No waiting line on Maui.Is Maui the “I No Kea County?” After each election, and increasingly so, we are labeled “apathetic” because of our appalling low voter turnout.
If setting an example for your children by participating in the democratic process that so many fought and died for isn’t reason enough, do you think one of these incentives would help Maui get out and vote?
Cash incentives to lure more voters. Cha-ching. A voters’ lottery was proposed in 2006 in which one lucky Arizona voter would win a million dollars.
Make Election Day a paid national holiday. If we have President’s Day off to honor the ones we’ve had, why not go ahead and celebrate them right away?
Make voting a special occasion with free food and music. We could call it “Voters’ Aid”—a festival like Live Aid and Farm Aid. Let’s get down and make it a real political party. Once we hear the election results, the fun will be over for some of us, so why not at least enjoy the voting process? (A suggestion made by Lloyd Garver of CBS News in 2006.)
Frequent voter miles? Coupons for food and gas that you tear off your expended ballot? You lose your right to write letters to the editor if you don’t vote?
Or how about the American Idol angle? Talent show-style voting is surely the key to future success. If you could have phoned in or text messaged your vote after the last debate, wouldn’t the lines have been jammed?
In the past, some have suggested that there would be a better turnout if we simply had better choices. But we can select from a diverse group of great people running for office this year—we have those choices.
Some have argued that there would be a better turnout if we felt that our vote really impacted our lives. If you wonder if your vote matters, I guess it depends on whether you believe the current condition of the country, the state and the county were determined by who you voted for, or by the fact that so many elected not to vote at all.
If the phrase “no vote, no grumble,” really holds true, how quiet is it going to be in Maui County after Nov. 4?
Wouldn’t it be easier to have less to grumble about?
There’s no waiting line to vote in Maui County—at least, not yet. So let’s line up for something more important than Zippy’s carryout and lattés—and at least earn our right to grumble.
Remember to email your nominations for Person of the Year, Unsung Hero of the Year and Hui of the Year by Monday, Dec. 8, to editor@mauiweekly.com and type “Person of Year,” “Hui of the Year” or “Unsung Hero of the Year” in the subject line. It is crucial that those submitting nominations also send a high-resolution photo of the nominee or nominees by Dec. 8.