When did early voting come to be?

[WNYresident]

When did early voting come to be?

That see wrong to even allow this. I could see absentee ballots and voting on election day but that's about.

Early voting gives political parties time to play games and cheat.

[LuvinBuffalo]

I think this is a good question, and same here. I had always heard about absentee voting, but why did our country determine there was a need for early voting and when did this begin?

[Jeff]

I think this is a good question, and same here. I had always heard about absentee voting, but why did our country determine there was a need for early voting and when did this begin?

The correct question is, why haven't we made voting easier? Early voting is one method to do that.

Instead of Columbus day, we should have a national holiday for voting. I guess making it easier to vote probably benefits a particular party, but who knows what things would look like with 90% participation....

[WNYresident]

IT has nothing to do with easy.

Easy is having a day to show up to vote and if you can't make it that day you can send in one absentee ballot. With early voting you can bus around people from location to location and vote fraudulently.

[300miles]

Apparently NYS is one of the few states left that require in-person voting on election day, unless you have a valid excuse for absentee voting.

[BorderBob]

IT has nothing to do with easy.

Easy is having a day to show up to vote and if you can't make it that day you can send in one absentee ballot. With early voting you can bus around people from location to location and vote fraudulently.

Or drive them across state lines and vote there.


(Sheesh)



b.b.

[Jeff]

IT has nothing to do with easy.

Easy is having a day to show up to vote and if you can't make it that day you can send in one absentee ballot. With early voting you can bus around people from location to location and vote fraudulently.

Sigh...

[WNYresident]

Apparently NYS is one of the few states left that require in-person voting on election day, unless you have a valid excuse for absentee voting.

How it should be. Now naive can people be.

[iohannesflorus]

When did early voting come to be?

That see wrong to even allow this. I could see absentee ballots and voting on election day but that's about.

Early voting gives political parties time to play games and cheat.

In addition to this issue, there is the gift given to public employs. They get a paid day off to vote while the tax payer who is paying for this scrambles to get to the polls. Voting should be done on a weekend.

[LuvinBuffalo]

How it should be. Now naive can people be.

I agree. Also, why should election day become a national holiday? Employers are required to allow someone time off to vote if needed. The polls are also open very early to very late.

But .... back to the original question. Why and when did we establish early voting?

[Jeff]

I agree. Also, why should election day become a national holiday? Employers are required to allow someone time off to vote if needed. The polls are also open very early to very late.

But .... back to the original question. Why and when did we establish early voting?

Time to vote is handled state by state. If you read most of the state laws you'll find creative wording that limits people's ability to vote.

http://www.findlaw.com/voting-rights-law.html

Take Utah for instance

Employees who do not have 3 consecutive hours when not required to be at work during the hours polls are open are entitled to up to 2 paid hours leave to vote. The employee must request leave before Election Day. The employer can set the time for leave, but employee requests for leave at the beginning or end of work hours shall be granted.

WTF is that?

Even NYS is a joke.

Employees who do not have 4 consecutive non-working hours between polls opening and closing, and who do not have "sufficient" non-working time to vote, are entitled to up to 2 hours paid leave to vote. Employees must request the leave between 2 and 10 days before Election Day. The employer can specify whether it be taken at beginning or end of shift. Employers must post this rule conspicuously 10 days prior to election.

[LuvinBuffalo]

I found this on Wikipedia, but still looking for more information:

"Early voting (also called pre-poll voting or advance polling) is the process by which electors can vote prior to the scheduled election day. Early voting can take place remotely, such as postal voting, or in person, usually in designated early voting polling stations. The availability and time periods for early voting vary between jurisdictions and type of election. The goal of early voting is usually to increase voter participation and relieve congestion at polling stations on election day.

The types of people who vote early include people who will be out of the polling area during the election period, poll workers, campaign workers, people with medical procedures scheduled for that time, adherents to religious commitments, among others.

The numbers of voters who vote early has increased in recent years. As unconditional (no excuse) early voting has gained ground, voices have been raised against it as seriously damaging to the democratic process."

I'm still trying to find out where it began. So far it looks like Florida in 2004, but will continue to look.

[Jeff]

I found this on Wikipedia, but still looking for more information:

"Early voting (also called pre-poll voting or advance polling) is the process by which electors can vote prior to the scheduled election day. Early voting can take place remotely, such as postal voting, or in person, usually in designated early voting polling stations. The availability and time periods for early voting vary between jurisdictions and type of election. The goal of early voting is usually to increase voter participation and relieve congestion at polling stations on election day.

The types of people who vote early include people who will be out of the polling area during the election period, poll workers, campaign workers, people with medical procedures scheduled for that time, adherents to religious commitments, among others.

The numbers of voters who vote early has increased in recent years. As unconditional (no excuse) early voting has gained ground, voices have been raised against it as seriously damaging to the democratic process."

I'm still trying to find out where it began. So far it looks like Florida in 2004, but will continue to look.

19 states have it including the big Red state of Texas.