Progressive Idea of the Week: Uniform Voting Guidelines

When the first Tuesday in November was decided as the day for people to come and vote in elections, the decision to do so came from the fact that a couple of hundred years ago, people would need a day to travel from their farms to the urban areas where they could sell their produce and the vote. It was also seasonal as the harvesting season was about to end as winter approached. Furthermore, voting on weekends was considered a taboo because of the Holy Days of most faiths.

In this Twenty-First Society, most states have a form of early mail-in voting and early voting dates. This has helped people exercise their right to vote.

However, the rules do vary from state to state and this may be a good time to establish some minimum guidelines that states could add to. These guidelines should include:

1) The Distribution of Mail In Voting Ballots one month before the election. Voters can mail the ballots back in with a copy of their identification (Personally, I do not see the problem with this and a lot of progressive volunteers would do well to help those people that are eligible to vote to get the i.d.'s they need to exercise their constitutional right.) or drop it off at a polling location the official day of the election.

2) With the mail in voting ballots, give the voter the option to vote online by giving them access to a county website with a special access code. After verifying their identity with either the last digits of their social security or drivers license number along with their birthday, they can vote online.

3) The opening of Early Voting Locations at least twelve days (including weekends) before the official election.  For convenience, these locations can rotate every three since it would not be expected for all the locations to be open until the official Election Day. That would take care of the argument that some early voting locations are out of reach for some people to journey to.

4) Making the first Tuesday in November an official holiday for voting. Voting in elections should be a civic responsibility on par with honoring veterans on Veterans Day or Memorial Day. It potentially has more long-term significance than taking a full day off for Labor Day, Martin Luther King Day or Presidents Day. It should be a national holiday every two years (midterms when most Governors are running and Presidential). States that have elections in off years (Virginia, New Jersey, and Mississippi for example) can make those elections state holidays. It is the right thing to do.

Adopting these measures will surely increase voter turnout and shape public affairs in a positive way.