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May 6, 2012

So, how come we always vote on Tuesdays? And are voting centers and ID cards good ideas?

Arthur Foulkes The Tribune-Star

As voters get set to go to the polls in the Indiana Primary Election on Tuesday, some may be wondering: “Why do we vote on Tuesdays?”

Americans have been voting on Tuesdays for a long time — since 1845 — before some states, such as Iowa, Kansas and Colorado, became states.

The reason we vote on Tuesdays — as opposed to one of the other six days of the week — is tied to Americans going to church. According to what lawmakers said at the time Tuesday voting was established, they felt Sunday would be a bad day for elections because of church attendance. Monday also wouldn’t work, because some people would need two days to reach their county seats to cast their ballots. That would also apply to voting on Saturday.

So Tuesday was chosen, in part by process of elimination.

Today, groups such as WhyTuesday.org are trying to get elections moved to Saturdays to increase voter participation.

Fewer precincts better?

Just as people wonder why we vote on Tuesdays, some are starting to wonder, “Why precincts?” Why should voting take place in multiple neighborhood precincts and not fewer, more centrally located vote centers?

Lawmakers in Colorado decided a decade ago to allow voters to cast their ballots at centralized “vote centers.” The action stemmed from the frustration of a county clerk, who was concerned about voters showing up at the wrong precincts and having to be sent away without voting.

By contrast, centralized vote centers can accommodate voters from anywhere in the county.

The first time it was tried, 31 vote centers replaced 143 precincts in Larimer County. “By most accounts, the system worked,” according to a 2011 article published by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The process has been so successful, several other states — including Indiana — have passed laws allowing counties to set up vote centers.

But Vigo County hasn’t taken that step. Despite a Ball State University study showing vote centers cut election costs in three Indiana counties by at least 25 percent, concerns still remain about switching away from the traditional precinct system.

“There’s a lot of things to look into,” said Pat Mansard, Vigo County clerk. “I don’t want to leap before I look.”

Mansard worries that vote centers would discourage voters who walk to their neighborhood polling place or rely on public transportation. “I look at what’s best for all voters, not just dollars and cents,” she said.

A study by Rice University political scientists Robert Stein and Greg Vonnahme showed, however, that voter turnout in Colorado actually increased in places where vote centers were introduced. While the results were preliminary, “the effect of Election Day Vote Centers seems to have a positive and significant effect on the individuals’ electoral participation,” they wrote.

For vote centers to be used in Vigo County, it would require a unanimous vote of the bipartisan election board, Mansard said.

Who are you? Prove it

A much more controversial issue in Indiana concerns the state’s law requiring voters to show a photo ID to cast a ballot. Mansard believes the law clearly harms the elderly, poor and disabled – people less likely to have a driver’s license.

“I think it was totally unnecessary,” Mansard said of Indiana’s law, adding that some voters become angry when they are asked to show photo identification.

Mansard tells the story of an elderly man who showed up to vote in a recent election and had to take a provisional ballot because he had no photo ID. When he learned he would need to bring proof of his identity to the courthouse, the man felt it was not worth the trouble, she said. “So his ballot didn’t count,” Mansard said. “I think that’s a very bad situation.”

Indiana is one of eight states with strict photo ID requirements to vote. In two states, Texas and South Carolina, the U.S. Justice Department is fighting the requirement. In Mississippi, the law was passed by a citizens’ initiative but still requires legislative action to become law.

Fifteen other states require IDs to vote — but not photo IDs — and seven others ask for photo ID, but will accept less. About 20 states have no identification requirements for voting.

Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.

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