Why doesn't PA allow early voting? (Columbia, Penn: home, high school, college)

[wehotex]

I was shocked to hear one of the news channels that there is NO early voting allowed in PA? With its incredibly important swing state status and history of inclement weather and large populations, why doesn't PA allow it? Has it been proposed before? What were the reasons that it's not avbl?

[ericwin]

prob same reasons you can't go to a grocery store and get a bottle of beer or wine... urgh

[Summering]

VOTING EARLY In person:
• 34 states allow people to vote in person before Election Day. 31 don't require an excuse; 3 states and the District of Columbia do.
• 16 states do not allow early or in-person absentee voting.
By mail:
• 28 states allow no-excuse absentee voting by mail.
• 22 states and the District of Columbia require an excuse to vote absentee by mail.
Source: Early Voting Information Center at Reed College
I thought this was some interesting information about who can vote early and who can't...........

[go phillies]

I'm not sure I understand why there is early voting. I see no need for it. If you are unable to vote on election day, there's always absentee ballots. Plus, the polls are open from 7 am to 8 pm, so most people should have the opportunity to make it. Plus, I believe that by law your employer must give you time to vote if your job would interfere with you voting.

Does early voting use the same polling places as on election day? If so, it would be impossible to have early voting where I live. My polling place, and many here, are at schools. The schools here close on election day for that reason....we wouldn't be able to close the schools for a week because of early voting.

[toobusytoday]

I agree with you go Phillies, but our schools here in Lehigh county do not close and polling is done at fairly inconvenient places like fire halls and township buildings where parking is often problematic. I think they should either close the schools and allow voting there or have two days of voting at the current places.

[mdb06]

I'm not sure I understand the need for it either. If it's concern about those who are not able, for good reason, to vote on Election Day, then I agree absentee ballots fulfill that need. Other than that, what's the point? Election Day is Election Day. If, however, we as a state or nation would continue to have the high percentage of turnout that we did for this election, which resulted in many voters standing on line for hours, maybe we should consider extending the Election "Day" into "Days", maybe 3 or so?

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by ericwin

prob same reasons you can't go to a grocery store and get a bottle of beer or wine... urgh

Sieg Heil Pennsylvania!

[mdb06]

Oops, sorry toobusytoday, didn't motice you already suggested that.

[firefightermom]

I also don't really understand the need for early voting when absentee ballots are available. It's not like the date is a surprise, and as others pointed out, polls are open practically all day, plus the law regarding employers letting you go vote.
I grew up in Ohio, and my parent's polling place was my jr high school, which did not close on election day. No schools did. There was a certain area with a private entrace cordoned off that voters used. When I lived in MD, all the schools closed since it seemed most polling places were schools, which I thought was crazy, since MoCo closes at the drop of a hat for anything...and now here in PA, my polling place is a church's admin area. It was great...plenty of parking, and free refreshments!
My husband was afraid he'd get called for OT on election day, and his commute is an hour so he requested an absentee ballot ages ago and mailed it back...turned out he was home sick a few days so he could have gone, but didn't need to.

[toobusytoday]

I think there are many voters like my daughter who had to be at work at 7:30, finished at 3:30 and had to go directly to her second job. She went from there to the polls at 7:30pm. Yes, she was able to vote but she was pretty worried that it wouldn't work. What is the downside to having two days to vote?