increasingly the parties are encouraging their supporters to mail in their ballots. there is an
article in the NYT today discussing the impact of that strategy.
this troubles me and despite the fact that Oregon has increased their turnout by solely voting via absentee i do not believe it is the best solution to our depressingly low voter turnout rate. there are too many drawbacks. i stand my position that secure electronic voting with a voter verified paper trail is the best way for our nation to elect people to office.
extended copy including more discussion of article and what it takes for me to vote absentee.
drawbacks to absentee voting
1) ability to influence votes:
Early voting is also letting political parties get around one Election Day hallmark: the century-old anticorruption laws that force partisans to keep their distance from polling places. The laws do not apply to catching people at home with their ballots, and that has freed party tacticians to devise plans, largely unpublicized, to court the early vote. The plans include helping to register voters expressly to vote absentee, mailing out tip sheets on avoiding errors that could disqualify absentee votes, and even collecting completed ballots.
not only the party officials can put pressure on voters, but members of an individual's family and friends can have an increased impact on ones choice when they are not doing it in private. it is all to easy to picture a scene where a husband/wife is sitting at the table with his/her spouse standing over their shoulder telling them what to do. or a 18 y.o. kid voting for the first time under the watchful gaze of their parents.
2) lack of a national voting day
North Carolina's absentee voters will begin casting ballots on Sept. 13, a full 50 days before the election, followed soon after by voters in Maine, then Arizona and other battleground states. The effect is an expanded voting season that has begun to erode the concept of Americans' coming together as one on Election Day.
there is no official end to the campaign with people sending their ballots in at different times. it is all to easy to envision a situation where a new revelation or event could happen in the weeks leading up to an election that might have changed how someone would vote, but they had already sent in their ballot.
personally i have never voted at a polling place. i have always voted absentee. i turned 18 and went off to college that month. i kept my reg. back in PA for many reasons 1) i knew the local politics better 2) my vote in a swing state counted more than in NY or DC where i live now 3) i actually have congressional representation.
but look at what i have to do to vote absentee, which is a huge reason why i believe telling people to vote absentee for fears about DREs will bring down participation levels.
first i have to send a letter requesting an application for a absentee ballot. then i have to fill the application out and send it in. after it is approved then they send me a ballot. i usually start the process in early Sept to ensure i can actually vote. maybe it is just my county, but it seems to me there are better ways to encourage civic participation in this country.