I’ve seen a few tweets about Chrysler giving its entire work force the day off to vote. I haven’t seen any news stories corroborating this, but I really hope it’s true. I hope it’s true, and I wish other employers did the same.
I’ve seen multiple reports of people waiting in line for over an hour then having to give up to go to work. This is so sad. I hope some of those people will try again later, but I’m sure many will not.
The reasons for a Tuesday election day are extremely outdated. (Read or listen to the NPR story “Why Are Elections on Tuesdays?” here.) Election day should be on a weekend or, better yet, it should be a national holiday. A Tuesday election day is nothing more than a form of voter suppression. Sure, early voting helps to give people other opportunities to vote, but early voting is not available to everyone.
I hope that whoever is elected considers changing our silly system of voting on what for most people is a work day. Until then, I hope you will take the time to vote if you haven’t done so. If you go after work and are still in line when the polling place is set to close, know that you must still be allowed to vote if you were in line before the closing time.
Kim Z. Dale 