October 22, 2007

THE EARLY VOTING CYCLE

I recently was a candidate for the Memphis City Council (Super District 9, Position 2) and while I did not win, I ran well and finished third in a field of six getting 20% of the vote.

After the election I talked with many of the other candidates for the various smaller districts and the super districts and there seems to be general agreement that the extended two week period of early voting is a bad idea that greatly increases the cost of campaigning but does not increase the actual voting totals. Also, as happened this year, many people voted before certain information came out about some of the candidates.

Therefore I would propose that in the future, early voting occur two to three days immediately before the actual voting date. For instance this year the final date was Thursday, October 4, 2007. Early voting could have occurred on Monday and Tuesday and the final vote on Thursday. This would cut the cost of the election to the taxpayers and certainly cut the cost and the length of the campaign to those running.

While there is nothing that can be done about signs, they are an eyesore and a distraction that takes away from the debate of ideas. Public television should be used to have a full and thorough debate between the various candidates giving them time to question each other and to display their ideas and their knowledge.

The election commission should reconsider the early voting cycle and change it to a shorter, more compact and less expensive model.

Joe Saino