Reaping the benefits of voting early

Registered voters in 34 states cast ballots early for candidates running in Tuesday’s general election – Oregon residents vote by mail. Voters are fortunate that North Carolina is one of those states, allowing people to avoid long lines and to make their choices on their own schedules.
In Rockingham County, elections officials say, more than 21,000 people have voted. County BOE Director Janet Odell said that is more than twice the number of early voters who came out in 2004. The county has nearly 60,000 registered voters.
“It went really well,” Odell told us. “We have never had over 10,000 at early voting before.”
What a concept. But what about the remaining 16 states? Why the lack of no-excuse early voting there? Elections officials and voters alike were surely asking themselves that question Tuesday, as ubiquitous lines snaked from New Jersey to Missouri.
In the East, electronic machine glitches forced some New Jersey voters to cast paper ballots, The Associated Press reported. In New York, anxious voters started lining up before dawn, prompting erroneous reports that some precincts weren’t opening on time.
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell urged voters to “hang in there.” More than 160 people were lined up when the polls opened at First Presbyterian Church in Allentown. “I could stay an hour and a half at the front end or three hours at the back end,” joked Ronald Marshall, a Democrat.
Norma Storms, a 78-year-old resident of Raytown, Mo., said her driveway was filled with cars left by voters who couldn’t get into nearby parking lots. “I have never seen anything like this in all my born days,” she told the AP. “I am just astounded.”
In Virginia, where a Democrat has not won the presidential race since 1964, several counties experienced paper jams and balky touch-screen devices.
Early voting might take some of the glitz off Election Day, but the idea makes perfect sense. Limiting most voting to one day not only leads to the aforementioned problems but also can result in overworked poll workers more apt to make mistakes.
Rockingham County and state residents voted with relative ease and comfort in this election, and that’s as it should be. It’s time the remaining 16 states and the District of Columbia allow their residents the same courtesy.