In Our View: Cast Your Ballots

Today is Election Day, meaning that ballots must be postmarked by this evening or dropped off at an official site by 8 p.m.

We’re guessing that many readers have already returned their ballots, which were mailed out more than two weeks ago. (In case you are a last-minute elector, here is an online reminder of The Columbian’s recommendations to voters.) Washington’s vote-by-mail system — combined with prepaid postage provided this year for the first time — makes it easy for citizens to carry out their civic duty.

It also presents an opportunity for us to laud the state’s election system and its emphasis on engaging with citizens. In addition to including postage on the envelopes — thanks to a not-so-gentle nudge from King County — Washington lawmakers passed a series of measures this year to improve our election system.

In March, Gov. Jay Inslee signed five bills collectively dubbed the Access to Democracy package. Three of the bills made it easier for citizens to become registered voters; another, the Washington Voting Rights Act, makes it easier for jurisdictions to switch to district representation rather than at-large votes for bodies such as city or county councils.

Such an emphasis on access to voting is preferable to what often takes place in other parts of the country, where multiple states have engaged in policies to suppress voting. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, compared with 2010, “13 states have more restrictive voter ID laws in place (and six states have strict photo ID requirements), 11 have laws making it harder for citizens to register, seven cut back on early voting opportunities, and three made it harder to restore voting rights for people with past criminal convictions.”

In North Carolina, nearly 20 percent of early voting locations were closed this year. In North Dakota, a new law requires voters to have a residential address rather than a post office box — a move that critics say especially targets Native Americans. In Georgia, the office of Secretary of State Brian Kemp has placed 53,000 registrations on hold, requiring an exact match to signatures on other government documents. The Associated Press reports: “Georgia’s population is approximately 32 percent black, according to the U.S. Census, but the list of voter registrations on hold with Kemp’s office is nearly 70 percent black.” Kemp is running for governor in a tight race against African-American Stacey Abrams but has not recused himself from overseeing the election. Neither has Kris Kobach, who is running for governor in Kansas and is overseeing that election as secretary of state.

In many states, voters will need to wait in line for hours today before exercising their constitutional right — a situation that should be anathema to a nation that truly believes in democracy. In 2001, a National Commission on Federal Election Reform recommended that Election Day should fall on a weekend or be made a national holiday, and the idea makes sense. We must, as a nation, make it easier for citizens to vote rather than continually putting up unnecessary barriers.

While Washington correctly views voting as a right and not a privilege, there still are ways in which local voters can strengthen our electoral system. Primary among them is to use voting as an educational tool. Tell your children why you are voting and why it is important; instill in them a desire to become informed and engaged when they reach the legal voting age of 18.

Today is Election Day. Make good use of it.