Early voting: Let's face it -- you either care enough to cast responsible vote or you don't

Don't listen to those who are whining about the fact that the General Assembly has decided to save a little money and to cut back on the early voting hours.

Of course, the measure has only cleared the House, so expect a whole lot more posturing as the calls that the measure is racially biased and limits voting rights begin.

All that is balderdash.

It is time to stop spending money to lure voters. If you want to cast a ballot in an election, you know what paperwork you need to have in place and you have months to register. There is no need for an on-the-spot registration. If you care enough to cast a ballot, you ought to be able to be responsible enough to do so properly.

And the early voting has not been eliminated entirely either -- only cut back by a week. There should still be plenty of time for people to get their ballots cast.

And while the savings is not huge -- it is a good start on a new philosophy for state government -- if you can save it, do so. Those small savings really add up.

We should not have to mollycoddle voters. If they want to take part in electing public officials, they need to meet their responsibilities.

In the end, we hope, it will result in more informed and honest votes and less need to wonder if election results are the real vote of the people or the manipulation of the system by a political party.

And that certainly is not a bad thing.

Published in Editorials on May 19, 2011 11:41 AM