Voting made easy isn't necessarily voting made better

By FRANK WATSON

Contributor

I got my voter’s pamphlet in the mail this week. I have more than ample time to study the issues and fill out my ballot before the November deadline. Once I have my ballot filled out and mailed, I no longer need to pay any attention to the irritating political ads. That is the only benefit of voting by mail.

I miss going to the polls. I voted by absentee ballot when I was in the service. I was usually stationed several hundred miles away from my precinct polling place, so I had no choice. That changed when I left the military and began teaching school in Eastern Washington.

Going to the local fire station to cast my ballot in person was a new experience. I liked it. The polls opened at oh-dark-thirty, so I normally voted before I went to work. Some of my neighbors volunteered to make sure I was properly registered while other volunteers brought coffee for those waiting in line.

It was a neighborhood gathering. We discussed wheat prices and local basketball but never politics. The polls were a politics free zone.

When my turn came, I carried my voter’s pamphlet into the booth, closed the curtain and exercised my right as a citizen. I felt like I was part of the community and a participant in democracy. I received my “I Voted” sticker and proudly wore it the rest of the day as an example for my students. Voting by mail just doesn’t feel the same.

For those of us who consider voting both a privilege and a responsibility, not voting is unimaginable. Almost half of eligible voters, however, abstain. In Australia, voting is mandatory, and failing to do so carries a stiff penalty. I’m not recommending we follow suit, but there should be consequences for not participating on election day. Those who don’t vote should be prohibited from protesting or complaining about government. I wonder how we could implement that?

In 2004, our state leaders thought more people would vote if they didn’t have to go to the polls, so we pioneered universal mail-in ballots. Washington is one of only three states that vote entirely by mail. Voting-made-easy should mean more people vote, but it doesn’t. Prior to 2004, about 60 percent of those eligible voted in presidential elections, while only 40 percent voted in midterm elections. With mail-in ballots, the rates of participation are virtually unchanged. The only notable increase was in this year’s primary, attributable to prepaid postage.

In prior years, voters had to buy their own stamp and many didn’t think their vote was worth 50 cents. During the primary, one young voter came in to our local library with her ballot and asked what to do with it. She was told to fill it out and… she interrupted and said,” I’ve done all that, now what do I do with it?” She was told to take it to the post office and mail it. Her response was, “How do I do that?” She had never mailed a letter! It’s a good thing she didn’t have to buy a stamp. It’s a new world.

Maybe we should make voting even easier. We could vote online. I do that for “America’s Got Talent” and “Dancing With the Stars.” I’m not sure how they make sure I am me, but they do. They even know how many times I voted and won’t let me go over the limit.

We bank online, and our balances don’t get messed up very often. We could even print one of those “I Voted” stickers, put it on our shirt, and Skype our friends, so they would know we are involved in democracy.

I miss going to the polls.

Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Officer and long-time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over 19 years.