Why is voting before the deadline in US elections referred to as 'early voting'?
Why is voting before the deadline in US elections referred to as 'early voting'?
It seems deliberately confusing to me since there is no fundamental difference between voting now and voting on the day of the deadline, but the way it's discussed and referred to seems to imply that the correct day to vote would be waiting until the last minute instead of voting just getting it out of the way weeks ahead of time.
Historically, all regular voting was done in-person on election day and mail-in ballots were a special exception (e.g., for people with disabilities). It’s only in the last few election cycles that voting by mail became the norm, and most people still use the pre-existing terminology.
Upvoted for correct, accurate, and complete information. I really don't have much to add, other than to say good work!
The question was about early voting though? Voting by mail is only a small piece of the early voting total in most states
I've voted 'early, in every election I've participated in. For as long as I've known, which is about to be 4 presidential and all of the elections in between, the polls have always been open for weeks.
That's approaching 20 years, I don't think it's a new concept really at this point.
That's less than 10% of the country's life. Just because you didn't exist before you were born does not mean that others did not.
Not every state allows it and if they do it has to be a special reason in most states. So you must live in a lucky state or had an excuse every year
Same reason morning is earlier in the day than night. This is just how linear time works.
So it goes
Right I get that.
But why is it marketed, for lack of a better term as early. Why wouldn't it be, 'the polls opens on October 20th, and you can vote late up to November 5th'
As somebody else mentioned, historically 99% of voting was done on election day. Opening the polling places earlier than that was the exception, and the terminology has simply stuck as the practice has expanded. Additionally, many jurisdictions have something materially different about voting early, whether different hours, looser location rules (I used to be able to early vote at any polling place in my county, but not now... thanks, Texas), etc., so it's useful to refer to distinguish them somehow.
Election Day is traditionally the day to vote, campaigns are still running before that point. Anyone who votes earlier does so with less information than later voters. Trump could say something stupid between now and Election Day, and wouldn't you feel bad if you'd already voted for him and couldn't take it back?
Because humans tend to give things names based on their relation to prior naming conventions. As voting on election day, singular, was common for so long then everything else is in relation to that aingular day concept.
No, a more accurate name will not be adopted because people are used to the current terminology and knows what it means. Just like we won't switch 'daylight savings time' to 'daylight shifting time' even though that would be more accurate.
Why wouldn't it be, 'the polls opens on October 20th, and you can vote late up to November 5th'
Why would it be? Election day is November 5th.
Once upon a time we had Election Day. The polls were open for one day. Election Day, Nov 5, is still a thing, in the modern era they can tabulate votes fast enough to call the election that night. The practice of opening the polls before Nov 5 is called early voting. It's basically that simple.
In my state, the local polling stations only open on Election Day, to vote early you have to go to a government building up at the county seat where they have one voting center open, so there is a practical difference.
Is that how you think about your bills?
"Your rent can be paid on the 10th, and you can pay late up to the 31st"
Historically the polls don’t open until the 5th, and as far as I’m aware, the votes aren’t counted until then even if they are submitted early.
When it was first added, early voting was not meant to be the way most people voted- it was meant to accommodate people who for one reason or another couldn’t make it to the polls that day.
It’s become increasingly more common as more people find out about it.
<insert that video of the best captain in Star Trek trying to explain linear time to beings that don’t experience time here>
Early voting in the US as we know it today, meaning going to a polling place to cast your vote in-person prior to election day, started in Texas in 1987 and spread to other states from there. Every state has its own specific rules regarding how long the early voting period lasts, and other aspects like how long polling places are open each day may even be left up to local governments.
Where I'm at in Texas, we have some early voting locations that stay open until 10pm, even on weekends. I've never had to wait more than 20 minutes to vote (and usually less) since I started voting in the 2000 election. We have 12 days to vote before election day, and even a website with real-time updates on wait times at each polling place across the county.
The drawback is there are fewer voting sites open during early voting, so people with transportation barriers will have to expend effort to get there, but you can do so on whatever day works for your schedule. On election day itself, way more polling sites are open, so there's likely to be a site within walking distance or a short drive in denser areas, but lines are much longer than during the early voting period, and many people have to work because it's a Tuesday and not a holiday
Also, Mississippi, Alabama, and New Hampshire have no early voting and pretty much require everyone in the entire state to vote on election day.
The only difference is to spread out the opportunity so everyone can vote. No vote is counted until Election Day, so this is no different than mailing in a vote early to make sure it gets in on time.
Most states as far as I know, count votes upon receipt, only a few states have to wait until the last day that polls are open.
I'm not asking why the polls are open more than one day, moreso, why everything is consistently referred to as 'early' or in other words, why does the media in general encourage people to wait until the deadline?
There is no "on time". There is only "early" and "late"! Haha
(And late doesn't count in elections!)
Maybe it depends on the media you're seeing. I don't get that impression from what I see to wait, it's all about coming out and being part of the process.
Ð US doesn't have a recognized start and end of voting like oðer countries do, we have a designated single day of ð election, and casting ð ballot before ðat is considered early voting because it isn't a uniform official procedure across ð states ð way election day itself is.
Yeah, it's a thorny issue.
Solid pun.
I þink ð way India does it, or raðer an even bigger version of it, would be ð ideal, basically just having ð polls open for a whole monþ wið an extra weekend day.
Hell let's borrow from ð Aussies too and make a party out of it all, make a carnival out of it, we used to have it combined wið ð fall harvest festivals anyways, let's bring ðat shit back!
Also I did see what you did ðere but I wanted to get all ðat out :þ
The difference is that before, lines were lo g and some employees weren’t free to go voting during the work day (voting happens on Tuesday).
You could either get there very very early or late…or lose a paid day…or be fired.
Early voting allows for more people to cast their votes, even if it’s not at their precincts, and curves vote suppression on the day of the election.
I'm German and as soon as I get the vote notification I immediately request the mail in papers, which I also send out pretty much the next time I go outside (assuming I already decided, we have a bit more of a choice than just 1-2 parties). That's usually a month before the actual end date. I never understood why people are always so stressed with going through potential wait times at some location further away to vote, when it can be this easy.
To be fair, at least everywhere I ever lived the voting place was usually a nice relaxing Sunday stroll away. And especially with children it's great to show them how democracy works. Especially especially since voting is often done in schools.
Every polling place I've ever been to was a church... Separation of church and state, amirite? 😭
If you look at the meaning of the word "early" there are several senses.
- One sense is "At a time in advance of the usual or expected event." e.g. if someone suffered an "early death." Another sense of the word is "Arriving a time before expected; sooner than on time." e.g. "you arrived early today!" You're right that in these two senses of the word, "early voting" sounds weird.
- But there's another sense of the word early: "Near the start or beginning." e.g. "Shakespeare's early works". There's also "Near the start of the day." as in "It's too early for this sort of thing. I'm not awake yet." Another sense is "Having begun to occur; in its early stages." e.g. "an early cancer". In these senses of the word, "early voting" sounds a lot better.
- For more info see: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/early