I would like, one day, to see a voter tally saying that %100 of the eligible voters did so… or at least something like %75, or better. In 2010 we had a figure of %41 who voted in the Statewide elections.
That was rather depressing..
With the economy still in the dumps many local governments are trying to save money, to offset reduced revenue, and so Sarasota Country Supervisor of Election, Kathy Dent, is planning to shut down some of the polling places. She says this will save the county something like $100,000 per election. The ACLU and NAACP have said that this will disenfranchise some voters who will now have to travel a greater distance to vote, maybe up to 2 miles?
The legislature has passed new requirements for voting… cutting down on the number of early voting days, picture IDs, and a requirement that those groups who do voter registrations, volunteer groups who take an interest in getting the voter to do just that, would have a shorter window to turn in the names they gather.
Mrs. Dent suggested that those who would have to travel that 2 miles, and don’t have a car, might want to use a mail-in vote, unless of course that walk to the mailbox is too far. There used to be a time when the only people who used the mail-in ballots were shut ins, or people who would not be in the area at the time of the vote, such as people on vacation, military stationed out of state, or people who had real reasons for not being able to go to the polls.
So, I will ask again, “how important is your vote”?
Its not like you have to dodge bullets, like they do in some countries. It all depends on how “IMPORTANT” your vote is, and looking at the 2010 elections I would think that %59 of the people thought that their vote was just too inconvenient.
