Is absentee voting short changing candidates? As I received my ballot for the primaries in the mail this week I had to wonder whether this is such a great idea. Sure I like the convenience of sitting at the table and then popping it in the mail to vote, it might even increase voter turnout? But to what end? With ballots coming out nearly three weeks before the Primaries most candidates are just now pushing hard and getting the word out about what they stand for. Take Darren Phelps for instance, he is running a hard race for Sheriff. He has gone from town to town doing meet and greets, handing out fliers, and going door to door. This Thursday, for instance, Darren Phelps will be visiting my town. I have been spreading the word only to hear from several people “Oh, I already voted”. It turned out after I talked about what he stood for they seriously wanted to meet him and wish they would have held out on voting. That is one of the dangers of absentee voting, it increased the likelihood of ill-informed voters; those who are voting to get the ballot off their kitchen table and back into the mail. I think it is time to cities and citizens alike to re-evaluate whether we should be more concerned about getting any votes out or whether we should be concerned with getting informed votes out. In my humble opinion it is time to bring back voting at the polls and also requiring voter ID. Our country is far too important to have its representatives selected by the uninformed and we need to make sure only citizens are deciding the fate of this great nation, including our local governments.
