Our Low Turnout System

EMPORIA, VA - There are no lines to vote in this sleepy town and 80 miles south of Richmond, but that doesn't mean turnout isn't high. When I asked a poll worker at the local social services office polling location she said "Oh it's very high, I can tell you that." As word streams in from around the country of long lines to vote, particularly in polling locations that are usually as quiet and empty as a church on Wednesday, it strikes me that over several decades of low turnout contests (presidential elections strain to buck 50% turnout of eligible voters) our entire election system has now come to orient itself towards low-turnout elections. All of a sudden we're finding out that if even two thirds of eligible voters decide to vote, and that would be high even for the estimates in this election, the system can't handle it.

Seems like the default should be an election system that is designed for and can process every single person on the polls. If there's spare capacity it doesn't seem too high a cost to pay to make sure everyone gets a chance to exercise the franchise.

Comments (16)

1. Completely in agreement! We also need a national voter registration system (like Selective Service) to end this ACORN nonsense (their detractors, I mean), and we need to make Election Day a national holiday to emphasis the importance of participation in our democracy and help folks ensure they have time to go vote.

   You have a good mind Chris, I like your stuff, keep up the good work.

   Posted by MajMike at 11/04/2008 @ 11:24am

2. I agree. I do like the idea that people turn 18, register to vote and that right is celebrated. Voting here in Baltimore Maryland is usually pretty convenient and today it was too - with only a 45 minute wait. Kids were milling around, new voters were getting their picture taken in their polling place and the mood was generally very high. I've voted in every election since I could (now 37) and I wish I could say the same for all of my peers. The schools are closed here in Baltimore for voting, and many of my co-workers took the day off to participate in various activities but there is still plenty of room for the national holiday idea. Thank you for your comments.

   Posted by JenniferPelton at 11/04/2008 @ 11:48am

3. If there's spare capacity it doesn't seem too high a cost to pay to make sure everyone gets a chance to exercise the franchise.

   While I agree with the sentimemnt, it fails the practicality test. We (tax payers) should not have to burden the cost of preparing for something that is not going to happen. Elections are not cheap, if we are expecting high turnouts we should plan for it and be flexible. Call it adaptive management. If we think turnout is going to be low we should not be wasting money to plan and prepare for voters who are not going to show up. Plenty of polling is done, we could get a good sense of likly turnout through some basic polling. This said everyone should be able to vote and not have to wait 6 hours in line. That by the way is one reason I file an absentee ballot even though I vote from home.

   Posted by Extraneous at 11/04/2008 @ 11:50am

4. make Election Day a national holiday. Posted by MajMike at 11/04/2008 @ 11:24am

   I agree that Election day should be a National Holiday. We have other national holidays that are somewhat frivolous in comparison to Election Day.

   I voted here in Des Moines,IA today. I was in and out in 15 minutes. Thats the way it should be everyehere. And Des Moines is a major city. We had paper ballots to. No electronic crap. We should have a nation wide paper ballot system.

   I get really frustrated and sympathize with all those people waiting hours to vote. That is un-american and ridiculous. Election Day should be a pleasant experience, not a trial by fire..

   Posted by chaoszen at 11/04/2008 @ 12:19pm

5. Many thanks to Rush Limbaugh for contributing to low turnout. Your early vitriol toward McCain will keep your anti-flipflopping faithful at home. Could RL be part of the vast left-wing conspiracy?

   Posted by Sorelish at 11/04/2008 @ 12:34pm

6. To extraneous: You can't have it both ways (are you a republican?). YES the voting system needs an overhaul. Your description (practicality) of planning lends to voter suppression. If one never knows what to expect each time we vote (i.e.where do I vote? will I be arrested for unpaid parking tickets?)...why participate or it's too risky to participate. Expense? Are you kidding me? Because of the Republican 8 year free for all...taxpayers were just committed to (forcefed) the biggest bailout in history...leading to the biggest deficit ever. Get a clue...voting should be celebrated (you go MijMike)...that's like celebrating everyone's life that has died in combat to spread democracy around the world (IRAQ). Voting is our right. No expense should be spared in seeing the very cornerstone of democracy is shared among ALL. Not just the elect few who can overcome the insurmountable obstacles placed before us.

   Posted by govote at 11/04/2008 @ 12:39pm

7. Posted by Sorelish at 11/04/2008 @ 12:34pm

   Most of them have a Winston Smith 1984 "memory hole" memory, Sorelish.

   Things Rush said a WEEK ago, that he now contradicts, they see no contradiction.

   Remember Limbaugh said back last winter-"If either of these guys (Huckabee or MCCAIN) win the nomination, it will destroy the Republican Party"...

   ask a ditto-head today (like PONTI or SJCHER) and they'll not even remember that he said that...or come up with some bizarre excuse.

   "Oceania has always been at war with EastAsia!"

   Posted by Maskdelta at 11/04/2008 @ 12:42pm

8. Posted by Maskdelta at 11/04/2008 @ 12:42pm

   Indeed, Mask. Rush isn't too hot on the evangos or the "conciliators". But, hey, ratings will go up with the "enemy" in power!

   Posted by Sorelish at 11/04/2008 @ 12:56pm

9. I'll never understand why registered voters are forced to request an 'early' ballot. The system should generate an auto-send ballot to every registered voter 45 days before both the primary and general elections. Then people can choose how to take care of it: mail it in, take it to an early vote site, or take it to the polls on election day. For those who lose their ballots or turn 18 within the 45-day window, they should be able to register on-line and print their very own ballot (at any local library or city hall). It isn't rocket science!

   Posted by WarriorJames at 11/04/2008 @ 1:33pm

10. with only a 45 minute wait.

    Posted by JenniferPelton at 11/04/2008

    only?

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 1:38pm

11. We should have a nation wide paper ballot system.

    Posted by chaoszen at 11/04/2008 @ 12:19pm

    yep.

    i waited 0 minutes and 0 seconds the last time i voted.

    but turnout was really poor. i guess everybody was waiting for you guys.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 1:41pm

12. Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 1:41pm

    Frosty, I was counting parking time and walking in and out..

    Posted by chaoszen at 11/04/2008 @ 1:52pm

13. MajMike wrote:

    >We also need a national voter registration system (like Selective Service)

    Very true. But there is deep-seated hostility in the U.S. against any type of government ID system. European countries do the logical thing, and you are registered automatically, without having to move a finger. They take the task seriously, and don't leave it to the vagaries of individual volunteerism. Australia and other countries even levy a fine against you and/or impose legal sanctions if you do not vote.

    <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_voting>

    But the opposition to any government-run ID system is ingrained in our country. Sadly, many liberals feel that way too. One wishes to remind them that the DMV already has in place what, for all intents and purposes, is an ID system.

    Also, when registration drives take place, the forms are sent to the local government to be verified against existing data, after which they are either approved or rejected. If the government can verify your eligibility, why can't it register you outright, without forcing you to do it?

    There's clearly a lot of irrational paranoia going around on this subject, and it cuts across all political persuasions, like a willful blindness.

    In the end, it's yet another obstacle put in the way of effective democracy -- like election days scheduled on a working day in the middle of the week (it's on weekends in most other western nations), and the baroquely autocratic electoral college, and deadlines for voter registration (an arbitrary limit imposed upon the most basic of democratic constitutional rights), and on and on.

    Posted by marco at 11/04/2008 @ 2:12pm

14. In Oregon, it's all mail in. In Wa, state, where I live, we have a choice--mail in or in person. I chose mail in. Having a choice is nice. Both of these option seem good to me. Obama/Biden 08

    Posted by oneofmany at 11/04/2008 @ 2:16pm

15. In 2000 I stood in line for four ours to vote. Alot of people moved into the community and they were not prepared for it. In 2004 I had moved to another polling precinct with more machines and a lower population and stood in line for about 30 minutes. This time I voted early three weeks ago and stood in line for 30 minutes(I'm in GA). The voting experience has definitely improved with early voting. The only thing I worry about is the security of my vote when voting electronically. I have little confidence in those machines. I prefer paper ballots. Either way, I have no problem waiting in line for hours to vote. Four hours is nothing compared to not having the right to vote.

    Posted by k330k at 11/04/2008 @ 3:07pm

16. The main problem we have is corrupt voting officials/companies with a partisan agenda. There really must be a way to identify and eliminate these officials.

    So far as I know, no-one has yet to create a cheat-proof system. Obviously electronic voting is the easiest to manipulate with machines that flip votes or man-in-the middle manipulation of results. But, paper ballots can be stollen, also, and replaced with fake ballots. This has been going on for ages in small towns where the sheriff's department is responsible for escorting the ballot boxes and the sheriff is corrupt. It's very, very difficult to get rid of a corrupt sheriff.

    Election manipulation is currently a misdemeanor. We need to up this charge and introduce some very stiff penalties. It won't solve the problem but it might make some folks think twice if they believe they might spend 10 to 15 years in a federal prison.

    Posted by utahboni at 11/04/2008 @ 6:33pm