Early Voting for All

We the undersigned, for the health and vitality of our democracy, are in favor of every American voter having access to system of early voting comparable to what has been implemented with extraordinary results in Clark County, Nevada.

The fundamental foundation of any democracy is participation by its citizens. Voting is the ultimate expression of that participation. It is imperative that we find innovative ways to ensure that all eligible citizens are enfranchised and able to cast a ballot for every election with minimal impediments.

Clark County, Nevada already provides a distinguished model for overcoming the barriers to voting that too many currently encounter by providing extensive and efficient access to early voting:

• Polls are open every day for 14 straight days.
• Early voting hours vary from location to location and day-to-day, but in general, polls open at or before 9 am and stay open until 6 pm (but often 8 or 9 pm).
• In 2008, there were 9 "static" polling locations (at malls, big fitness centers, etc.) where polls were open in the same place each day.
• Additionally, there were 9 "mobile teams" and 4 "voting trailers" that moved around the county from grocery stores to libraries to the UNLV campus to senior centers for a day or two at a time based on a pre-planned schedule that was released to the public months in advance.
• Any Clark County resident can vote at any polling location.
  

In both the 2004 and 2008 general elections, Clark County was able to achieve higher than 80% voter turnout, thanks in large part to the 50% of voters who voted early. Because of the ample opportunities Clark County residents had to cast their ballot, long lines during early voting and on election day were rare.

We ask you to take Clark County's model and implement it in urban counties and states across the nation. In rural counties, a downscaled version of Clark County's early vote system may be more appropriate, but residents of these counties deserve the same access to expanded voting opportunities as well.

Your constituents and your country need you to take the lead in abolishing the indirect poll tax that predictably results from holding elections with on a single work day in November accompanied too often by prohibitively long lines at inconvenient polling places.

Thank you for your time and action on this issue.