Early voting is not conservative

Part 2 of 2 in the Early Voting Series

Early voting is a goal of liberals, and they have achieved significant progress. Today in the U.S. 45 states offer early voting. In Ky, it was introduced in the 2020 General Assembly by 12 House and two Senate Democrats.

Those who support early voting have even sued those who oppose it, stating “reducing the early voting period … would reduce turnout, specifically of African-American voters.” Racist! They lost the suit: “Instead, African-Americans registered at higher rates than whites, and their turnout, according to an expert cited by the Sixth Circuit, ‘either exceeds or is the same as white turnout…’”

Kentuckians are now encouraged to vote early if they are not able to get to their polling place. The wording of this directive reveals that ‘early in-person absentee voting’ is a choice,* not a necessity. If it were a necessity, a person would vote by absentee ballot which has always been legal.

On the Secretary of State website, a page devoted to describing the recent changes to our elections laws states:

Absentee voting is a right established in the Kentucky Constitution, but in-person voting is the gold standard. The new law offers 3 days of early in-person voting, including a Saturday, making it easier for working people to vote.

From 1891 through 2019, Kentucky offered its citizens only one day to go vote. It wasn't always this way. Our first 11 U.S. Presidents were elected under a system of early voting, a process that brought us Washington, Jefferson, Madison – not too shabby.

This is a disingenuous promotion of early voting. Madison’s term ended in 1816; voting by a show of hands or voice was the standard practice in the U.S. until 1883 when the states began to adopt the ‘secret ballot.’ During the colonial period, most colonies required that electors possess property. How do current procedures compare? 

As well, in the early days of the USA it was not uncommon to have a number of days to vote so that people could reach the polling places from their rural residences, based on weather conditions. That was not viewed as early voting.

Early voting costs $$$

Early voting adds to the expense of holding an election. Numerous pages on the internet attest to this. However, the Fiscal Impact Statement provided as part of the new law’s passage mentions none.

The fiscal impact of HB 564 SCS 1 on local governments is expected to be minimal.

Minimal means different things to different entities- - citizens versus bureaucrats.

Ky SOS Adams has stated that it “historically costs Kentucky $10 million to run an election.” Why place an even greater burden on taxpayers?

Early voting lowers turnout. Why?

Some theorize that, Campaigns and political parties spend an enormous amount of time and resources on get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts just before Election Day. If those GOTV efforts are spread out over several weeks, they will not have the same intensity and may not be as effective in reminding and convincing individuals to cast a ballot.

A significant study summed it up: Early voting reduces “the civic significance of elections for individuals” and alters “the incentives for political campaigns to invest in mobilization.” As the report says, “rather than building up to a frenzied election day in which media coverage and interpersonal conversation revolve around politics, early voting makes voting a more private and less intense process.” (Ibid)

Sen. Damon Thayer explained it to SOS Adams in a 2020 forum on election changes broadcast on KET: “Everyone in this room has run elections; the information shared with the voters is meant to peak on election day.”

‘Easy to vote, hard to cheat’ is a talking point across the nation for Secretaries of State. The concept of convenience is pushed as a way to increase turnout, but as we have seen, it does not turn out that way. (no pun intended)

Should ‘your convenience’ play any role in voting? We have a privilege to elect those who reflect our values. ‘Convenience’ is a consumer term employed in marketing products and services. How did it get into the vocabulary of elections?

Don’t vote early

The biggest reason not to vote early is because something may occur to alter the facts. A debate may take place that changes your mind. You may vote for a person who is found to be a felon or who passes away or withdraws from the race the day before the election! Your vote is irrevocable and you may waste it if you vote early.

Numerous mainstream media articles have recently been published that have tamped down the Covid19 ‘facts’. This should help everyone to avoid basing their decision on when to vote on a scary and untrue narrative. Be calm, cool, collected, and vote on Election Day.

Be vigilant

In 2021, the lobbyist that spent the most in Ky was Secure Democracy.

InfluenceWatch.org reports: Founded in 2018, Secure Democracy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that bills itself as a nonpartisan organization, but has deep ties to left-leaning activists, PACs, and law firms. The organization works exclusively on election policy advocacy, and supports expanding early voting, further utilization of mail-in ballot drop boxes, and reducing restrictions on absentee voting.

It would be an overreach to say any of our legislators were influenced by this lobbyist. We cannot know and we must trust our good legislators.

At the same time, we should work to reverse laws that are bad for our elections. The next liberal push will be Same-day Registration. Pollworkers will testify that is not doable.

This has already been introduced in the Ky House and Senate. Election Day registration creates a large post-election burden. Don’t let it happen.

*Some places call early in-person voting a form of "absentee" voting, since voters are absent from the polling place on election day.[1]

This Series was a lengthy research project. Errata will be included in next week’s post.