Election Day May Go Away... In Florida

That's Unpossible! writes "The Orlando Sentinel is reporting about a proposed change to the way Florida will run future elections. Due to the popularity of this year's 'advanced voting' trial run, it seems likely that the voting process can be streamlined by spreading it out over two weeks, allowing people to vote when and where they can. 'Fewer polling places would reduce the number of voting machines and would require fewer poll workers, which could cut salary and training costs. It also would reduce the chances of human error and electronic glitches, supervisors said.'"

Comments

Weird

[SmallFurryCreature]

Is democracy damned when people don't vote? The damned view believes that non-voters don't have fate in the system. On the other hand perhaps these people think everything is just fine.

But would spreading voting out over more then a day really help? Those who "forget" to go would still forget and you would also miss the effect of having voting day. One clear day on wich everyone knows that today is the day to vote with everyone remembring people around them.

Sure sure economic effect of people taking an hour of to vote (or even a day). So what? Cost of doing business. If a company really really needs all its people there let it open a polling boot inside.

Also would candidates still be banned from campaigning during the entire two weeks?

As for mistakes and cost of salaries. Well now the ballot boxes have to be guarded for 1 day. The staff needs to be paid for 1 day and only take 1 day of from their day job. You just increase the cost because now the polling station has to be guarded for 14 days and nights. The cost for foreing volunteers to observe the elections also goes op (hmmm might US elections not withstand foreign scrutiny?)

Few polling stations? Oh goodie, means longer distances to travel. No problem for the rich and middle classes but poorer people might have to spend more money they don't have to get to their polling station. Isn't the entire idea of having so many stations to make them easily accesable to everyone?

Lets review

• Increase distance to polling station wich affects the poorer people most.
• Decrease public awareness of "voting day".
• Give the postponers more excuses to not vote because they will just do it tomorrow until it is to late
• Increase security risks because the ballots have to be guared for far far longer.
• Increase costs to volunteers because of time of needed
• Increase likelyhood of failure in machine and electronics.
• Impose a 2 week gag order on parties OR have campaigning during voting.
• Cuts in staff are unlikely because you would have more people coming to the station and therefore more of a chance of a rush at peak times (like me who votes before going to work like all the other people in the que or is that just in holland?)

Is it really that much of a problem to go and vote?

Re:Hmmm

[Enrico Pulatzo]

I think that voting is truly an example of a quantum reality: attempting a measure affects the outcome.

Re:Hmmm

[Marxist Hacker 42]

Actually, the bigger issue is not "voting for the winner," but voter discouragement when it looks like the candidate you WANT to win is behind. If you think your guy is going to lose anyway, why go out and vote?

Funny, I'd have the opposite reaction "hey he's losing, he NEEDS my vote more than ever".