Early Voting Changes Face of Election

The new trend in this year's election seems to be early voting. Twenty-three states offer early voting this year, as opposed to thirteen in the 2000 election, and voters are taking advantage. Polls have already seen a relatively large voter turnout in states that offer early voting such as Wisconsin and Florida. But why do voters want to come to the polls early? As one senior citizen put it, "I don't know if I'll die tomorrow" (qtd. in Lyman). For others, it's a matter of convenience or of anxiousness. As for the effects of early voting on the candidates, both parties claim that the new trend benefits their own presidential nominee. It also affects the campaign strategies, as money must be spent differently, politicians must travel to different places at different times, and what's normally a last minute get-out-the-vote push becomes a two week affair. Early voting could also have disadvantages if something important happens between the time the votes are cast and Election Day. Regardless of how many people vote early this year, nobody will know the winner until November --or possibly later.

Works Cited
Lyman, Rick and William Yardley. "Sharp Increase in Early Voting Alters Campaign." The New York Times 29 Oct. 2004. 29 Oct. 2004 http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/29/politics/campaign/29early.html.