Making It Easier
Polling sites all over the country have been flooded with early voters and are preparing for a deluge on election day. In Alabama, for example, where the number of registered voters exceeded three million for the first time in history, the secretary of state predicted that the number of actual votes cast will also break records.
To offset large election-day crowds and encourage citizen participation, states have expanded early and absentee voting. This year 31 states are letting voters vote early without stating a reason they cannot participate on election day, and 5 states allow voting by phone.
Arizona lets its citizens who are overseas in the military scan and upload ballots via a secure Internet connection. All these innovations make voting easier and should contribute to an upswing in numbers.
Plus, there's simply a lot riding on this election. According to Rafael López-Pintor of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, when you see very high participation rates, there is a major factor operating: "voter interest, usually born of great despair or high hopes."
To put it another way, Michael McDonald said, "Sometimes people like to say low voter turnout is good, because it shows people aren't angry." In 2008, apathy is hard to come by.
One unanticipated result of heightened interest: In some jurisdictions "I Voted" stickers are not keeping up with the demand.
Election officials in El Paso County, Texas, report that they ran out of stickers a few days before November 4 and had to revert to an older design. The race is on to print more of the coveted stickers and get them to the polls and onto voters on election day.
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