By now, many of you have your 2010 general election ballots in hand.
While we appreciate the ease of use of mail-in ballots and early voting, there can be a risk in voting too soon. We only have to go back to this past summer to remember the revelations and twists that occurred during the primary races. More than a few voters no doubt wished they could take their votes back.
Mail ballots went out to primary voters three weeks before the traditional voting day. Shortly before, a plagiarism scandal erupted that gave GOP voters some concerns about former Congressman Scott McInnis. Dan Maes then scooped up a lot of disgruntled McInnis supporters, only to later reveal himself as unfit for office. Late in the primary, we learned that Maes believed a Denver bike- sharing program was an international plot to deprive Denverites of personal freedom. But for former McInnis supporters who had already mailed in votes for Maes, it was too late.
Twists like that, we think, make an argument for voters to be patient before marking their ballots.
Early voters are out of luck if late information comes to light that might change your outlook on a candidate or on one of the many critical issues on this year’s ballot.
County clerks, who understandably want to get work processing ballots as soon as possible, will argue for voters to turn in their ballots quickly. Turnout also is expected to be high for a mid-term election, given voter dissatisfaction with the status quo in both parties.
And we understand that some voters are fed up with the political attack ads and figure once they cast their votes, they won’t have to pay attention anymore.
But we think it is far better to have a well-informed public that makes choices with as much information as possible rather than voting early for the sake of convenience. Sure, it may take a little longer to count ballots, but that’s a reasonable risk.
