I read with interest Quinn Weber’s letter of May 13 regarding House Joint Resolution 161 on early voting.
Frankly, I’m embarrassed for him.
To compare a citizen’s right and obligation to cast a vote – a right and privilege so many Americans before him have died to protect – to “whatever it is you need to do that day” is nothing short of appalling.
And further, to state that going to the polls adds to the “stress” of a voter’s day shows how little value Mr. Quinn has for that right. Not that stress, that’s called life. And voting is the highest priority for millions American on Election Day – as it should be. Voting is not the same as hitting the coffee shop on the way do work or picking up your dry cleaning. Not even close.
The case that early voting makes it easier for election monitors to carry out their duties — citing voting issues in Stratford and Hamden last election because those monitors won’t be “overwhelmed” by the number of voters on Election Day — is contradicted by the facts.
In Hamden, the district lines were set, in error, years before, in the quiet of an office – not on Election Day. In Stratford, the wrong stack of ballots were grabbed accidentally and distributed to voters for part of the day.
Neither episodes were a function of voter volume at the polls. I urge Mr. Weber to study up before putting such positions out there.
The current absentee voter process includes a provision for voters who will simply be out of town on Election Day. To give a modicum of thought to where you will be on Election Day, and assess if you’ll be in town, does not seem to me to be burdensome.
Voting is important act, and it deserves at least a few minutes of effort to be sure you cast your vote. Our absentee voting is functionally the same thing, without the additional cost and processes that would come with early voting.
Our state is enough financial trouble – let’s not add more cost and complication where it’s definitely not needed.
Chuck Pyne
Woodbridge
The writer is the treasurer of the state Republican Party.
