CHANGE HOW WE VOTE
Let people vote in person all week
We need to fix voting today.
The days of everyone rushing to the polls on Election Day are over. But mail-in voting isn’t the answer. So much can change from the time you fill in your ballot to Election Day and right now the Post Office is under duress.
We need to have a week of voting. Start it on Sunday Nov. 1 and close it at 8 p.m. on Nov. 7. It’s simple. Allow the elderly to vote on those days for the first hour alone.
Voting has been expanded this year, but it’s too confusing. You can vote by mail, if you’ve already registered, but who wants to make up their mind too soon? In-person early voting for the state primary will be held Aug. 22-28. The same holds for the general election with in-person voting Oct. 17-30.
But procrastination is the American way.
Lawmakers need to take this into consideration and stagger the vote.
When asked about this idea with the Secretary of State’s Office spokesperson Debra O’Malley, she said, “This could be a legal issue to implement what you are suggesting … by not letting everyone vote on Election Day if they choose to. We would rather provide voters more options than restrict them.”
Legal issues? What about whether it is constitutional to force people to wear a mask or be fined? Or forcing people to stay home for weeks? Forcing schools to close their doors? Or forcing businesses to shut down when they did nothing wrong?
I’m not suggesting the government has done anything wrong by implementing these rules. They were necessary to try to stop the spread of COVID-19. What I am suggesting is that we are living in unprecedented times during a pandemic and lawmakers need to get creative in order to protect the most important right we have as Americans — voting!
Mail-in voting is taking off. It clearly shows we all want to do our civic duty. So why not spread it out?
We should help election workers so they are allowed the time to count the votes and not be inundated on Nov. 3.
What a week this week of voting could be. It would be orderly. Logical. Precise and safe. You could ban any politicking during that week. Candidates could set up booths to explain where they stand on the issues, and voters could opt to stop by or head straight inside to pick up a ballot.
One hundred years ago today the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, was ratified. That changed America for good forever.
Let’s do it again this year. Shock the world and agree on what’s right.
A week will help get it right.