"A ton of people didn’t vote because they couldn’t get time off from work"

[applegrove]

A ton of people didn’t vote because they couldn’t get time off from work

By Christopher Ingraham at the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/11/12/a-ton-of-people-didnt-vote-because-they-couldnt-get-time-off-from-work/?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost

"SNIP.........................



You've heard the news by now that turnout in the 2014 midterms was the lowest in any election since 1942, when voters were busy with, you know, other stuff. In short, only 36 percent of the voting-age population bothered to cast a ballot last week. A large proportion of them simply aren't registered to vote at all. But past numbers suggest upwards of 20 percent of Americans adults were registered to vote, but couldn't be bothered to - what's their excuse?

A new Pew Research Center report has some answers. They tracked down 181 registered voters who said they did not vote this year and asked them their reasons for doing so. While it's a smallish sample and we should be cautious about interpreting it too broadly, respondents gave some illuminating answers. Here's what they said:


..................


A full two-thirds said they simply didn't have enough time to vote. More than half of this group - 35 percent of the total - said that scheduling conflicts with work or school kept them from getting to the polls last Tuesday. Another 34 percent of the total said they were simply too busy, or that they were sick, out of town, or forgot about election day.

Twenty percent said they didn't like the candidates, didn't know enough to vote, or simply didn't care. And another 10 percent said that technical difficulties kept them from the polls - a missed registration deadline, a recent move or lack of transportation.





..........................SNIP"

[Wella]

1. This is why every state should have California's vote-by-mail system

I never miss an election. Since they mail you the ballot, you never forget when it is, either.

[napi21]

2. I don't know about EVERY STATE, but here in Ga. they had early voting.

For several weeks, a registered voter could vote 5 days a week. I don't but the story of no time or coudn't gt time off from work. If it was something they really WANTED TO DO, believe me, they'd find the time.

[applegrove]

3. Really? Because some people get off work and have kids they have to take care of. They may not

have a partner to watch the kids while they go vote. They may not have the $$$ to get a babysitter so they can stand in line.

[former9thward]

5. Excuses.

It takes 10 minutes to vote. But no matter what there are always excuses.

[baldguy]

32. Sound like you're looking for excuses to trash on poor people.

Not everyone has a car. Not everyone has day care available. Not everyone has reliable public transportation. And - in spite of the law - not everyone has employers who allow time off to vote.

[LanternWaste]

35. And always uninformed judgments too.

And always uninformed judgments too. Six of one, half a dozen of the other...

[simak]

37. I agree.

I wouldn't give a nickel for a survey of why voters failed to do their civic duty on election day. "I just couldn't be bothered" is too embarrassing, and a little too easy to rationalize into "I was too busy doing X."

Sure, you were busy doing other things. That's a given. But are you sure you did everything you possibly could to fit voting in to your frantic schedule before you gave up?

[LeftInTX]

11. I think there was only 37% turnout in this election whereas presidential elections

average 53%

I think alot of people don't take mid-term elections seriously.

I remember during the 1980 presidential election one co-worker brazenly told me that she refused to vote. She said that all politicians were crooks and weren't worth our time. Most people don't openly admit that they refuse to vote, but I wonder how many don't want to be bothered with it etc. There are a lot of people who are politically apathetic.

[hfojvt]

76. a co-worker told me that back in the 1990s

Wonder if some people are just afraid of making a mistake, voting for a guy who ends up being a putz. I tried to tell the guy, that even if that was true, some of them will vote to raise the minimum wage, for example, and some of them won't.

[chade]

105. I think people try to position themselves 'above' the rat race

Similar to your thoughts, in a lot of conversations I have, there is quite a bit of intentional misdirection in choosing a position or a candidate. It's a variation on apathy, but more like trying to be emotionless in comparison to someone who holds strong liberal (or even conservative) views. They don't necessarily see both sides as 'the same,' but as two forces locked in an endless struggle that 'refuse to listen to each other', hence why 'nothing gets done.' By not voting, they're steering clear of having to stand behind an ideology, which would then enter them into that 'quagmire' of political debate that they see themselves apart from.

[Skidmore]

24. I used to take my kids with me and they got the

benefit of learning about voting.

[napi21]

99. Don't people take their kids with them anymore?

That's what I did. OR stop to vote on the way to work or on the way home. There's always a way if you really want to.

[Warpy]

103. They need to allow people to vote near their jobs.

This "home precinct" crap disenfranchises a lot of working voters.

They also need to drop restrictions on absentee ballots in states that have them.

Still, "vote by mail" for every single registered voter should be the standard.

Hell, it might be the standard if liberals hadn't gone out of power in 1969. Conservatives in both parties are happiest when working people can't vote.

[TheKentuckian]

4. If the polls are open from 6am - 6am and you must catch the bus at 540 to get to your job on time

and then you get back home after 7, you don't see a challenge?

This is reality for a ton of folks. People might take you to the polls, nobody gives a damn if you can get to work on time or if you can get off and to the polls on time.

[former9thward]

6. Excuses.

There is early voting, vote by mail and absentee voting. One or more of those apply to every state in the country.

[TheKentuckian]

8. I'm not making excuses, I voted. What I am saying is we don't make it easy or in some cases

even reasonable for folks to get to the polls and the tougher it is for a person to just go about their daily affairs the harder it is for them to even make the polls at all.

Instead of blasting the most under siege in their daily lives, we need to be more focused on making it easier. We also find the localities that do so have better turn out and better outcomes.

I'm not getting how your attitude is productive or helps move the needle.

[A Little Weird]

19. +1

I agree. Some states make it easier than others. Change election day to the weekend, offer early voting or mail-in voting - and make whatever options that exist clear and easy to do. I think this will help a lot of folks.

Some posters are saying that people are using busyness as an excuse and they could vote if they really wanted to. There may be some truth to that. But rather than getting all self-righteous about it, I think we need to do some serious self-reflection about why our candidates aren't getting people to the polls. Democrats need to offer something that gets people excited to vote. Obama got people excited - they showed up at the polls because they actually had a chance to vote for someone. Most elections offer a choice between bad and worse and we are expected to choose the one that will screw us over the least. We've got to get back to progressive, populist principles that will get people motivated to vote and quit running republican-lite candidates.

[JonLP24]

26. I agree and look at what happens with these changes -- it helps turnout

But Republican support for early voting vanished after Obama utilized it as a key part of his strategy in 2008. Nearly 30 percent of the electorate voted early that year, and they favored Obama over McCain by 10 points. The strategy proved especially effective in Florida, where blacks outnumbered whites by two to one among early voters, and in Ohio, where Obama received fewer votes than McCain on Election Day but ended up winning by 263,000 ballots, thanks to his advantage among early voters in urban areas like Cleveland and Columbus.

That may explain why both Florida and Ohio – which now have conservative Republican governors – have dramatically curtailed early voting for 2012. Next year, early voting will be cut from 14 to eight days in Florida and from 35 to 11 days in Ohio, with limited hours on weekends. In addition, both states banned voting on the Sunday before the election – a day when black churches historically mobilize their constituents. Once again, there appears to be nothing to justify the changes other than pure politics. "There is no evidence that any form of convenience voting has led to higher levels of fraud," reports the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-gop-war-on-voting-20110830#ixzz3JK8Q0uLD
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

[Travis_0004]

45. People pick on Ohio, but I think they are above average

People pick on Ohios early voting, yet nobody complains about states like New York, which essentially have no early voting.

[JonLP24]

47. Picked on?

Republicans massively reduced the number of early voting days & hours based on the success Obama had in those areas. Most of the election problems occur in urban cities so New York City probably experiences some of this but the city is still very likely to go blue.

[Dorian Gray]

27. There is some truth to that

of course. But there is also truth to people intending to vote on election day, then life getting in the way. Sick kids. Work overtime. Emergency at home. Anything can happen on one day that makes it more difficult to get there.

I know we can prioritize it, but not everyone does.

We should try to convince people it should be a priority without berating them.

[LeftInTX]

10. In Texas can't vote by mail unless

You are 65 and older
Disabled
Out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance

However, there is early voting which lasts for 10 days and includes weekend hours

[baldguy]

33. New York doesn't have either early voting or voting by mail.

And absentee ballots are only available if you are actually going to be absent from the county on election day, unless you're ill or incapacitated in some way.

[gwheezie]

80. You are wrong

[former9thward]

82. Well that settles it.

[gwheezie]

83. Yes it does

we don't have early voting or mail in voting here. We can do absentee only if we are not going to be in the county on Election Day. The deadline to request absentee is a month before Election Day. If you find out after the deadline that you can't be in the county it is too late to request absentee. You have to prove you will be out of the county you can't say I don't know what my work schedule is yet so give me one anyway.

[former9thward]

86. What backward state do you live in?

[gwheezie]

87. Virginia

It's very frustrating. After I was not able to vote because I got stuck at work years ago I take a vacation day every year so I can vote. I am lucky I have a job with vacation days. I start early in the day and vote and then give rides for people who are having difficulty getting in to vote. I live in a rural county. We have no public transportation hell we don't have one building with an escalator in it in the whole county but we do have grain elevators.

[Blue_Tires]

90. My mom with limited mobilty has been voting early since '06 or '08

If you work all day, you'd probably be eligible...

[gwheezie]

97. Yes if you know in time to request a ballot

a simple change of adding a few days or allowing absentee without requiring an excuse would be better.

[oldandhappy]

7. Too busy is a choice.

Polls are open 12 hours. If you live in a state with vote-by-mail you have a whole month to vote. Most states have some early voting options. And how can you forget with the mind-numbing number of TV ads??!! Maybe 1% had an insurmountable problem. The others found voting to be not a priority. No excuses.

[TheKentuckian]

9. Wagging your finger won't get a single additional vote.

Some folks need some help. 12 hours is meaningless when it starts after your bus and ends before you get home, that is reality for real people, most often the very people we claim we are here to help but seem a bit more interested in throwing a "tut tut" and a roll of the eyes at than anything else.

[yeoman6987]

12. Ok that MIGHT be 5 percent of those not voting

I know....I am being generous with that percentage. What about the other 95 percent or those who managed to vote in 2012????? Bottom line is they just didn't want to vote for a wide variety of reasons.

[TheKentuckian]

14. I don't get the disinterest in making it easier to vote. Seems to be more than a sliver to me.

[RobinA]

36. I Am All For

making voting easier AND I think "no time" is frequently an excuse for "couldn't be bothered." I think Election Day should be a holiday and I believe that so doing would increase the turnout. Human nature being what it is. I've been "couldn't be bothered" a few times in my life and probably would have voted on those days if I hadn't had to make time to vote. On the other hand, when I've wanted to make the time I have. My brother-in-law is a pilot and is frequently in another country on election day, but he manages to vote absentee. It is possible in almost all circumstances.

However, I do think turnout is important to the country. Important enough to help those who could but just don't find it easier to get to the polls.

[davidn3600]

13. OK, now...come on...

Most states have early voting for weeks. There are absentee ballots.

In the end, the people who didn't vote...the vast majority of them simply didn't care enough about it to make time to vote.

Let me ask this...what do you want? Do you want all mail-in ballots? If so, what will be the excuse when people say, "I was too busy and forgot to mail it in?"

Perhaps the reason people were not interested in this election was because they thought the candidates fucking suck! A lot of Americans are growing sick and tired of partisan politics. The favorability for the Republicans is very low, but that favorability for the Democrats ain't nothing to be proud about either.

[SoapBox]

15. Baloney...

And I agree with others in regard to excuses, excuses, excuses.

Voting is a RIGHT and a privilege...people over time and around the world have died trying to get the Right to Vote. Leave it to lazy ass Americans to just casually toss it aside because they didn't have time...I'll bet they had time to text or make some dumb phone call or look at People Magazine or swing into Starbucks or....on it goes.

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses.

[LittleGirl]

16. We moved but I called the city clerk

and had an absentee ballot mailed to us. As we left for the airport, we put our ballots in the mailbox. And there's a run off count going on so my vote and my spouse's vote did count (eventually).

Voting should be easier. It should not be on one day in November. It could be a mail in ballot. Registering should be automatic like signing up for mail delivery. We make it so damn complicated, many people, me included asked myself for years, why bother.

[4lbs]

17. SOLUTION: Make election day on Sunday. It always bugged me that elections were held

during the work week.

Make it Sunday, like other countries (i.e. Mexico). Then the vast majority of the country won't have to worry about work or getting the kids to school.

Yeah, yeah.... "But... But.... NFL Football is on Sunday!" Go vote at 9:00 or 10:00am, before the game.

Oh, and this bull about "Can't vote on Sunday, because that's God's day."

Umm... again, Mexico holds it's elections on Sunday, and that country is 95% Catholic, with the vast majority of the population being very religious. Still doesn't prevent them from holding elections on "God's rest day."

[DetlefK]

25. +1

In Germany, elections are also on Sunday. (And we use paper-ballots.)

[ctaylors6]

40. 27 states +DC have no-excuse absentee voting

3 vote entirely by mail. That's even easier than Sunday voting.

6 additional states have early voting including at least one that has Sunday voting.

[4lbs]

48. I agree. Do all of that. Make it as easy as possible to vote.

[jeff47]

49. I'd recommend Saturday and Sunday.

Make it both days. And require employers to give one of those two days off - you can work that Saturday but not that Sunday, while someone else at your store can work Sunday, but not that Saturday.

Or much more simple: Dump in-person voting for vote-by-mail.

[4lbs]

51. Even better. I am all for giving voters every opportunity and ease to vote.

The more people vote, the better we are all off.

[gwheezie]

89. People work weekends

I used to work double shifts on sat and sun

[rollin74]

18. in my home state (Nevada) you have 2 weeks of early voting, including weekends

multiple locations throughout the county to choose from (not limited to one local polling place) including supermarkets, shopping centers, libraries etc.

if you don't bother to vote during early voting or on election day around here, it's because you don't want to and weren't going to bother to vote anyway

most people don't much care about the mid term elections

turnout in NV was 45% for the 2014 mid-terms
down from over 80% for the 2012 general election

[branford]

20. With all due respect, bullshit!

Somehow most managed to vote for Obama. Twice.

I believe that in the vast majority of instances, it's usually laziness or lack of a priority of voting in a non-presidential year. Moreover, not only was the sample size very small, it would be entirely unsurprising if many chose to provide an untruthful answer that is more socially acceptable (e.g., scheduling conflict), than admit to sloth or lack of interest or information, particularly given the election results.

I would additionally note that an unknown number of those who didn't vote may have preferred the Republican candidate.

[spinbaby]

29. An anecdote...

A friend from southern Florida told me that it takes hours to vote in his (heavily Democratic) area and that people were willing to wait that long for a presidential election but not for a mid term.

[ctaylors6]

75. Florida has no-excuse absentee voting nt

[Odin2005]

21. If you work 2 jobs from 6AM to 8PM then voting is IMPOSSIBLE.

And the PTB like it that way because it keep the poors from voting.

[ctaylors6]

42. In Minnesota

if you're still there, you can vote absentee without an excuse. Here's the info in case you need it for the next election:
https://mnvotes.sos.state.mn.us/ABRegistration/ABRegistrationStep1.aspx

I think it says you don't even have to be registered to vote to vote by absentee ballot.

[Travis_0004]

44. except for early voting and absentee voting.

Admittedly, not every state has no excuse absentee voting, which they should, but at least the majority do.

[SoCalDem]

22. Where I live, people often leave for work at 4AM (or earlier)

and depending on traffic, get home at 6:30 or later... If there's a wreck or road work or they have to stop & pick up kids at daycare, they could easily arrive back home after poll closing time..

[JonLP24]

23. To those calling bullshit

Why did turnout vary by income? Why does public sector have better turnout than private? Why do managers have better turnout than laborers?

Meanwhile the GOP continues their war on voting

Republicans have long tried to drive Democratic voters away from the polls. "I don't want everybody to vote," the influential conservative activist Paul Weyrich told a gathering of evangelical leaders in 1980. "As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down." But since the 2010 election, thanks to a conservative advocacy group founded by Weyrich, the GOP's effort to disrupt voting rights has been more widespread and effective than ever. In a systematic campaign orchestrated by the American Legislative Exchange Council – and funded in part by David and Charles Koch, the billionaire brothers who bankrolled the Tea Party – 38 states introduced legislation this year designed to impede voters at every step of the electoral process.

All told, a dozen states have approved new obstacles to voting. Kansas and Alabama now require would-be voters to provide proof of citizenship before registering. Florida and Texas made it harder for groups like the League of Women Voters to register new voters. Maine repealed Election Day voter registration, which had been on the books since 1973. Five states – Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia – cut short their early voting periods. Florida and Iowa barred all ex-felons from the polls, disenfranchising thousands of previously eligible voters. And six states controlled by Republican governors and legislatures – Alabama, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin – will require voters to produce a government-issued ID before casting ballots. More than 10 percent of U.S. citizens lack such identification, and the numbers are even higher among constituencies that traditionally lean Democratic – including 18 percent of young voters and 25 percent of African-Americans.

Taken together, such measures could significantly dampen the Democratic turnout next year – perhaps enough to shift the outcome in favor of the GOP. "One of the most pervasive political movements going on outside Washington today is the disciplined, passionate, determined effort of Republican governors and legislators to keep most of you from voting next time," Bill Clinton told a group of student activists in July. "Why is all of this going on? This is not rocket science. They are trying to make the 2012 electorate look more like the 2010 electorate than the 2008 electorate" – a reference to the dominance of the Tea Party last year, compared to the millions of students and minorities who turned out for Obama. "There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-gop-war-on-voting-20110830#ixzz3JK61jZTe
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

[davidn3600]

63. The rich have always been more interested in the political process than the poor

It's not necessarily because of access to the polls. The rich become more financially invested.

Just like with the stock market, when you have money in it, you pay more attention to it.

[B Calm]

28. I guess they need to educate themselves on early voting?

[jeff47]

50. In my county, the early voting location was far from all bus service.

And had very limited parking for those that have cars.

Early voting helps, but it doesn't fix everything. Additionally, it can be easily manipulated by Republicans - they're the ones who determined where the early voting location was.

[gwheezie]

30. Not all states are the same

i live in Virginia. We have no early voting and to do absentee you have to request it a month ahead of time and have to have a reason. My poll is open from 6 to 7. I didn't vote one year because I was stuck at work. I work 1 1/2 hours from my polling place. I left for work at 0530 and didn't get home until 2030. I did not know my schedule in time to request an absentee ballot. I think all states should allow voting for a number of days including the weekend. All states should allow mail in ballots. This is archaic and embarrassing.

[ctaylors6]

43. Virginia is one

of the 14 or so states remaining that don't have no-excuse absentee voting OR early voting. I agree completely - it's archaic.

[JaneyVee]

31. Exactly what the rich want.

[baldguy]

34. I can't believe the people here belittleing the hardships some poor people go through.

There was a time my normal day started at 5AM. I worked one job 5:30-10:30, then started my 2nd job at 11AM & worked through to 7:30PM, then had a 45 min drive home. Every day. No time there to take off to vote.

I also realize that there are many, many, many people who have it tougher than I did. If I had to reply on public transportation, forget it!

If you don't think obstacles to voting doesn't suppress Democratic turnout disproportionally, and isn't intentional, then you're living in another world. We need to campaign to make voting easier, and remove obstacles to voting. Not admonish people who suffer from those obstacles.

[FSogol]

38. Choo-choo! Here comes the Excuse Train!

[Orangepeel]

39. In some places, voting was harder than it was last time. Other places it wasn't

I don't know percentage of places have early voting and/or no excuse necessary absentee, but it is a lot of places that had low turnout.

[badtoworse]

41. Excuses. You can vote before or after working hours

I voted at 6:30 am and there was no line.

[jeff47]

52. Yeah, that works great when your workday starts at 6am and ends at 7pm.

[badtoworse]

53. If those are your hours, you get an absentee ballot

Sorry, there is simply no excuse for not voting.

[jeff47]

59. Which isn't available since I'm in the county on election day.

Gotta be an invalid or out of the county on election day to vote by absentee.

Early voting? No bus service near the early voting location. Yes, singular. Also has terrible parking if you happen to own a car.

Now, in my particular case I'm actually 2 doors down from the polling place, and don't have 6am to 7pm hours. But I'm also aware that not everyone is me.

[badtoworse]

61. Voting is a pain in the ass for some people

That's unfortunate, but in the end, it comes down to how high of a priority it is for the voter. Someone here posted that Boomers would crawl over broken glass to vote, but that younger voters, in many cases, can't be bothered.

[jeff47]

62. Yes, it's clearly worth losing your two jobs to vote.

As a bonus, you get to vote for people who slashed the welfare and food stamps you now need since you are no longer employed.

Yes, it's all those lazy kid's fault. Choosing food and shelter for their family over voting.

[badtoworse]

64. Frame it however you want. I don't believe there are that many who could not make some arrangement.

Sure, there are probably a few, but I believe that in the great majority of cases, it just wasn't important enough to the person in question.

[jeff47]

65. Of course. Your reality is the only one that counts. (nt)

[badtoworse]

67. Whatever.

[laundry_queen]

100. +1. Sad. nt

[ctaylors6]

77. Just curious

what state are you in?

[Alittleliberal]

55. With all due respect

There has to be tens of thousands of voting stations across the country. Ever been to one in Manhattan? Chicago? LA? Lol no line

Lot's of people in this country have long commutes or work multiple jobs. Lot's of poor people can't remember the last time they had a day off let alone a vacation. You think 2 weeks is enough for a single mother who works 2 jobs and has 1 day off a month? That is a very real situation in this country. Check your privilege please.

[badtoworse]

57. See Post 53

[Alittleliberal]

58. 19 states have no Absentee voting

Of the 31 that have some form only 4 are states that allow people to do it year after year.

[badtoworse]

60. That should be corrected, but the rules are the same for everyone in states without absentee ballots

[sakabatou]

46. Just make voting day a national holiday

[Liberal Veteran]

93. That won't help much either.

Hell, even Thanksgiving and Christmas are a crap shoot for a lot of workers in non-essential jobs. Labor Day, Veterans Day, Independence Day, Memorial Day, etc....might as well be another day for most low wage workers. Except, of course, public transportation would do their usual holiday schedule so taking the bus to your polling place would be more interesting. For single parents, finding someone to watch the kids since school is going to be out is going to be more interesting for that day. And to be brutally honest, making that day a national holiday would likely just encourage an overworked population to take Monday off as well (as personal time or schedule a day off) and turn it into a four day vacation rather than use the time to vote.

Colorado, Oregon, and Washington have gone to vote by mail. That is a system that would do better to give everyone registered an opportunity to cast their ballot.

[Denis 11]

54. This happened to me in 2012 (NT)

[gollygee]

56. Yup. I know someone who works 12-hour shifts that conflict with voting hours

She is a nurse and has a commute, and between the shift and the commute simply couldn't get to the polls. She tried to get an absentee ballot but was told working wasn't an reason in Michigan to get one.

[ctaylors6]

70. Michigan is one of the worst

in terms of making it easy to vote. Only a handful of states still have no form of early voting, and Michigan is one of them. As another poster said, it’s archaic. The other ones I know about: Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania

AND at least 3 of those have work-related absentee voting (e.g. Alabama, NH, Mississippi) - e.g. if your work shift is while the polls are open on election day.

Several others have early voting but only with an excuse (some allowed excuses are broader than others). Those include: New York, Delaware, Massachussetts, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina

Fortunately about 34 states have no-excuse early voting or absentee voting or both. And of course 3 have vote by mail.

I'm sorry Michigan is so difficult.

[gwheezie]

88. Same here in Virginia

I'm a nurse also but my schedule is not set. You can't get an absentee ballot here by saying I don't know my schedule.

[we can do it]

66. Absentee ballots? Early voting?

[Jenoch]

68. There is a law in Minnesota

that says employers MUST give their employees time off from work to vote at the polls. The polls are open from 7am to 8pm, plus there early voting by mail, so there is zero excuse to not vote in Minnesota.

[Rye Bread Pizza]

69. Employers should be required...

To give time off for voting. Just like they are required to for Guard & Reserve duty. Voting SHOULD be considered a duty.

[ctaylors6]

72. Most states do have laws about time off for voting

According to nolo.com summary:
The laws of almost every state require employers to allow employees to take time off work to vote or participate in jury duty. These laws vary widely in the details, however -- some require employers to provide paid leave while others do not, some allow employers to require employees to provide written proof that they voted, and some actually impose criminal penalties on an employer who fires or otherwise penalizes an employee for taking time off work in order to vote.

here's the summary of the laws:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/taking-time-off-voting-jury-29708.html

I know that in reality that many workers do not feel comfortable taking time off work to vote. I just wanted to post the information for people's reference.

[gwheezie]

81. My job does allow an hour to vote

you could possibly vote in an hour if you are able to vote down the street from work. Many of my coworkers are 2 buses away from work or 50 + miles away. I would like to see a week or more of voting and mail in ballots. We don't have that in Virginia.

[ctaylors6]

85. Virginia is still

so difficult. Good news generally is that there are probably at most a dozen states left that make it so hard to vote. I'm sorry Virginia is one of them.

[Jenoch]

104. How do they get to work from 50+

miles away? They can take ten minutes or 30'minutes, and vote bdfore they head tonwork. Of course there are situations with when the work shift begins, bet there is also early/absentee voting. I still think most people who complain about not beint able to vote are only giving useless excuses about why they did not vote.

[gwheezie]

107. I think it should be easier to vote

my drive to work is 67 miles. We have one day to vote in this state. Some of my coworkers who take the bus travel over an hour. Almost everyone I work with voted but I don't see why some states get several days to vote. Mail in votes. And no excuse absentee ballots and my state doesn't. Why make it hard.

[Rex]

71. The system is created that way, along with gerrymandering

to keep the working poor out of the voting booths. If D.C. was serious about voting, they would make it a national holiday.

[MADem]

73. I have a similar objection to the Iowa Caucuses.

They don't tell us what the taxi drivers, shift workers, and others who have to keep their communities going in the evening hours think. Those meetings were designed for the days when the farmer finished his chores and the day was done. They don't fit now, either.

We should let people mail in their ballots--we'd get much better participation, at least.

A lot of people only care about Presidential contests--in fact, though, those matter the least, even though they get the most press. A governor and a state legislature can make your life more miserable on a day-to-day basis than a President can.

[malaise]

74. The law in little poor ass Jamaica states that every citizen of voting rights age

is given three hours off to vote on election day. Staff and their management organize the roster so that everyone can both work and vote.

They don't want you to vote in the USA

[liberal N proud]

78. Between early voting and polls open from 6:30am to 7:30pm

That is one of the lamest excuses one can give.

That said, voting should take place over two or three days in addition to early voting. But once again, we (the USA) has laws all over the place that restrict rather than promote voting.

[gwheezie]

84. No early voting here

[liberal N proud]

92. What are your polling hours?

Go before or after work unless you work a 24 hour shift. Even then, you should be allowed to go vote. At one time that was required, employers had to allow time for their employees to vote.

If nothing else, Vote Absentee!

[gwheezie]

98. 0600 to 1900

The day I couldn't vote I had to leave my house at 0530 to get to work. I was supposed to get out and be home by 1700. I got stuck at work and didn't get home until 2000. If we had early voting or no excuse absentee voting I would have voted After that experience I ask for a vacation day on Election Day.

[MFM008]

79. vote by mail

Works in WA well. No more dates to mess with..just ballot in by 8pm voting day.

[krawhitham]

91. I used early voting, it took a grand total of 5 minutes

Ohio

[applegrove]

96. African American precincts have longer wait times to vote.

[One_Life_To_Give]

94. People make time for what is important to them

We don't have that many illicit sweatshops to keep millions from getting to the polls. People simply are not motivated to cast a vote for one candidate or the other.

[AndyTiedye]

101. Maybe the boss doesn't want his employees to vote, either

We don't have that many illicit sweatshops to keep millions from getting to the polls.

Because running that kind of sweatshop Is perfectly legal here.

[Hoyt]

102. A ton of people need to take advantage of early voting, absentee ballots, etc.

That is simply not an excuse for at least 90% of us. There are some ID ussues, getting to polls, registion issues, etc., but most of us have no excuse for not voting nowadays.

[Cha]

106. I can imagine.. it's damn hard to squeeze extra time in sometimes.. even for something as important

as Voting. And, repubs make it as hard as possible in some states.

I'm sorry for those peeps who didn't get to vote because they didn't have time. At least they would have and weren't sitting home because of ignorance.

Mahalo applegrove~