Early voting advocates might argue that by mid-October, millions of American voters have already, and perhaps long ago, made up their minds about the presidential candidates, and that no new information will change that. Indeed, a sizable chunk of the American electorate probably decided a year ago October, or maybe as far back as October 2004, which party's candidate they would vote for in the November 2008 presidential race.
Still, even if only for a small and shrinking share of undecided voters, something important - decisive, you might say - could happen after an early vote is cast but before Election Day.
Remember how, in the waning days of the 2000 presidential campaign, we learned, probably from an Al Gore campaign leak, that George W. Bush had been arrested for drunken driving? Four years later, there was an equally curious Osama bin Laden video that appeared during the final days of the presidential race.
We can't know for sure the effects of these "October surprises" or the late-stage media reporting. But we do know that people who voted already could not include this new information in their calculus.
Consider, too, that in races for Congress or lower offices, the candidate may have raised only enough money or raised it so late that he or she doesn't go on the air or send direct mail until the very end of the race, thereby magnifying the problem of early voting. Just because somebody decided in early September - say, after Sen. John McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate - that he was going to support the Republican ticket, does not mean that same voter has also figured out whom to back for Congress or a judgeship.
About three dozen states permit early voting, and the Supreme Court has generally validated their right to do so. But if the intent is provide maximal access, there are other options.
Why not make national elections a two-day event (say, on Sunday and Monday, so there's a weekend day)? Keep polls open longer, and permit same-day registration. Allowing people to cast votes outside their home precincts also seems reasonable. Any or all of these measures would provide easier voting access.
But I'm sorry: Easier is not the same as earlier.
Thomas F. Schaller teaches political science at UMBC. His column appears regularly in The Sun. His e-mail is schaller67@gmail.com.
