Yesterday in Chicago I was sitting in the hotel room, nursing my sore knee (the hauling of furniture/boxes/mattresses up and down stairs got to it...) and I read about early voting in the local newspaper.
So, I now see that they have it in Illinois, and I know I've seen reference to early voting in Wisconsin. But in my state? I'm not sure. Never thought to check.
What's the purpose of it, anyway? Absentee voting I get. You're going to be out of town and can't get to the polling place, so you go get an absentee ballot and handle it by mail. Sure.
But that's not this. This is just like... the regular voting booth thing, I think. Except... not on election day.
Why?
Is it for people who just don't like crowds? Is it for poll workers to practice, like they do at a "soft opening" of a retail store? I mean, why set up voting machines for some short period only a couple of weeks prior to the election?
If you're going to do this, why not have continuous voting all year, from the Iowa primaries on? Or at least from the conventions on. Or... why not do it all over the internet? I'm not sure I get it. Or like it.
The thing that really rattled me was: they have mobile locations to vote! Like some kind of van pulls up or something, and you go on it and "do the deed." The newspaper had a list of mobile locations and... they were in Jewel/Osco parking lots, for Pete's sake! You must be kidding! Do your weekly grocery shopping and vote, too?
Well, this got me thinking about other things that are mobile. I know they have mobile:
> libraries
> MRI scans
> blood pressure screenings
> flu shots
> dog grooming
> license renewal
so, in an ideal mobile world, you could check out a book, get your blood pressure tested, scan your sore knee (which is on my mind right now..), buy your deer hunting license, get a flu shot, have Spot washed and clipped, and... cast your vote for the next President of the United States of America... all at the same time.
Something about this seems wrong.
Voting is a community event, doggone it! It's a public service ritual you engage in with your neighbors a few times a year. It's a community gathering where all are welcome, not just your friends but people of all stripes, as long as they live nearby.
Seems to me that there aren't many of those kinds of opportunities left. Besides the usual community "Krazy Daze" in the local park every summer, or the occasional church festival, what else is there that brings neighbors together?
Do neighborhoods have block parties anymore? (yeah, ours did this year - for the first time in memory, though, and some of the attendees have lived there 40 years)
I think voting should be an occasion for a party! We should tailgate! :D
Everybody can meet in the parking lot at the polling places, and we could grill out, cook brats for the poll workers, bring them a beer when their shift is over. A local furniture store sets up a big screen TV like a Jumbotron, and we all sit there after the polls close and watch the returns come in. :) This could be fun! (and maybe a little wild...)
But still, there's something so community-minded about you and your neighbors all rubbing shoulders at the polling place doing your civic duty - together.
Early voting? Hmpf. I'll go on the day.
With my neighbors.
4 comments:
haha.
i see your point..
but what if it increases the number of voters?
Hm...
you mean like applying fertilizer to increase the bushels/acre for corn or soybeans? Use this or that technique to increase the amount of voters?
I don't know if more voters is the real goal. More responsible civic involvement, perhaps.
But is that accomplished by shoving a pen in someone's hand to sign a registration form you filled out for them, pointing them toward the booth after explaining how to mark the ballot, and guiding them like sheep to vote, when maybe they have not paid the least bit of attention to the campaigns?
I'd rather people put forth at least some modicum of effort, endured some small level of inconvenience to their routine, in order to commit to responsible exercise of their rights as citizens.
Seems like the least people can do in exchange for the privileges that come with citizenship. I wouldn't mind at all driving a bus to go pick people up to take them to the polls, and help them where they need help. But, I mean... do SOMEthing to extend yourself on behalf of the country you live in. Gee whiz.
Hm. I got on a soapbox here, didn't I? :) Sorry...
I'll still contend that I have to re-register every year as I effectively change my current address. and that, is some sort of inconvenience.
you should have seen the lines! very helpful people, too.
Okay, I'll yield the point. :)
I know what it is to move around. 15 residences in 33 years makes me (almost) qualify as a lifelong transient!
Never did look at voter registration as an inconvenience, though... no more so than stopping and starting the electric & gas & mail, or getting new license plates. Comes with the territory.
Did you see the drive-through pic, though? Yikes! I kept thinking "would you like to make that vote a combo meal?"
:P
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