Vote Early and Often

I voted yesterday. No, I didn't get an early opportunity to stuff the ballot box. I voted by absentee ballot, since I will be traveling on Election Day.

Absentee voting was surprisingly easy. All I did was pull up the web site for my county and follow the link to download the application. I received the absentee ballot within about a week. In Maryland at least, I was not even asked the reason for voting absentee. Presumably, voters can stay home or at work on Election Day, vote absentee, and avoid the lines at the voting location.

In fact, I might vote by absentee ballot in future elections as well. Absentee voting has the added benefit of having an actual paper ballot. One day, electronic voting machines may be reliable. However, that day has not yet arrived. Most electronic voting machines do not yield a paper record, which is absurd given that bank atm machines have done so for more than 20 years. Electronic voting machines are also subject to tampering and hacking, as evidenced by numerous experiments.

So vote by absentee ballot. There is probably still time. Or vote in person. Just vote. No excuses. It's easy and empowering.