Bring Early Voting to Virginia Elections
State politicians appear to believe voting in Virginia shouldn’t be more convenient for people and their employers.
By the time the polls opened on Election Day last week, more than 16 million Americans – including roughly a million North Carolinians – had already cast ballots. Many had taken advantage of an early-voting process now used by more than 30 states.
It’s called “no excuse” voting. If you’re registered to vote and want to cast a ballot early, you can. You don’t have to give a reason or receive special permission. You just show up at designated polling places at designated times – Saturdays, even – and choose your candidates.
Voters like it. So do registrars. But, so far, it appears lawmakers in Richmond consider it too newfangled. The General Assembly routinely kills measures designed to make voting more convenient.
In Virginia, voters have to meet one of 18 qualifications to cast a ballot early. It’s an unnecessarily convoluted system that tempts voters to stretch the truth about the length of their workday and commuting time (a minimum of 11 hours) or other criteria simply to cast a ballot when it better fits their schedule.
This prove-you’re-worthy rigamarole is inefficient in many regards, and not only because it places outmoded and unnecessary barriers to participate in democracy.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 32 states and the District of Columbia offer no-excuse voting.
Election officials have found they don’t have to spend as much money on voting machines or staffing on Election Day. Workplaces benefit from increased productivity because employees don’t have to carve time out of their workdays to vote.
Critics of early voting contend it’s vulnerable to fraud but cannot provide any evidence. On its face, there’s little reason to believe a polling place on a Saturday before Election Day is any more prone to mischief than a crowded precinct on Election Day.
Many voters, of course, prefer to cast their ballots the traditional way. They like seeing candidates and their supporters at the polls. They enjoy the camaraderie of standing in line with their fellow citizens as they exercise their right to vote. It’s a good feeling.
But others find it more convenient – and just as invigorating – to vote early. Why not provide the option? Encouraging voting is, after all, something democracies ordinarily embrace.
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