I Didn't Vote

November 4, 2008, I walked into my local Department of Motor Vehicles branch to do what a good American citizen does, vote. After making it through the door I saw a line that seemed to be longer than any I had before encountered. The wait to vote was well over an hour. So I did the unthinkable, I walked back out the door and went on to other activities.

But, is it all that unthinkable? Every election millions of voters never show up, never cast a ballot, and never vote. For me, it was a convenience issue. I didn’t have the time to wait in line for hours, and I think millions of Americans have similar issues. The system is simply too out dated to accommodate them.

The system made sense for hundreds of years. You show up, cast your ballot, and your vote is registered—they had no better way. But we do. We have a better way at our disposal. The internet is doing incredible things in areas such as business, communications, and even banking. Many people who do not vote today because they do not have the time would be able to vote because they can do it virtually anywhere, and with only a few clicks online. Thus, millions of those who didn’t have the time would now be able to vote.