Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
As we near election day, one decision that voters face, outside of whom to vote for, is whether or not to even vote at all. Northern Michigan University political science professor Tom Baldini says one of the major reasons for the low turnout is that it’s not always convenient to vote. One of the inconveniences is the day on which we vote, Tuesday, while most other countries vote on weekends or set aside a holiday for the occasion. He also cited the seemingly arbitrary voter registration rules as an issue.
Baldini went on to say that low turnout isn’t always the case of young people just not voting, as was evidenced by the high turnout of voters under 30 during the 2008 election.
It should be noted that in Michigan first time voters can’t vote via absentee ballot. Baldini made the argument that who we, as voters, send to Congress and elect as governor, does make a difference and at the end of the day, if you don’t vote, you’ve still voted.
