NPR: More than 100,000 Votes Already Cast in N.C.

More than 100,000 Votes Already Cast in N.C.

The Raleigh News and Observer reports that more than 100,000 people have voted in the North Carolina primary. The state has a one-stop early voting program that allows people to register and vote at the same time.

Meanwhile, the paper profiled voters in Wake County who went to the polls right after church on Sunday.

"Weekends are a time when people are available," said John Gilbert, chairman of the Wake elections board. "It's not like 40 years ago when we still had blue laws and nobody was open."
And it's not as if Sunday voting is a new idea, Gilbert said. Nations around the world have used Sundays for elections.

Last week, Sunday Soapbox looked at why we vote on Tuesdays. (It was a mid-19th century effort to give rural Americans a chance to vote.) Technically, people are supposed to get time off to vote, but this doesn't always happen. Is it time for elections to move to the weekends? Or should we go the Oregon route and allow people to move by mail?

8:15 AM ET | 04-28-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

I'm a dual citizen, a Detroiter who's married a Swiss and can by virtue of my dual citizenship vote in Switzerland's frequent ballots on referendums as well as elected officers. With all the voting we do here, it's very convenient that we can vote by mail, in advance, on Sundays or any day of the week before the polls close. Our village police station has a sign out the whole week, "vote now," and I've never felt before so directly linked to the issues that effect my residential community.
p.s. I used to be NPR's stringer in Hong Kong in the days of Deborah Amos and John McChesney

Sent by Dinah Lee Kung | 9:11 AM ET | 04-28-2008

Send a Comment

Comments are reviewed and edited by NPR prior to display. All comments will be read, but not all will be posted.

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.

E-mail this Page

Recipient's e-mail address:	» Up to twelve addresses, separated by commas.
Your e-mail address:
Your name:
Personal message (optional, 600 characters max):
Your NPR member station:	» List of local stations (PDF)
Are you a member of your local NPR station?	Yes No
Would you like to receive information from your local NPR member station? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No
May we contact you with information about NPR programming and services? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No

(Information collected by NPR will be used solely for internal NPR or NPR member station purposes and only if you selected 'yes' above. See NPR's privacy policy for more information.)

Tom Regan

Blogger

About Us

This year's election cycle has been one of the most exciting in memory. At the NPR News Blog we'll do our best to bring you interesting, informative -- and controversial -- stories from our own reporters and bloggers, as well as the rest of the best of the Internet and blogosphere. And we hope you'll let us know what you think as well.

Want to learn more? Be sure to read our Frequently Asked Questions and our discussion guidelines.