The Runback: Early Voting Is Not Practical
There are plenty of opportunities for people to vote without the hassle of early voting.
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News and Politics
"Catholics for Cox" Event Features Controversial Priest: In a confusing setup, lapsed Catholic Dan Cox brought in a lapsed priest to appeal to faithful Catholics
Church Militant Promoted Dan Cox Rally: The closed door rally was promoted by the fringe, political "Catholic" group
Digital License Plates Are The Camel's Nose Under the Tent: While the digital license plate sounds cool, it is merely the start of a move toward higher taxes, more regulation, and reduced privacy.
Few elections will be easier to understand than 2022: It's the economy: The comparison is clear; a choice between economic policies that work and those that do not.
Unions Try To Whitewash Fitzwater's Racism: Jessica Fitzwater admitted she's a racist. Her union allies are now trying to erase Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
When Will OnePasadena Apologize? OnePasadena has never apologized for defending the behavior of a teacher removed from the classroom.
Stating the Obvious…
The Monday Thought
I went to vote early on Thursday, the first day of early voting. I got to the Severna Park Library at exactly 12 noon. I got back in my car at exactly 12:09.
That’s it. It took me nine minutes to vote.
Early voting was once hawked as the solution to boost voter participation. That turns out to not exactly be true, as voter participation has increased mainly due to the greater acceptance of mail-in voting by the populace after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, early voting was one potential reason cited for decreasing voter turnout.
The increased turnout is exactly why early voting needs to be done away with.
Right now, there are 94 early voting stations in Maryland. This means that well over 1,000 volunteers are needed to staff those polls during early voting. Those workers work long days for low pay. Of what benefit is that to Marylanders?
Additionally, the alternatives to early voting in Maryland remain plentiful. Maryland has, for nearly a decade now, allowed no-excuse absentee voting. You can vote by mail for any reason whatsoever. This completely eliminates the need to vote early. You can vote in person or you can vote by mail. Those are the only two methods needed to make sure that everybody has easy access to submit their ballot.
Yes, early voting was convenient for me. But it is a convenience that I and the rest of Maryland just do not need. We have plenty of mechanisms in place to ensure people vote without the cost, expense, and inconvenience of early voting. It’s time to do away with it.