I woke up at 6 a.m. and drove 139 miles to Birmingham on Election Day because my absentee ballot was mailed to my home address rather than my address in Atlanta. This error cost me time, sleep, gas, and 10 bucks on stamps I’ll probably never have the need to use. I was not the only one with this problem on Election Day which shows exactly why the absentee ballot process is outdated and not Gen Y friendly.
Absentee voting for all states depends on the mail, which is quickly becoming this generation’s pony express. And with many voters ages 18 to 29 citing “too busy” and lack of interest as their top two reason for not voting, the failure of this process is preventing young Americans from participating in the election process and making them lose faith in the value of civic engagement.
Not only is the by-mail process of voting time-consuming and slow, it also has hidden costs. It costs to get stamps and an envelope or to overnight a document and it takes time to identify where to send your application to receive a ballot. It took a full week and 10 dollars for my absentee ballot to be sent to the wrong address, money and time I could not spare being a busy student. This is the choice this process is forcing young Americans to make: deal with this archaic system or don’t vote at all.
I understand sending the ballot by mail. The debate about voting online is still relatively new and we all know the vulnerability of the Internet. But there is no reason the application and any supporting documents cannot be submitted electronically. Most colleges see this, eliminating paper applications in favor of electronic submissions. It is inexcusable to continue to use a process that makes it more difficult for young Americans to vote.
Gen Y is often accused of being civically disengaged, but in reality it’s the process. We have grown up with information accessible to our fingertips and participating in the election process should be no different.
