Elections: How to Vote By Mail

/in , /by

Story by guest columnist Kyle Skrinak

Cary, NC – Absentee voting is so easy, a caveman could do it. Guest columnist Kyle Skrinak explains the latest confluence of convenience and civic duty.

Wake County Absentee Voting: It’s the Bomb

I am proud to say I am an absentee ballot voter. I’ve been one for a couple years now and love the convenience of it. We North Carolinians have had this luxury for some time now. When I first heard about it, my ex-New Yorker kicked in, and I had visions of triplicate-50 page forms where I’d be making all kinds of testimonies and declarations, with each page signed in a unique color. I’ve come to discover I was very wrong.

Simple Process

For residents of Wake County, the process is stunningly simple, detailed  in Vote Absentee by Mail. You write your letter as per their guidelines (I created mine in 10 minutes, and that was while yelling at one of my kids to clean his room) print it out and mail it in. Last year I was able to fax it in, but I don’t see that option now, which is fine enough.

Use Your Own Household Mailbox

Historically, my OCD compelled me to use a USPS blue mail box. Wrong again. Last week, I mailed in my request and used my home mailbox, inserting it roughly 15 minutes after our postman (super guy, by the way) delivered that day’s mail, so I was already at +24 hours for pick up. Incredibly, I got my ballot back on Friday. I filled out the ballot, mailed, boom; done. Between my wife and I, we spent 30 minutes and $1.80 on postage.

Better Information

There’s another advantage to absentee ballots. I’ve long complained about needing to know; “Who’s on my ballot?” Many elections will have ads from neighboring and overlaping districts at different city and state levels. This leads to a tangle of confusion. Using an absentee ballot and a web browser, there’s no more excuses for not doing your homeworking and voting for the right man or woman.

Fight Low Turnout the Easy Way

Voter turn-out in our elections is low, very low. This means your single vote has even greater weight than it would with an energized electorate. So, go forth, mail in your absentee ballot, and move on to your largely unfinished to do list. At least your most important, civil-minded twice-a-year tasks are complete, giving your the right to rant to all your wrong neighbors.

Visit Cary Votes on Facebook.