By Bruce Potter
PUBLISHER INSIDE NOVA
This article was republished with permission from FXBG Advance’s news partner InsideNoVa.com. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
Our state’s famous marketing slogan is “Virginia is for lovers.”
But perhaps it should be “Virginia is for elections.”
As one of only two states that hold odd-year elections for statewide offices and members of the General Assembly, it seems in Virginia that we’re always voting on something.
And that has become more so the case with the 2020 expansion of early voting to 45 days. As a result, we run the risk of exhausting voters, voting officials and the candidates and campaigns themselves.
For example, look at the 11th Congressional District in Fairfax County. After Rep. Gerry Connolly passed away in May, a special election was held to replace him. But at the same time, the district’s voters were also participating in a Democratic primary for lieutenant governor.
So here’s a timeline:
Democratic primary for lieutenant governor: Early voting began May 2, with election day June 17.
Special election for 11th District seat: Early voting began July 25, with election day Sept. 9
Statewide elections: Early voting begins Sept. 19, with election day Nov. 4.
In other words, between May 2 and Nov. 4, someone somewhere in this district is voting 140 out of 187 days.
Virginia’s lengthy early voting period – one of the longest, if not the longest, in the country – was enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you recall, vaccines weren’t available, schools were still closed and everyone was afraid of standing closer than 6 feet to anyone else. Extending voting hours so people didn’t have to wait in long lines in crowded polling places made sense.
But it doesn’t make sense any more.
This is not to discount the importance of allowing as many voters as possible to participate in the process. That absolutely should remain a goal. But, sadly, like everything else, this has become a partisan issue.
It shouldn’t be that way. Such a lengthy early voting period is costly, because election officials have to staff all those early-voting locations for additional days. Campaigns have to invest in mailers and advertisements to voters who may already have cast their ballots – and begin such efforts far earlier in the election season.
It’s exhausting, because campaigns and parties have to recruit volunteers to staff polling places and serve as poll-watchers for many more days.
And it’s potentially misleading, because a lot can happen in 45 days. Voters should have as much information as possible before deciding who their next leaders will be. In 2021, the second debate between Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Terry McAuliffe – generally seen as the turning point in that race – happened 11 days after early voting began. Youngkin wound up winning, but one wonders whether some early McAuliffe voters might have changed their minds had they seen that debate first.
We already have enough voting in Virginia. The pandemic is over. We don’t need 6½ weeks of early voting; two to three weeks should suffice. The concept is fine, but let’s make it manageable.
Bruce Potter is publisher of InsideNoVa. He can be reached at bpotter@insidenova.com.
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