I Don't Like Early Voting

I'll explain more in a minute, but first this:

You’d never know it from the avalanche of TV ads, direct-mail pieces and phone calls that voters will receive in October, but most campaigns have only another week or two to change the likely outcome of their contests.

Sure, the midterm elections are still five weeks away, but the combination of early voting in many states and the difficulty of cutting through the coming clutter means that the best opportunity for campaigns to change voter attitudes is quickly coming to an end.

More than 30 states allow voters to cast their ballots well before Election Day. Early voting begins Oct. 9 in Arizona and Oct. 11 in Illinois. Early voting in Indiana starts 29 days before the Nov. 2 general election. In Wisconsin, it’s three weeks before Election Day. In Florida, early voting starts 15 days before the election.

Early voting has changed the tempo of campaigns, lessening the value of late TV spots and late campaign developments.

And absentee voting has been going on for some time in certain states. Thousands if not millions of voters have already voted, weeks before Election Day.

I don't like early voting. I understand why they allow it. It's supposed to make it easier for people to vote and to help encourage more people to participate, but do we really want to make it that easy? Having early voting and easy absentee voting simply provides the vote fraud organizations like ACORN with more opportunities for chicanery.

I don't mind if in big elections the polls are open a day or two before Election Day to cut down on the crowds. But allowing people to cast ballots weeks before the election means that they won't be making completely informed decisions. Late breaking news in a race could completely change their vote but it will be too late to do anything about it. I guess if you're a die hard for one particular party it may not matter, but certainly the independents ought to wait until Election Day to make sure they've got all the facts.

And I understand that late breaking news can work against my favorite candidates - the so-called "October surprise".  In 2000 the George Bush drunk driving arrest story broke on Friday just before the election and caused Bush tremendous damage in the polls that couldn't be corrected before Election Day.  That news probably contributed to the closeness of the race and the 36 day recount.

In 2004 Osama bin Laden chimed in on the Friday before the election with a video that reminded voters that bin Laden's candidate was John Kerry, and that certainly didn't make Kerry's chances any better.

Personally, I think voting should require some dedication and effort on the part of the voters.  People who can't be bothered to go to the polls on Election Day shouldn't be pampered, they should be ignored.  If they don't care enough to make the effort to participate, heck with 'em.