Idea: Synchronous voting deadlines for U.S. based on time zone on election day

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Has anyone explored the idea of election day voting such that everyone, regardless of time zone, all have the same deadline to get their votes in?

For example:
Eastern: 11pm
Central: 10pm
Mountain: 9pm
Pacific: 8pm
Alaska: 7pm
Hawaii: 6pm

While I don't think the results of east coast electorate votes necessarily have a huge effect on ones to the west, they have caused furors in the past (the legendary Carter concession speech made before even voting was supposed to end on the west coast, causing many propositions to be under-voted), I would think a synchronous system wouldn't be hard to implement, and would be far more fair.

Or is there really any point? Does it really not matter?

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 15 December 2003 18:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Damn hanging chads would nix that idea. They obey no time zone.

― El Spinktor (El Spinktor), Monday, 15 December 2003 18:53 (twenty-two years ago)

(Actually, this could be far more applicable to Canada than the U.S., since Toronto has essentially "determinined" many election results alone, pissing of the West.)

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 15 December 2003 18:55 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, I hate Toronto!

― Huckleberry Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 15 December 2003 18:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah. Toronto sucks ass.

― El Spinktor (El Spinktor), Monday, 15 December 2003 18:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I think some accountability for the corporations making and installing the vote-tallying machines might go a little further towards a just voting system than readjusting voter last call, personally.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 15 December 2003 18:57 (twenty-two years ago)

haha, I totally agree nick, but who's going to monitor that and who the hell CAN we trust with that shit these days?

Being a software programmer, there's a reason I only stick to live card tables and human dealers in the casinos. Same thing applies to electronic voting.

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 15 December 2003 18:58 (twenty-two years ago)

I trust our government. They always do the right thing. You all are just skeptics.

― El Spinktor (El Spinktor), Monday, 15 December 2003 18:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Sceptics even. You'd have to make sure that the timezones all had the same amount of hours in which to vote.

― suzy (suzy), Monday, 15 December 2003 19:00 (twenty-two years ago)

The simplest solution would be to not give running totals or forecast winners on election day. Announce the results EOD Wednesday (assuming of course that all votes are tabulated in 24 hrs).

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 15 December 2003 19:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Time zones made me miss the L. Lewis fight in Germany this summer. Fuck time zones.

― El Spinktor (El Spinktor), Monday, 15 December 2003 19:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Sceptics even. You'd have to make sure that the timezones all had the same amount of hours in which to vote.

OK then...

For example:
Eastern: 8am
Central: 7am
Mountain: 6am
Pacific: 5am
Alaska: 4am
Hawaii: 3am

Or adjust accordingly. Granted, this is hard on the selfless folks who donate their houses as votig booths on the west coast or further. Or at least get them a LOT of coffee. (Haha, I love the idea of people donating their houses in Honolulu as voting booths being up in the middle of the night.. heh heh)

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 15 December 2003 19:09 (twenty-two years ago)

The simplest solution would be to not give running totals or forecast winners on election day. Announce the results EOD Wednesday (assuming of course that all votes are tabulated in 24 hrs).

OK, you go up to Clear Channel and other media conglomerates and tell them to do that... or else!

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 15 December 2003 19:10 (twenty-two years ago)

This reminds me yet again of how absurd it is that election day is not a government holiday. Pundits constantly bemoan low turnouts at the polls, and forget that half the reason a lot of people don't vote is because they can't squeeze it in before or after work, picking the kids up from soccer practice, making dinner, etc.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 15 December 2003 19:25 (twenty-two years ago)

jaymc on the OTM mastermic

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 15 December 2003 19:31 (twenty-two years ago)

(although my general feeling is that the non-voters are the ones that are not the soccer moms or the hard workers... if you made this a holiday, some people might plan to be AWAY, and celebrate it without voting, which could be even worse)

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 15 December 2003 19:33 (twenty-two years ago)

(but yeah, there should be some federal law allowing work compensation time on election day to allow people to take time off in the middle of the day to vote, and to have companies encourage voting)

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 15 December 2003 19:34 (twenty-two years ago)

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