What's not to love about early voting?

[marmar]

What’s not to love about early voting?

Susan J. Demas
October 27, 2024 5:25 am


....(snip)....

Just like at the beginning of the pandemic when we were all locked inside our houses, you tend to lose track of time as a new mom. Even though I was a reporter (on maternity leave), I have to admit that I didn’t realize the midterm elections were creeping up so quickly until a canvasser showed up at my door in October.

.....(snip)....

That began to change when voters overwhelmingly passed Proposal 3 of 2018, which allows no-reason absentee voting, same-day voter registration, automatic registration and more.

My kids, who are 21 and 22, have only know what it’s like to vote in Michigan under these new rules that make the process a lot less of a chore.

That’s one reason why Michigan had the highest youth voter turnout in the country during the 2022 midterms. Another reason was that we had an abortion rights measure on the ballot, which caused students at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University to flood the polls. Many of them weren’t registered to vote, but were able to do so on Election Day because of these voting reforms.

....(snip)....

Meanwhile, in Iowa, there are a lot more barriers to vote than there were when I lived there a couple decades ago. It’s one of 10 states that enacted absentee voting restrictions after former President Donald Trump lost to President Joe Biden in 2020, which has caused some confusion, especially for seniors who had grown accustomed to a simple process. .................(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/2024/10/27/whats-not-to-love-about-early-voting/

[hermetic]

1. I sure loved it

I went Wednesday; drove 25 miles to the county seat to fill out my ballot. Early voting had been going on for a week and news said the first few days were really busy. When I got there I found a short line which moved quickly as they had 8 people to check you in and hand out ballots. In and out, 20 minutes tops. Everyone was very nice and smiling. Afterwards the sense of relief was immense.

Now I'm free to worry about all the other crap.

[Dulcinea]

2. I love it!

I voted Friday morning the 18th. In & out in less than 10 minutes! I always vote early in person, except for 2020 when we filled out absentee ballots & dropped them off in a drop box. My husband also voted early. Now we just have to wait for our daughters' absentee ballots to be processed. Both of them are away at college, one out of state. We're in GA.

[GoodRaisin]

3. As far as voting goes, to me election day is just the last day of voting.

Of course, it does bring it to an end. Or used to, before Trump.

[Skittles]

4. it's the only way I ever vote

I don't like the idea of mailing it in - it sort of reminds me of "phoning it in" - but I don't like the Election Day crowds

[dalton99a]

5. "We did it quickly and we did it quietly"

Iowa’s law - passed less than six months after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and falsely blamed Joe Biden's victory on widespread voter fraud - implemented sweeping voting restrictions at multiple steps in the absentee voting process, during early in-person voting, and on Election Day. It’s led to fewer people voting, especially by absentee ballot.

Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation, took credit for the bill, and executive director Jessica Anderson praised Iowa for passing “common-sense reforms … to secure our nation’s election.”

“Iowa was the first state that we got to work in, and we did it quickly and we did it quietly,” Anderson said in a video obtained by Mother Jones magazine.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/25/absentee-ballot-application-iowa-restrictions/74327984007/