I friggin' LOVE my state (WA) - my 18 yo daughter is registered to vote and didn't even know it

[Flying Squirrel]

She texted me, asking why she had just gotten a voting pamphlet in the mail.

I said, "Probably because you just got a Washington State ID card."

Who knows how long she might have put it off... now she'll get a ballot in the mail. Knowing her, she'll probably sit down with the voting pamphlet, carefully go over everything, fill out the ballot and send it in.

Contrast this with other states that are doing their level best to discourage turnout, make it difficult to vote, or out-and-out disenfranchise likely Democratic voters.

[GaYellowDawg]

1. Living in GA, that IS a big contrast.

Here, they make getting a driver's license the biggest pain in the ass that they can, and then require it for voting. It's absolutely astounding that in a democracy, that discouraging turnout or carrying out voter suppression isn't considered next to treason.

[arcane1]

2. I have always felt that voting eligability should be an opt-out arrangement.

As soon as you reach voting age, you are eligible. As it should be.

I won't go as far as to endorse making voting compulsory, but I don't mind using peer pressure to direct people to the polls

[Kath1]

3. Love it, too!

Hopefully, she will vote progressive/democratic? Then I'll REALLY love it!!!

[Flying Squirrel]

6. Oh, I'm sure she will.

We've had more than a few conversations, I've shown her a lot of posts from DU too

[Kath1]

14. Excellent!

My daughter is 24. She's a very committed liberal/progressive and I'm a proud mom!

[Zorra]

4. I grew up in WA, and miss it. It's a really great place.

And it's even gotten better since I left.

If it had a warmer climate I'd still be there, for sure.

[gopiscrap]

5. Yes I love living in Washington State

[jrandom421]

7. Vote by mail is the way to go for voter participation

In 2012, I think Washington had over 80% turnout, and some sections of King and Snohomish county approached 90%.! It was something like 84% turnout in Seattle alone.

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Oregon votes by mail as well, we set turnout records in 2010 and yet I hear daily on DU that

'the entire nation went Red in 2010 because of lazy voters'. I tell them it was a regional thing, not one West Coast state had any such troubles but they just repeat 'liberals refused to vote' then I point out that CA, OR and WA are filled with liberals and had huge turn out and they repeat 'all those lazy liberals wanted to teach Obama a lesson!'. So they speak in circles and never consider altering their own State's laws to rid themselves of long lines and voter ID and 'e voting machines' and all that Back East Goodness.

[Aristus]

17. I love our state like no other.

But I disagree on the vote-by-mail. I loved voting at the polls. I loved the sense of a shared cultural experience. When I got in line during the big elections, I knew I was surrounded by people who agreed with my politics, disagreed with my politics, or couldn't be bothered to care if I asked them. But we were all there to exercise our rights as Americans, regardless of outcome.

One of the greatest nights of my life was Election Day, 2008. I voted late because I was in PA School at the time. All day, every time we went on break from lecture, laptops would come out, and we would all check Election Day stats. I could hardly wait to get out of school in order to go to the polls to vote.

When I got there, the line was the longest I'd ever seen. Easily three times as long as the next longest, in 2004. The wait ended up being an hour and a half. My brother kept sending me texts, letting me know which states had declared, and for whom. By the time I got my ballot, I knew Barack Obama had won. But I voted just the same. The devil and all of his demons couldn't have deterred me by that point. It was a one-in-a-million night; one for the books.

Last November, when the election was called for PBO, I was sitting right here at this computer, and I cracked a bottle of champagne and celebrated. But my vote had been a tiny let-down, sending it in by mail as if paying the heating bill.

I miss the polls...

[strategery blunder]

18. That's why I use my county's drop boxes

It isn't quite the experience and anticipation of voting with your fellow citizens on Election Day, but hand-delivering my ballot still gives me fuzzier feelings than mailing it off like some unimportant electric bill.

And the advantages of high voter participation and ease of voting are not to be denied. When I contacted my congresscritter regarding the debt ceiling fiasco, I reminded him how the state legislature handled budget disagreements. State Republicans here wouldn't dare fire a Cruz Missile as there would be no way for them to disenfranchise enough voters to NOT be held accountable for it in the next election cycle, and they know it.

[PotatoChip]

8. Oh, I like that idea!

Does it work the same when someone gets their driver's license?

As an aside, I've never been to the PNW, but it looks lovely based on pics I have seen.

Congrats to your daughter!

[Flying Squirrel]

10. Yep, it's connected to the Dept of Motor Vehicles, called 'motor voter law'. n/t

[Jamaal510]

9. Now THAT is true freedom,

and if these conservatives and libertarians were really as big freedom-fighters as they claim to be, then they'd support giving everyone the right to vote and making voting as convenient as possible. But of course, they know they lose leverage as more folks show up.

[fizzgig]

11. wonderful!

it is beautifully easy to vote in my county in colorado. mail in ballots, early voting, multiple voting centers across the city and county.

it kills me when i hear about people standing in line for hours to vote.

[IronLionZion]

12. Socialism!

GOP will tell you government won't help you, then they get elected and prove it.

Oh yes, there are many Republicans militantly opposed to automated voter registration when you sign up for other things like drivers license or other government services. It doesn't cost that much, but conservative governments like to cut funding for everything, and want less voters. Its one of the reasons they constantly tell their constituents that government is slow and inefficient, just look at the DMV.

If you go to the DMV in a red state, you are going to have a very bad experience and hate your government by the time you get your license. If you go the DMV in Maryland, in and out in about 30 minutes and the current wait times for regional offices are posted online so just go to the less crowded one. You and I likely pay slightly higher state taxes for dramatically superior services. When I reported some unsafe road conditions in my neighborhood, I was impressed how quickly the state came and fixed it and followed up with me to see if it was done right.

In most ways other than income taxes, life is better in liberal states.

[Flying Squirrel]

15. That's my main complaint with WA...

There is no state income tax, and the sales tax is very regressive - 9.6% now. There is a lot of resistance to a state income tax for some reason. Probably because people are suspicious that they would bring back the sales tax on top of it.

[nolabear]

16. And vote by mail too. No polling places. No lines.

No bloody paranoia.