There is a lot that’s wrong about the current election cycle, from the disturbing trend to vilify opponents from afar rather than engage them in open debate about policies and platform to the equally troublesome partisanship that increasingly infuses politics at the local, state and national levels. There is, however, one thing about this midterm election that is exemplary: Early voting.
In Hamilton County, in Tennessee and Georgia, and in the 30 other states and District of Columbia that currently permit early or no-excuse absentee voting, voters have been casting their ballots in record or near-record numbers for a mid-term election. That’s a boon for participatory democracy; it means that more voters are likely to participate in the election.
In Hamilton County that’s certainly true. Charlotte Mullis-Morgan, administrator of elections, reports that 25,669 votes were cast during the early voting period that concluded on Oct. 28. The elections division of the Tennessee Department of State reports that 736,885 early voting and absentee ballots were cast during the same period. Neither matches the total of early votes cast in the 2008 presidential election year, but both exceed early vote totals for 2002, the last time there was a comparable ballot in the county and the state.
High interest in the governors’ elections in Tennessee and Georgia and hotly fought contests for seats in the U.S. Congress in several districts in both states have prompted voter interest in the current campaign. So have races for state Senate and House seats, elections in various cities and yea or nay votes on a variety of local and state amendments. Moreover, many voters seem to view this midterm election as a plebiscite on the Obama administration and its policies. All of those factors, no doubt, played a role in boosting the number of early voters here and across the country.
Whatever the case, the increasing opportunity to vote early is welcome. By tradition, Election Day was just that — a single day, a Tuesday — on which everyone went to the polls. Long ago, when the United States was still an agrarian nation, Congress mandated Tuesday as the day of the week to vote. It was, historians say, a time most suitable for farmers and those who observed the Sabbath. Having a single day to vote might have made sense long ago. It does not now, when work, family and other responsibilities can make it extraordinarily difficult to do so within such a narrow span of time.
The remedy, as many states have discovered, is to significantly expand the window of opportunity for voters.
Though rules vary from state to state, those that allow early or no-excuse absentee voting generally permit those who wish to cast a ballot to do so over days or weeks. Sometimes, such voting is confined to a single site, generally at a central election office. That’s not often the case, though. Most states and local voting authorities now open several locations for early voting. In Hamilton County for instance, there were three satellite sites, in addition to the Election Commission offices on Amnicola Highway, open for early balloting.
Though some grumble about the advent of early voting, it does serve useful purposes. It allows voters to cast a ballot at a time of their choosing rather than risk not being able to get to the polls on Election Day. The process also eases the burdens of election officials. The more folks who vote early, the fewer there will be in line on Election Day.
Clearly, early voting is popular and successful. States that have not approved the process should consider it. Indeed, residents of those states should demand the opportunity to vote early. The notion that everyone who wants to vote should be compelled to do so during a limited number of hours on a single day is no longer the American way.