Voting made easier

In the editorial from the Austin American Statesman, “Centers would make voting more convenient,” the Editorial Board discusses the advantages of having vote centers.   The intended audience consists of people eligible to vote or soon to be eligible to vote. 

Voter turnout in the United States is lacking.  Elected officials are always trying to conduct better, more successful elections and increase the number of people that head to the voting booths.  Voting has been made easier to do and there is even an early voting period.  But an idea to bring more people out to the polls consists of the location and amount of the polling centers.

Dana DeBeauvoir, the Travis County Clerk, has proposed the idea of having vote centers throughout the county.   These centers would allow registered voters to vote at any location within the county they wish.  It is much like how one is able to cast an early vote at any early voting location.   Implementing these vote centers would eliminate the confusion of where to vote come Election Day and reduce the number of elementary schools used for voting locations.

In counties that have experimented with the vote centers, some negative reactions have been noted.  Some people live farther from the vote center than from where their original polling location was.  Also, state law does not allow the use of vote centers during primary but does allow them during general elections.  This would cause some confusion when trying to figure out where to vote.

Overall, I think the idea of vote centers is extremely plausible.  It would allow any voter within the county to vote at any vote center.  I think the pros vastly outweigh the cons.  Voters would need to be informed when vote centers will be used and when regular polling locations would be used, but besides that, there is no downfall that would affect the entire population.  When primaries are not being held, general elections at vote centers could provide for a much better voter turnout.  The more people that vote, the better of a chance there will be for an elected official who will give the majority of people what they want when it comes to their state and local community.  And with more voter turnout, the better represented the people are, which is, of course, the purpose of having an election. 

Editorial Board of Austin American Statesman

“Centers would make voting more convenient”

July 13, 2011

http://www.statesman.com/opinion/centers-would-make-voting-more-convenient-1606404.html