Why Early Election Voting is a Bad Idea

More and more, voters are voting early, but it could be that early election voting early is a bad idea. In fact, it might be a downright bummer.

In the United States, you can now vote early in more than half of the states. That means you may cast your vote days or even weeks ahead of the official election day. Over time states have migrated these early voting practices. What was normal in the past with an election day polling place and a small number of absentee ballots has turned into a rather high number or absentee ballots and early votes. That may be good for some, but not all.

Don't mistake early voting for absentee voting. They are different.

With an absentee ballot, the thought was that if a voter would not be able to cast a ballot on election day, they could get an absentee ballot and send it in by election day for the vote to be counted. This makes sense if used only when needed. For example, a person in a nursing home, a soldier overseas, or a traveler out of state. In fact, still today in many states you must actually provide an excuse as to why you can't be present on election day before they will let you vote via absentee.

Early voting is different. Instead of providing a reason for being absent, voters may freely vote at designated polling places early. In some cases that timing is real early - well ahead of the final weeks of the election. The reason is the same as absentee, but states have figured that they are providing this in-person service to voters who can't make it (or don't want to) on election day.

The problem with voting early is this. Elections, particularly national elections, are very fluid. That is, things keep evolving and changing. An informed voter should want to know everything that there is to know about a candidate before casting his or her greatest freedom - the vote.

Information is constantly changing. That means as each week rolls on new information comes to light about a candidate, how that candidate stands on an issue, and what has happened in the past that the voter should consider.

In fact, a candidate's position can actually change in the last month as questions, debates, or other factors bring new issues into the spotlight. A voter should want to know how a candidate stands on these issues.

Another thing that keeps changing is the world around us. A major event can happen at any time and the response by the potential candidates is very telling on how they would lead in elected office. Imagine what you might learn about a candidate days before an election in the event of a real natural disaster, war, or economic situation. They would no longer be theorizing, they would be telling you what they plan to do about it when they take office.

Finally, in the case of presidential elections, you want to wait for the October surprise. This is the idea that candidates keep something in their bags to release in October, just in time to sway voters for the election. Sometimes this is nothing. Sometimes it is important, but if you cast your ballot 30 days early you will miss it.

Ultimately, if you live in a state that allows pre-voting, the choice is up to you, but you should consider your options carefully before casting a ballot too early.

There are some compelling reasons that early election voting is a bad idea, but it's your choice.