tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post3197589094602077184..comments2024-03-23T19:16:01.555-07:00Comments on Can it happen here?: Why do we vote on Tuesday? And other fantasies for reinvigorating citizenship…janinsanfranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-16790762579721529452012-06-06T09:49:10.952-07:002012-06-06T09:49:10.952-07:00Good thoughts Ronni -- if we don't make voting...Good thoughts Ronni -- if we don't make voting work for old people, we're doing wrong.<br /><br />I do need to argue against widespread and unthinking adoption of "convenience voting" -- vote by mail and vote all month -- though. There is pretty good research that the people who take advantage of it are already voters and that any increase in turnout is a blip. Your state is the place that provides the numbers. Our voting arrangements should be designed to make voting a "big deal" and "not to be missed" -- not something to slip by with minimal notice.janinsanfranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-84604422147657030272012-06-06T08:36:57.289-07:002012-06-06T08:36:57.289-07:00All good thoughts, but I need to get on my elder h...All good thoughts, but I need to get on my elder hobby horse in relation to a couple of them.<br /><br />Voting on holiday weekends: Many, many people go away for long weekends or entertain friends and relatives who visit from elsewhere or use those days as time of family gatherings, travel, ball games, etc. and are unlikely to want voting to interrupt one of the few three-days-in-a-row weekends they get.<br /><br />Holiday voting would make it difficult for old people who depend on friends and relatives to help them get around who may be away; or who use public transportation which operates on reduced schedules on holiday.<br /><br />There is no reason, however, we shouldn't move elections to a regular Saturday and/or Sunday or create a voting holiday as you suggest. Just don't make it a Friday or Monday which would create another three-day-holiday for people to leave town instead of voting.<br /><br />Although I agree - to a point - that voting by mail takes away the community engagement of going to a polling station, over the past six years I've lived in two states that vote by mail - Maine and Oregon.<br /><br />Vote by mail is a boon for old people who find it difficult to get out and about, may rely on public transportation and may not be physically able to wait on line for several hours when polls are busy.<br /><br />I voted both ways in Maine - I was glad I'd done it by mail the year there were two feet of fresh snow on the ground election day morning.<br /><br />In person was fine too although unlike New York City where there can be easily a hundred people ahead of you on line to chat with, I was the only voter at the precinct at 9AM. So much for community.<br /><br />But I like the idea of having a choice, precinct or mail. If I recall correctly, voting by mail was experimental when I was in Maine and one needed to request a mail ballot. Here in Oregon, vote by mail only has been in effect for about 20 years without any apparent ill effects.<br /><br />Certainly we should get Diebold and other private companies out of the voting business, and although it would solve problems like the recent restrictions on registration in some states, I need to think about that national id card. There are some possible unintended consequences worth considering first.<br /><br />A whole lot of interesting stuff to think about in this post, Jan.Ronni Bennetthttp://www.timegoesby.netnoreply@blogger.com