Get early voters to polls
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1 Comment [ View ]Davis County has its own election goal this year. It wants to get a third of its registered voters to vote early.
This is an admirable goal. The historic significance of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's presumed candidacy has the potential to boost turnout. If Mitt Romney is chosen as presumptive candidate Republican Sen. John McCain's running mate, Davis County could see a turnout even higher than the 90 percent of registered voters who cast ballots in 2004.
Usually, 10 to 20 percent of Davis voters head to the polls early, reports the Standard-Examiner's Bryon Saxton. If that can be boosted, lines will be shorter on election day Nov. 4. It will also save money "by reducing the amount of election resources, voting equipment and poll staff needed," writes Saxton.
Early voting takes place in Davis from Oct. 21 to Oct. 31. Sites are the county libraries in Bountiful, Centerville, Clearfield and Layton. It was also be at the Syracuse Community Center and the County Courthouse in Farmington, reports the Standard's Saxton. For more information, go to www.daviscountyutah.gov
One reason early voting has never been too popular is that not enough people know about the option, Brian McKenzie, Davis County election technician, told Saxton. To get the word out, Davis County has contracted with Reagan Outdoor Advertising. The county is buying space on six billboards to promote early voting.
The cost for the billboard advertising is $8,187, according to the Standard's Saxton. The advertising campaign starts on Sept. 8 and will feature pictures of voters waiting in very long lines.
We think this is a sound, forward-thinking idea from Davis County and we hope other areas will exert similar strong efforts to get more Utah voters to the polls early. It can stop a lot of preventable headaches on Nov. 4.
However, just buying billboard space is not the complete answer. To get more voters to the polls early, Davis County and other areas need to get the message out to cities, to communities, to senior centers, etc. Commuters staring at a billboard isn't enough. We hope that county officials present a well-planned, comprehensive effort to get the word out to vote early.
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