I want to spend some time on Oregon issues. As we get
closer to November 8th, many people will be waiting to cast their votes, but
Oregonians may have turned in their ballots a few weeks before that. I will
turn in my ballot before that. It makes sense to address local issues earlier,
but I want to start with the process.
There have been some calls recently for making
election day a national holiday. Support has come from Elizabeth Warren, Bernie
Sanders, and President Obama himself. I understand why they support it, I get
what they are going for, and it is not the answer.
The people who get federal holidays off are already
the ones with the fewest obstacles to voting. There is a larger percentage of
the population who does not. Your barista works on federal holidays. So does
your nurse, and your retail salesperson, and your friendly local police
officer. Some of them fill positions where there needs to be someone available
at all times, and for some of them it's just a matter of maximizing profits
when other people are off and have time to shop, but a new holiday would not
benefit them.
Voting by mail will.
I have been voting long enough to remember before we
had vote by mail. That includes a memory of getting home late one rainy night
and the precinct had been moved, and I came really close to not getting there
in time. Even without that, I remember that no matter how hard I would pore
over the voter's pamphlet, there in the booth some things would be hard to
remember.
It is a wonderful thing to be able to fill out the
ballot at home, looking things up when I am not sure, and getting the batch of
envelopes for the whole household ready to drop off (or mail, but we usually
drop them off).
That can fit into any working schedule. Because it creates
a paper trail, it can address concerns about voter fraud. It's beautiful. It's
effective.
It takes away the long lines, and the opportunities
for voter intimidation. Sure, those who like to manipulate the process will
start looking for new ways to do so, but it cuts off a lot of their old ways.
I know some people like the feeling of civic
engagement they get going into the little booth, but I respectfully suggest
that there might be other ways to get that feeling, and possibly where the
efforts are more helpful. Churches that have offered bus rides to the polls can
have ballot parties, and trips to cast the completed ballots.
Rest of the US, Oregon has something to
teach you. (Yes, I know we're not the only ones doing it now, but we started
it.)
Nationwide, let's move to vote by mail.
No comments:
Post a Comment