thought i'd regret that pick either... ah well...
Ditto that.
I loved it, you'd get the ballot in the mail, have almost a month to think about things and then either mail it in a few days before election day or turn it in by hand, as we did in 2000 after Fla became unglued.
The all mail in ballot makes so much sense. I can't believe that the other states have not picked up on it yet.
I saw mothers waiting with impatient babies in strollers and older folks who had to sit on chairs while waiting for the line to go down on Nov. 4. I can see where a mail-in ballot saves time for these and other people and leaves a paper trail that can be verified. If people want that event-type atmosphere, there could be polling places open on Election Day to receive any mail-in ballots for those who forgot to mail them in.
early voting is good but it shouldn't be the mainstream IMO.
i don't see the point in a national holiday, never needed one before... polls are open late, and with early voting why the national holiday then when you have the weekend before to do it?
i'm against online voting and mail in voting, save for the very elderly or disabled who would be unable to make it to the polls. and for other various reasons where they just cannot make it in. its ok for some things, but again, should never become the mainstream.
because elections need to be an event, needs to be public, its good to get out and vote... and its important that we see other people vote too. its "proof", as it were. we can't all just vote behind a computer from the privacy of our own home. need to watch others vote, see in on TV ect. maybe it should be a holiday, should be a festival of sorts. it is a proud tradition, after all.
My husband missed voting in an election one time because he had to work overtime that day. He started work at 6AM and left work at 7:30 or 8:00PM. It wasn't a terrible important election. We were just voting on one thing--a bond issue maybe--and he just forgot. Now he always votes by mail.
and often.
I love voting by mail. It's quick, easy and there are no exit polls. I do, however, miss going into the voting booth. When I cast my first ballot in 1984, Connecticut still had it old voting booths with a curtain you closed behind you with the pull of a lever. It was almost like going into confession. Just you and the levers. I loved the party lever. It made voting so easy. Pull that and you voted a straight ticket. No filling bubbles, no misbehaving electronic voting machines. One pull, and you were done. It was wonderful.
While I liked the early voting trend, and think it should be encouraged, it's going to be easier to help reinforce the idea that voting is a huge important thing if it's organized around a single day, with everything else like early voting being "You're doing it better." I think I'd be more likely to forget if the whole thing became a do it at home process. (Not that I would, but I'd just be more likely.)
..in this day and age. I think it would be a good idea to have a national election week, instead of just one day. We've all seen the lines at polling places - no one should have to stand in line for hours to vote, even if it seems "patriotic." People have hectic schedules for all sorts of reasons and myriad responsibilities that can make it difficult to get to a poll on one specific day.
Since early voting seemed to work so well, I think we should embrace it. The mail-in voting seems like a good idea,too. Except, I can see even more excuses for why votes weren't counted properly - they got lost in the mail!
Since I moved to Tn I have always voted early. It only took 5 mins. This time the lines to vote early were long. I was surprised but glad. I voted Obama. I am one of the few in my state that did.
.
A better voting system.
http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/ideas/...
Paper ballots only, marked with pencils.
There are two months from election day to inauguration. With 20-40% doing early voting, those votes can be counted early and the time it takes on election day would be small.
There can't be "hanging chads" and confusion over butterfly ballots if there aren't any. And paper ballots can be recounted.
I think the best thing to do is create a system where the government votes for the citizens.
/sarcasm.
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