Early Voting

stamperben said:

Please vote the poll before reading the article. After reading please comment.

Article here.

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Early voting, IMHO, offers the best opportunity for an informed election.

It's worth noting that the calls against it are coming from decidedly liberal publications. That point was apparently not missed by the author(s) or your article, as evidenced in the concluding remarks:

NightHawkeye said:

It's worth noting that the calls against it are coming from decidedly liberal publications.

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How do you figure?

That point was apparently not missed by the author(s) or your article, as evidenced in the concluding remarks:

I wish the calls to cut back on early voting were merely partisan. But I fear not.
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I don't think that meant what you think it did.

stamperben said:

Then I'm sure you will document that. Just an oversight on your part, right?

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Politico and WaPo.

stamperben said:

I might argue the "decidedly liberal" tag you put on them for I see the HuffPo, Mother Jones and the Nation as being decidedly liberal, but instead will settle for links.

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I would call the HuffPo "radical" ... though I tend to like Mother Jones on occasion.

I voted yes since I am an early voter. I like having the luxury of being able to research candidates and vote at my own pace.

It would be nice for there to be 4-7 days of voting to help people working get to the polls.

NightHawkeye said:

Politico and WaPo.

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The Washington Post article was written by George Will.

iluvatar5150 said:

The Washington Post article was written by George Will.

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George Will is the WaPo equivalent of Joe Scarborough.

George Will used to be the Newsweek equivalent of Joe Scarborough.

I selected the "no opinion/don't care" option.

The act of early voting itself doesn't concern me...if everyone were honest (however we know that's not the case)

Since there are dishonest people, I do have concerns about fraud opportunities surrounding both early & absentee voting.

miniverchivi said:

I selected the "no opinion/don't care" option.

The act of early voting itself doesn't concern me...if everyone were honest (however we know that's not the case)

Since there are dishonest people, I do have concerns about fraud opportunities surrounding both early & absentee voting.

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I'm not a smart enough guy to understand how fraud issues regarding early voting wouldn't also be problems on election day.

SnowCal said:

I'm not a smart enough guy to understand how fraud issues regarding early voting wouldn't also be problems on election day.

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No ID is required for absentee ballots which go out in the mail. Of course, sending the ballot to the voter's address of record is its own safeguard.

I voted no. Deadlines are a necessary fact of life. We schedule our activities around them every day, be it getting up, going to work, a meeting, an anniversary, or whatever. Deadlines help us establish our priorities, both individually and as a society.

The only value I see in voting early is maybe as a convenience for those who have already made up their minds how they are going to vote, regardless what information comes to light in the interim. But "convenience" has never been the utopian ideal many make of it, often making our lives more complex in the process (among other things even less agreeable).

But the good salesman will always attempt to get their customer to make a decision as quick as possible, which I'm sure has its parallel in politics as well.

stamperben said:

You should be familiar enough with the Texas early voting. It is not only mailing in a ballot, but also where you go to a polling place and do the very same thing you do on election day - show up, show your voter ID, sign your name and then vote the ballot.

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Note that I didn't say early voting in my earlier response ... I specified absentee balloting.

Early voting at polling places should be subject to essentially the same safeguards as election day voting.