The 2009 Election season is upon us.  I remember the first time I voted, and I have hardly missed any elections (national, state, local, school board, mill levy, etc.) since then.

Now I get my ballots in the mail.  That gives me some extra time to examine the issues or the candidates before making a decision.  It also allows my family to discuss the issues while sitting around the kitchen table.  Plus, I don’t have to worry about going to the precinct to vote on Election Day.

I remember when I was serving in the military overseas, voting was difficult.  It was not that anyone was hindering me from voting, but being so far away and using the Postal Service to request the absentee ballot and getting it sent to me took weeks.  

I remember during one election I received my ballot the day after the election, although I had requested it weeks before.  I did send it back.  Hopefully the process is better now, because nobody deserves to vote more than our military personnel, wherever they may be.

There are a few changes I would make to the voting process today.

First, I would cut-off same day registering.  My change would require people to be registered to vote by noon the day before Election Day.  It’s a personal responsibility thing.

I don’t like the process of “same-day registering” because it is ripe for corruption.  Of course, you won’t find too many election officials saying there was hanky-panky on their watch, but it does happen.  For example, on Election Day we hear a lot about “exit polling” and if a candidate has a good campaign team and they find that they are losing through their exit polling, they can round up people and give them something (food, drink, cash cards) and “urge” them to vote for their candidate.

Secondly, why does my government require me to pay for voting by having me place postage on the envelope to mail my ballot back?  Ironically, the return address on the ballot envelope is the elections office.  So if I don’t put postage on it, will it be returned to sender, which is the elections office?  Will my vote count?

The easiest method would be for our government to send a postage-free envelope to return the ballot.  Our Postal Service is somewhat part of the Government, so this should be a simple fix.

The third thing I would change in my “perfect voting world” would be to cut off all campaigning the day before Election Day.  I know there are some people who would like to limit the amount of campaigning altogether by giving candidates a few weeks to campaign.  I am not in favor of going that far, just yet.

I would like it if there were no commercials, no public appearances by the candidate or their staff, and no calling on Election Day.  So basically anything that can be tied to a campaign would be stopped for Election Day.

The fourth and final thing I would change would be to allow anyone who is 17 years old and a member of the United States military to vote.  Seventeen year olds can enter the military and they should be allowed to vote.

The voting process across our country has improved dramatically since the first time I cast a ballot.  But it is a process that needs to keep up with technology (where’s on-line voting?) and it also needs to keep up with those who try to cheat their way to victory.

Make sure you are registered and then vote!  Click HERE to find out about voting in Montana.

Although most of the elections this November are for local candidates or local issues, I have always felt it’s the locally elected officials who make the biggest impact on our lives.