The logistical and bureaucratic problems facing voters in this election have been covered from many angles on Kos, but one which I think has been entirely neglected is the following: Long lines and predicted huge turnout for this election will make it harder than ever for working people to get to the polls without facing consequences at work. We should try to address this before the election by asking companies and workplaces to pledge to support employee voting by not punishing or docking workers trapped in long lines at polling places, or those who need to leave early in order to reach their polling places before they close.
It is widely predicted that this Nov. 4 will see record voter turnout, if early voting in states like Florida, Georgia, and Indiana are any indicator. Millions of voters have stood in hours long lines to vote in these and other states already, and it is expected that very high turnout and the poorly implemented (and sometimes problematic) registration and voting process changes make it likely that Election Day itself will be a complete zoo. Long lines, malfunctioning electronic voting machines, voter challenges, provisional ballots, and all the rest of the minor and major ways that we can expect conservatives to try to game the system to tamp down voting participation levels, are all likely to occur on Nov. 4. Only 30 states have some form of early voting, so Election Day is not something many millions of voters can 'get around'.
One key reason that long lines at the polls are effective at suppressing voter participation is that the majority of U.S. voters are workers who must fit their visit to the polls around school and daycare dropoffs, working hours, child care, and other inflexible time constraints. We are not civilized or intelligent enough in this country to make national elections holidays. (YET) So, I am calling on employers to do the following:
Employers who want to show that they care about this country at all should pre-emptively and explicitly inform their employees that they will face no penalty or retribution for voting-related absence or lateness on Election Day. Workers should not have to choose between staying out of trouble at work and participating in this crucial election.
Kos should ask our corporate friends (we do have some of those, right?) to sign a pledge stating that workers who are late or need to leave early in order to be able to vote will face no penalty, punishment, docking, or retribution for being stuck in a line at their polling place.