Seattle-style privacy voting booths // (c) Mike Kane/P-I
It all started with the Washington caucuses. Sure, I'd heard of caucuses before - you walk into a room full of people, ask them their opinions, and try and get them to come over to your side. But I didn't believe it - it sounded too much like Lord of the Flies.
Having voted in New Jersey and New York before, I was more of a primary gal. You know, you walk into a booth, pull a lever, push some buttons, and it's all over - bada bing, bada boom. End of story.
Caucusing definitely pushed me outside of my comfort zone, but I enjoyed the community-building aspect of it. So I was looking forward to emerging from behind the curtains of a voting machine on Tuesday and chatting with my neighbors at the requisite Election Day bake sale.
So boy was I surprised to find a.) no voting machines with curtains and levers (apparently we vote by ScanTron) and b.) a, not-so-bustling bake sale at my polling station. I had no idea how much of Washington - especially King County - now votes by mail.
I've thought a lot about the pros and cons of this since Election Day, and here's what I realized:
PROS: Voting by mail prevents incidents like the chaos at Tacoma polling stations or long lines in crowded states like New York and New Jersey. It encourages people to vote at their convenience, helping those who need to work on Election Day (although I still say it should be a national holiday) and granting privacy to voters who would otherwise need assistance in a voting booth. You can also fill out your ballot while researching candidates and initiatives in the comfort of your own home.
CONS: Voting is a reminder of what democracy looks like. King County poll workers lament the loss of community and worry that voting will become no different than "paying an electric bill." Also, there's the temptation to send in your ballot weeks in advance, before the issues have been fully hashed out. Most of all, absentee ballots seem especially susceptible to fraud. But both supporters and opponents agree there needs to be federal compliance before all-mail voting becomes a reality.
And it will... Nostalgia and realistic concerns aside, voting by mail is the wave of the future - or at least an experiment in reparing our broken voting sytem. I'm glad that Washington - in a climate of disenfranchised and frustrated voters who have grown cynical about the voting process - is pushing for change.
Comments
and of course, there is the biggest issue and reason for switching to VBM - our poll system cannot handle the sheer number of people who cast votes each election.
If voting becomes no different than paying an electric bill, we'll finally have Australia-style turnout! :)
Seriously, though, I understand the nostalgia aspect. I used to love going down to Martin Luther King School with my dad as he voted, and it was great to be able to go down with him once I turned 18. Once I moved into my own place, though, I really didn't feel motivated to go vote at my new polling place, and I've been an absentee voter ever since.
If I understand things correctly, this was the last election in which people even had the choice -- King and Pierce Counties are going all-mail next year.
Haha it's true - it'd be great to have people think of voting as something they do regularly (rather than a sporadic event that tries their patience).
But yes, you're right - we'll all be voting by mail in King County next time around. Given the serious problems we've seen with the infrastructure of our voting - like with our government - it's time for change.
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