MAKE VOTING DAY A NATIONAL HOLIDAY: Good idea or bad one?

[tom_paine]

Hey DU, I just had a thought, since this is something of a "initial test marketing of an idea to the base", if you think it's a REALLY GOOD idea, give it a rec, too.

(yeesh, after eight years of exposure to Bushiganda I now have, like, the equivalent of a Bachelors Degree in advertising, PR, marketing, and propaganda, as does every other DUer, probably)

NOTE: If you think my request for recs is egocentric or horrible for other reasons, please feel free not to vote, but kindly takle your insults elsewhere on this month of celebration, please.

[tom_paine]

1. Cool results after 5 min. I like it.

[Skink]

2. Early voting is better.

[tom_paine]

5. You are right, Skink. Know what's better than that? BOTH together.

"When someone tells you we can't, we respond with that timeless creed, 'YES WE CAN!'"
--President Barrack HUSSEIN Obama, Nov 4th, 2008

[csziggy]

8. Early voting is terrific but at least this election voting on The Election Day

had important significant to many people. For instance, the 61 year old man who voted for the first time in his life - he could have more easily gone to early voting but this time he wants to go to the polling place and place his first vote on that one day.

Both are great - freedom to also cast absentee ballots is also important.

[99th_Monkey]

15. Both/And is even better. ~nt~

[orleans]

3. 1st recommendation. n/t

[csziggy]

4. Why not make it a three day weekend? My hubby suggested Veteran's Day

And have the polls open from midnight Friday to midnight Monday. With the final day on Veteran's Day, candidates could appeal to everybody's patriotism to get the heck out and vote.

While the county I live in had an 84.89% turn out, one county here in Florida only had a 38% turn out. Appalling numbers IMO.

[tom_paine]

6. Great idea. DU may well be one of the premier think-tanks on the internet.

So many great minds coming together, percolating and grinding against each other (not alwyas a pretty thing) in the animating and unpredictable contest of LIBERTY!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

[gollygee]

7. Veteran's Day is a great idea

Veterans fought for our right to, among other things, VOTE.

[csziggy]

10. To add to it - Veteran's Day would be the election day

Early voting nationwide for two weeks before. Absentee ballots available to anyone who would rather vote by mail. Regular polling places open over the three weekend which ends on Veteran's Day.

The only problem - many polling places around here are churches and having voting on a Sunday could be a problem. Early voting was held in branch libraries, but there are not enough of those to substitute for regular polling places.

[gollygee]

12. Two weeks of having the school gym and cafeteria used up

might not work too well either.

[csziggy]

14. Here is an idea - Send everyone paper ballots and put optical scanners at every ATM

If the same companies that manage and audit ATMs managed and audited voting, maybe there would be more verifiable voting. People could make their selections at their leisure, then mail in the ballots or take them to the most convenient place to scan them in. Or take them to their polling place on Election Day. Whatever they want. No requesting absentee ballots since every registered voter gets one automatically. No standing in line waiting to be verified and waiting for a booth to mark your ballot. No time limit for marking the ballots. Paper ballots for everyone!

Just kidding - maybe.

[tom_paine]

16. Too much opportunity for fraud: centralized voting that takes place transparently before the eyes of

BOTH PARTIES and any members of the interested public who want to drop by and show their kids the gift they will one day be left to maintain and cherish themselves.

[bunkerbuster1]

9. While I support anything that'd get more people to the polls...

Our national holidays have tended to be Mondays (i.e., three day weekends) and I suspect that would be the case with an Election day holiday.

And I suspect a lot of folks would wind up leaving for some other part of the country/world; they'd be away from their polling place and have to vote absentee.

So I suspect it wouldn't actually increase voting.

I'd rather simply mandate that nobody could be fired for taking however long it takes to vote, not just two hours, as is the current law (at least here in GA.)

[trayfoot]

11. You have a very sound point, bunker.

I would like to "nationalize" rules and procedures for voting in federal elections - same methods of voting, same number of poll hours open, early voting in ALL states, paper trail or paper ballots in all states, bipartisan election officials (like reps. from both parties), uniform rules on recounts, etc. The states can arrange their own elections however they want, but elections for federal office should have UNIFORM methods and procedures!

[Mariana]

13. My dad has the best idea.

Have all the polls open, in every state and in every time zone, for the same 24 or maybe 48 hour period. Then not only does everyone get a chance to go vote in their off hours, but then all the polls close at the same time. That would put an end to any of the bellyaching about how the results are called in the east coast states before west coast people have even got to the polls.

For example, the polls would be open from 7pm Monday to 7pm Tuesday in the Eastern time zone, and 4pm to 4pm on the west coast.

Early voting is a fine alternative.

[csziggy]

17. Yes, that is a good idea - but it needs to be more than 24 hours

At least 48 or maybe as much as 72.

Then there would not be a problem with Hawaii and Alaska polls being open the same hours as the continental states.

But for many that work long hours there does still need to be provision to make sure they get time to vote. I met people this time around that routinely work 13 to 14 hours a day, often six days a week. For them, the early voting being available one Saturday and one Sunday here in Florida enabled them to vote. Even if the polls were open for 24 or 48 hours, if it were on days they work, they would not have time to vote, given the long days, traveling to & from work, meals and sleep.

[Mariana]

18. We could do both, then.

24 hours of early voting over the weekend, AND the simultaneous openings and closings for Election Day.

[csziggy]

19. Yes, as early voting has proven, the more chances people get to vote, the more they will

Our county had the highest percentage in Florida of registered voters cast votes this election - almost 85%. Between the efforts to get out the students from several universities, colleges and community colleges, the efforts to get out the African American votes and the general efforts to get out every voter, this county was blanketed. Anyone who did not vote this time around is not deserving of being a citizen, IMO. There is no way they could not have known about this election and not have had every opportunity to vote one way or another!