A Treatise on Turnout

The past 2 days (Fri-Sat) I've had a whopping 4 calls from the Obama campaign. I am infuriated by this astounding occurrence, just as I was 4 years ago when I got several calls from the Kerry camp.

This liberal hates the fact that this election and every election in the foreseeable future is largely about turnout. Not only because I think, in general, the Repos do this better...but, just the fundamental idea that turnout is the key to a win is sad in some respect.

There have been ruminations on how to best address, and whether to address, this low-turnout factor that has plagued our country.

I have swung back on forth a bit on this debate. I'm snarkish enough to raise my middle finger at those who don't vote, but am also incredulous at the very same people who clearly don't GET IT and why it's freaking important (even if you think all politicians are sell-out slimeballs).

I have pondered plausible remedies to this notion. I support a national holiday for election day, I support nationalizing the electoral process and taking away power from the states especially for Presidential elections as I think it's clear states cannot be trusted. Since the debacle in 2000, very few reforms have been made in several states, and Florida CONTINUES to be a problem.

Other possible remedies have included:

1. Mail-in only ballots like they do in Oregon. You can't vote in a voting booth, all ballots are mailed in.

2. Have multiple election days instead of one big day.

3. National Holiday, as mentioned earlier.

But, I think there needs to be a multi-pronged approach. And, in my view, here are some ideas we should go with:

A. The elimination of soft money, and forcing candidates to adhere to a spending cap.

B. Ten mandatory Presidential debates across the country, with several different moderators, and several debate styles (and 4 mandatory VP debates).

C. Conventions held on dates determined not by each party, and they must be held in consecutive weeks (meaning 1 week Dem convention, the very next week the Repo convention, vice versa depending on incumbent party going last).

D. Weekly mandatory press conferences for each Presidential candidate for at least a 1/2 hour of consistent time with a pool of at least 1 reporter from all prominent news organizations (yes, this includes FoxSnooze). Moreover, Presidential campaigns must make space on their travel arrangements for this pool and cannot kick anyone off for asking a tough question (something Obama's campaign did after Biden was asked some tough questions, Obama should be ashamed of himself).

**These get to the heart, the core, of distrust in the political process. These are reforms suggested in an effort to boost morale amongst the nation and believe in "the system" again.**

E. Make Election Day a national holiday. (The only flaw with doing this alone is clear, the retailers would turn this national holiday into a big sales day in retail stores which would draw people away from the voting booth).

F. Provide multiple ways to vote: Allow early voting by mail. Allow/relax absentee voting laws. Open polling booths for the weekend before the National Holiday (Saturday & Sunday). Another idea I have heard about, which really appeals to me is the idea of voting when you want, where you want. Some states have put voting machines in public places like malls, which allow people to vote when it's convenient for them to vote. It also gives them a paper copy of their vote so they have proof they voted. I think if we allow people who have driver's license to do this, it opens up voting lines for the poor to vote and others to vote without waiting in lines for hours on end. Basically, it's ATM voting.

G. Make it a felony for ANY organization to call any citizen and ask how they voted until 3 days after Election Day. I think while exit polls are fun, I think they generally hurt the voting process.

H. Nationalize Elections and Election Day.

I. Make voting mandatory would also be an option, but I think this is hard to enforce. If we were to choose something like this, I'd be in favor of having a voting line that says "Abstain" to allow people to give notice they were there to vote, but they abstained from doing so by their own free will.

Just some thoughts. But, I just deplore the wasted time and money being spent on voter turnout efforts. I don't think allowing people to access their own rights should be this complicated...but MOREOVER, I don't think they should be fucking hassled by jackasses hounding them via phone.

Whether I voted or not, is none of Obama's nor McCain's fucking business. It's mine and mine alone. By hounding people with these damn calls, it makes them wish they hadn't registered to vote. I know, I am so annoyed that I may vote for someone other than Obama in this safe state just to spite him.