Steven Clift wrote:
> Considering the relatively poor turn-out in recent local elections, I > worry about the growing lack of legitimacy in local democracy across > Minnesota. > > Minneapolis/Hennepin County should lead the way in 2005 by pushing > for state law changes to allow voting my mail in our next election > for mayor/city council. > > The facts are in ... while voting by mail for any reason doesn't seem > to raise turn out much in national elections, it does in local > elections.
I don't know if this is a good idea. I'm not sure that we should run our government the same way that we do warranty registration for washing machines. I think that it might increase the participation of those who have only marginal knowledge of the issues and the candidates and contribute to the tend of politics as a popularity contest. At least when people go to the polls or order an absent ballot they are extending some effort. It would be interesting to see research profiling the types of people who would vote by Internet or US Mail versus those who go to the polls. I'd hate to see our representatives selected and ballot issues decided the same way as CNN or USA Today opinion surveys.
Michael Atherton Prospect Park
I think there are real problems with vote by mail schemes - and even worse, voting by internet. Fraud is one of them. There are more problems in instances like the recent contest between Coleman and Wellstone - when Wellstone died in a plane crash - and Mondale replaced Wellstone on the ballot. If we had vote by mail - with a 3 week window for getting the mail in ballots - the election would have been much more problematic.
I'd like to see a city and county "Bring your neighbor to vote" type thing - to encourage people who vote to bring other voters to the polls.
If we are going to work to change election law - I'd rather see an effort to ditch the precinct caucus system. There's much more participation in the primaries than in the caucuses. Neither party seems really interested in getting new people out to the caucuses. Instead the direct mail goes to the same people who attended caucuses in the past.
Eva Young
Near North
Minneapolis
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Blog is up:
http://lloydletta.blogspot.com
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