Should Voting Be Easy?
Is anything that gets people to vote good just because it gets them to vote? I don’t think so. I’m all for convenience. I would very much like to be able to go online and cast my vote at an accessible web site, but not at the cost of opening the door to the rampant voter fraud such a system would invite. My wife and I did use mail-in ballots one year, but that too opens the door to fraud. It has happened. There is a need to accommodate those who cannot use typical methods due to disability, but it needs to be done with great care.
The point is that if what it takes to get someone to vote is just to make it convenient enough for them, I am not at all sure I want them voting. If our goal in making it easier to vote is to attract those who won’t bother unless we make it that easy then our goal harms the society rather than helping. Voting should be undertaken with diligence and forethought. That’s not the kind of voter that will do it just because it’s easy. If you think voting is too much trouble, please do stay home. I’m not for making it any easier for you.