Though voters should remember that campaign signs, flags or banners are prohibited within 200 feet of a polling place — and that applies to T-shirts, hats and buttons, too — there is one very good sign to hold up for this year’s state general election: Wrangell voters have cast a record number of early ballots.
As of last Friday, 147 residents had cast early ballots in the election. That’s just in the first five days of voting, with several more days remaining before the early voting station at City Hall closes at 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4.
Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, at the Nolan Center, when the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The state has worked to make it easier for Alaskans to vote early, whether sending in an absentee ballot by mail or walking into temporary voting stations set up at city halls, state offices, recreation centers, university campuses and other sites around Alaska for the two weeks before the general election. The premise is that making it more convenient to vote — letting voters pick the day that best fits their schedule — will boost turnout.
And isn’t that the idea behind an election: Get as many people as possible to the polls to decide who will run their government, what issues are important and what the public thinks about it all.
Supporters of early voting hope it will reverse years of declining turnout at the polls. It looks to be doing exactly that in Wrangell this month, just as it is around Alaska. However, it also could mean that the people who choose to vote early are the same ones who would have voted on election day anyway — thus no gain in total turnout at the polls.
That’s the message for everyone who has not cast an early ballot. Don’t let a good record go to waste. If you don’t want to vote early, be sure to get to the Nolan Center on election day Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Just remember: No campaign signs allowed. But you do need to sign your name in the voter book and mark your ballot. Then go back home or return to work knowing that you did your part. It’s a sign on how a democracy should work
- Wrangell Sentinel
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