Saturday voting may be possible for all Californians
By Annalise Mantz, Sacramento Bee
For California voters, finding time to cast ballots on a Tuesday could become a thing of the past.
A bill by state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, would give them a chance to vote on a Saturday in the month before an election. Senate Bill 637 would require counties to have a polling place open for early voting for four hours on at least one Saturday in the 29 days before Election Day.
Twenty-five counties in California already allow voters to cast a ballot on a Saturday before Election Day, according to a survey conducted by the Los Angeles County registrar of voters in 2012. Nationwide, 32 states and the District of Columbia allow early voting in addition to mail voting.
Yee, who is running for secretary of state in 2014, said local elections with low turnout rates, such as the 23 percent of voters who cast ballots in June’s Los Angeles mayoral race, show voting needs to be more accessible. He blamed low participation rates on the stresses and time commitments of a hectic lifestyle.
Blame it on voter apathy, not on stress. When people feel their vote doesn’t matter, they don’t.
For National Elections, the time the polls are open should be established as the same for all 50 States. No one in Hawaii or Alaska should know the results of voting on the East coast before they enter the booth.
Advocate, it actually used to be that way. The polls opened by 7 am and stayed open till 8 pm on Tuesday. Anybody who cared enough to vote, did.
All this business of needing extra days, extra time, no id is just a smokescreen.
As I’ve said before in regards to other issues, it’s a matter of priorities. If something is important to you, you’ll do it. If you don’t care, all the excuses in the world won’t be enough.