What are your thoughts on early voting? (please do not reference political parties or candidates) (1 Viewer)

[Paul]

I think early voting is very convenient for all the reasons listed through the thread so far. This was our first time here in Ohio, and I will say that my wife and I found it a bit less personal than in Louisiana. Our location had booths with no little curtains to close, and people were walking around and even standing behind each other while voting. Additionally, there was a ton of law enforcement parked right outside the building and patrolling the bordering streets, which is not something we’re accustomed to. But, that was last week and we’re done with it, so all good.

 

[Sailorsaint]

Early voting being available is a no brainer. Should be widely available. I didn’t vote early because the only place was a 30 minute drive in an unfamiliar place. Tomorrow morning I could pour my coffee, leave it on the counter, walk to my polling station, and be back in time to still have to blow on it to cool it down.

 

[baarbogast]

I’m in favor of it. I have done it/absentee voting many times. I truly hope it gets us to 90% turnout or higher even if my side loses all the contests

 

[Icon]

Early voting being available is a no brainer. Should be widely available. I didn’t vote early because the only place was a 30 minute drive in an unfamiliar place. Tomorrow morning I could pour my coffee, leave it on the counter, walk to my polling station, and be back in time to still have to blow on it to cool it down.

I hear others say similar things from time to time.....where they are (insert some super-close distance) from their polls. I myself am just a few miles from my own, compared to being roughly 12 miles from the early voting location.

But for me it's just about the peace of mind, and I feel like a person simply has to ask themselves "would I ultimately be at peace if something unforeseen came up and prevented me from voting that day"? For me that answer would be no.......even with being in Louisiana, a state where the overall voting will likely be rather one-sided.

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

When I was 18 my thoughts were a lot different, but now it's the only way I do it. I also think calling it "early" is really a disservice. Voting on an election day should be called "last day voting."

I am very old-fashioned so I kinda hate early voting. If you need an absentee ballot because you travel a lot or you're posted overseas, that's one thing, but to open up voting into a 4 week rolling period destroys a lot of the social cohesion that is created when everyone goes to vote on the same day.

It also turns voting into more of a poll driven exercise than it already is and by design it means different votes are cast with different information. If you cast your vote in mid October and then your candidate has a massive stroke (or is outed as a child predator or whatever) 2 days later, that's not a good system.

 

[Grumpy Old Manatee]

If it provides opportunities for people to vote and can be monitored/policed appropriately and responsibly, I’m all for it.

I’ll be standing in line at the voting site tomorrow, but that’s my choice.

 

[Buickman]

I voted early because we have a big event at work tomorrow and I didn't know if I would have a chance, otherwise. Besides, I also get tired of being mobbed by all the people for the local elections.

 

[saintmdterps]

If we can file taxes online we should able to vote online. Would save so much BS.

The fact that voting machines are not connected to the internet greatly reduces fraud via hacking. Even after all the whining and foot-stomping in 2020, there were really no or minimal incidences of voter fraud. Election fraud lawsuits were 0-61.

I fumbled the date and thought I had until Friday last week, but early voting ended on Halloween.

 

[longtime lurker]

I voted a few weeks ago by mail in vote. I received a text and an email saying that my ballot was received a few days later, and that there were no issues and thanks for voting. I love it.

 

[superchuck500]

I think early voting is very convenient for all the reasons listed through the thread so far. This was our first time here in Ohio, and I will say that my wife and I found it a bit less personal than in Louisiana. Our location had booths with no little curtains to close, and people were walking around and even standing behind each other while voting. Additionally, there was a ton of law enforcement parked right outside the building and patrolling the bordering streets, which is not something we’re accustomed to. But, that was last week and we’re done with it, so all good.

Yeah, Ohio is the most interesting early voting story. Much of the modern debate about it originated from Ohio and, for some reason, it has been far more controversial in Ohio than in the many other states that have implemented it quite easily.

 

[superchuck500]

I am very old-fashioned so I kinda hate early voting. If you need an absentee ballot because you travel a lot or you're posted overseas, that's one thing, but to open up voting into a 4 week rolling period destroys a lot of the social cohesion that is created when everyone goes to vote on the same day.

It also turns voting into more of a poll driven exercise than it already is and by design it means different votes are cast with different information. If you cast your vote in mid October and then your candidate has a massive stroke (or is outed as a child predator or whatever) 2 days later, that's not a good system.

I think there is some slight risk of a reason to change voter sentiment between the early vote and election day but I think it's exceedingly rare. At least for major elections where people are likely to early vote, there haven't been any examples of a candidate having a major stroke or being outed as a child predator between mid-October and the first Tuesday of November (or similar). And for lesser revelations, they're probably not likely to result in the voter's change of heart. Any given voter who is still in-play in mid to late October and concerned about a change in events is well-encouraged to wait.

But the idea that "everyone gets to vote on the same day" makes it sound easier than it is. The push for modern broad-adoption of early voting started in 2004 when some voting lines were 12 hours long (in Ohio for example). People literally showed up to vote but didn't vote because they simply didn't have six or eight or twelve hours to vote. The adult population in the US has grown substantially over the past few decades and expecting everyone to vote on the same day just seems to be inviting major challenge . . . that very easily results in people choosing not to vote, which is just about the worst result we can have (people making the effort show up and vote but then not voting due to capacity or system failures).

If you have limited resources in solving this problem, early voting is far more sensible. You could either (1) attempt to expand the voting capacity system to handle all of the voters in a reasonable amount of time on a single election day - which requires expanding the places where people vote, the number of machines, the number of poll workers, and expanding internal system capacities, etc. . . . OR (2) you actually accommodate the same number of total voters by expanding the days in which those existing locations, systems, and workers will be used, and in-fact it may serve to reduce overall stress on the systems, including on election day, by spreading it out over those early voting days.

It seems like a pretty obvious choice.

 

[Dago]

The fact that voting machines are not connected to the internet greatly reduces fraud via hacking. Even after all the whining and foot-stomping in 2020, there were really no or minimal incidences of voter fraud. Election fraud lawsuits were 0-61.

I fumbled the date and thought I had until Friday last week, but early voting ended on Halloween.

That isn't exactly true. Right before the 2020 election NBC did a news story showing that there were many county systems connected to the internet during elections

That is absolutely not proof of fraud, but it shouldn't have happened at all and goes against what we were told

 

[superchuck500]

That isn't exactly true. Right before the 2020 election NBC did a news story showing that there were many county systems connected to the internet during elections

That is absolutely not proof of fraud, but it shouldn't have happened at all and goes against what we were told

I think it's important to be precise with what was found (as to what was connected, when, and how many).

I believe that this is the investigation that the NBC report was citing:

Exclusive: Critical U.S. Election Systems Have Been Left Exposed Online Despite Official Denials

The top voting machine company in the country insists that its election systems are never connected to the internet. But researchers found 35 of the systems have been connected to the internet for months and possibly years, including in some swing states.

www.vice.com

 

[Dago]

I think it's important to be precise with what was found (as to what was connected, when, and how many).

I believe that this is the investigation that the NBC report was citing:

Exclusive: Critical U.S. Election Systems Have Been Left Exposed Online Despite Official Denials

The top voting machine company in the country insists that its election systems are never connected to the internet. But researchers found 35 of the systems have been connected to the internet for months and possibly years, including in some swing states.

www.vice.com

Right....to reiterate I am not saying anything was done. Don't even want that started in here

 

[superchuck500]

Right....to reiterate I am not saying anything was done. Don't even want that started in here

I hear you - I think it's an important part of the whole issue (the IT systems involved).