Letter To The Editor

Voting is a responsibility>

The fastest, simplest, most economical, safest, most effective method of actually getting people to participate in elections is to have mail in ballots. Send each registered voter a postpaid ballot with 30 days of the election have them fill it out and sign along their name, address and phone number. When received and signatures checked, tabulate twice by separate machines or by human intervention. The turnout will be much high than walk in elections and will have a broader segment of the population participating. It will put an end to voter recounts since the election officials will be personally responsible for the accuracy of the returns. Paying employees to sit all day in polling places and only for one day disenfranchises many voters who may make a decision on a knee jerk reaction and may actually need to study the candidates or bills before making a decision. Voting needs to be a responsibility that people need to take seriously and not just vote on what is good for them but forces them to think about the broader picture of what the vote actually means and what is good for the broader population.

Arnold Borreson

Mountain Home