When early voting closed at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Northern Regional Center, there were 274 people in line, a lot of them standing out in the wet and cold. The site supervisor Deb Lipman made sure no more people could get in line but assured all those already in line that they could vote. Because of the long ballot and the new law banning straight-ticket voting, it took a long time but everyone had voted by about 3:45 p.m.
We must applaud those hardy and patriotic people who stayed in line to be able to exercise their right to vote.
But why is voting so difficult? It is a right; we are always urged to vote. The rules sometimes make it difficult.
Why not register everyone who is eligible to vote when they turn 18? The federal government manages to find young men to register them for a military draft that no longer exists; why not extend the net to include young women and register them all to vote? Why not register everyone who completes the naturalization process and becomes a United States citizen?
Why do we have to take time out from our work and lives to stand in line to vote? Ballots are mailed to registered voters in Colorado, Oregon and Washington and people can take their time to mark them before mailing them back or, at least in Colorado, dropping them off at convenient drive-up sites.
The result has been sharply increased voter participation. Isn’t that a good idea? Why don’t we in North Carolina adopt such a rational – and low cost – method of voting?
Why do we have skewed voting districts with many so favorable to a particular party that there is no real choice for voters? Why not – as has been suggested – have a nonpartisan election commission charged with drawing neutral voting districts? It is done in other states.
Voting is a right, not a privilege, and the broadest possible participation should be encouraged by society and political parties. It should be easy and convenient to vote.
What do you think?
