Any Time, Any Place Voting

by: sengilda

Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 17:02:29 PM EDT

I recently read an article describing how astronauts aboard the International Space Station will be able to participate in the November, 2008 elections from outer space. NASA technicians at Texas Mission Control will send ballots using special software to the space station, where the astronauts will make their selections and send them back to county elections officials. The encrypted votes will then be transferred to paper ballots and submitted on Election Day for counting.

Wow. What an amazing accommodation for absentee voters! But even more amazing is that, while voters some 200 miles from the earth can vote absentee, Michigan voters who live just a few miles from their polling sites are often unable to exercise their right to vote.

Currently, the requirements to vote absentee are strict. So if you have small children and no day care; if you have no transportation; if you become ill; or if you work a shift that precludes voting, well, you're just out of luck.

That's why we need to pass Senate Bill 12, which provides for No Reason Absentee Voting. This legislation, sponsored by Sen. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor), will allow ALL qualified voters the right to vote by mail prior to the election, regardless of the reason.

This legislation will make voting easier for you, along with thousands of prospective Michigan voters. It will give you the opportunity to study the candidates and ballot proposals in the privacy of your own homes and make thoughtful, well-informed, and unhurried decisions.

November, 2008 promises record voter turnout at the polls as voters decide on dozens of initiatives, bond proposals, local issues and school board elections. This legislation will also reduce long lines and alleviate polling site delays.

Currently, some 28 states allow registered voters to vote by absentee ballot without a reason or excuse. The issue of No Reason Absentee Voting has been endorsed by city councils, city clerks statewide, and a number of supportive newspaper editorials, as well as by legislators on both sides of the aisle. Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land has also announced her support.

Right now SB 12 is stalled in the Senate Campaign & Elections Oversight Committee. Please contact your senators and urge them to act on this important bill.

State Senator Gilda Jacobs represents Senate District 10.