Early Voting Is a Relief

New York state has finally adopted early voting. This is a particular relief to me, because I typically work a long day on Election Day, my workplace being a polling site- I typically arrive at 5AM to open up the building for the poll workers, and spend the first hour of the day helping them to set up and troubleshooting any problems that arrive. One year, for instance, one of them brought a space heater and turned it on, tripping the circuit breaker that the voting machines were also on. I sternly told them, "Light, heat, voting: pick two!"

I typically work until 5PM, then have to rush home to Yonkers in order to vote before heading off to bar trivia for the night, which necessitates partially retracing the route I took home. If I can vote early, I can save myself a trip.

I have to say, though, that early voting is biased toward drivers (most things are in the 'States). My physical polling site is three blocks from my home, while my early voting site is 4.4 miles away. I have a car, so it's not a hassle to get here, but a bus trip would involve a transfer from the '25' bus to the '20' bus, with all of the delay that a transfer entails. For individuals who are dependent on public transportation, the process should be refined, and a closer site located.

For a first time effort, things look pretty good, but improvements could be made. At least, it's a start, and the whole voting process will be much more user friendly.