# Why don't the polls open earlier? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 1, 2010, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-polls-open-earlier/559076 "2010-11-01T11:12:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-polls-open-earlier/559076/21 "2010-11-02T17:56:17Z")
There was a recent study on voting on line by Michigan election committee. They thought they had it all encrypted and foolproof. They challenged some U of Mich. students to break in. It took them 1 hour. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-polls-open-earlier/559076/22 "2010-11-02T21:18:35Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Why would anyone _not_ vote by mail? I guess taking several hours out of your day to stand in long lines of sweaty, smelly fleshbags is all part of the “excitement” of Election Day, eh? Or do you really just need that sticker to show everyone what a patriot you are? Because you can _buy_ the stickers. > [@jonesj2205](#): > > My polling place is five blocks from my house and on my way home. Longest entering to exiting was less than five minutes. It took me less than 45 minutes to vote, and that includes driving ten miles at 40-30mph to get there and back home. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-polls-open-earlier/559076/23 "2010-11-02T21:28:39Z")
6AM in NJ seems plenty early. I voted at about 6:45 on my walk to the train. No one in front of me, one guy came in to vote as I was leaving. Took about 5 minutes in all. I wasn’t offered a sticker. I don’t know the rules on early voting in NJ, so I didn’t try that route. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-polls-open-earlier/559076/24 "2010-11-03T01:02:57Z")
What they need to do is make Election Day a national holiday. IIRC that’s how it is in several other Western countries. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-polls-open-earlier/559076/25 "2010-11-03T01:16:35Z")
I just wish they were open later than 6PM here in Kentucky. We don’t have early voting, either, so the window for working people is pretty tight. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-polls-open-earlier/559076/26 "2010-11-03T02:59:43Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > What they need to do is make Election Day a national holiday. IIRC that’s how it is in several other Western countries. What I’d like to see, although given what I described in my earlier post it’s a pipe dream, is multi-day voting. Can’t make it Tuesday? We’re open Wednesday too. And what \*\*LOUNE \*\*said about seniors preferring the day-of polls is often oddly true; my grandmother who worked the polls for years is adamantly anti-absentee if you don’t have a REALLY good reason you can’t get to the polls on Election Day. I’ve discussed the issue with her and we have to agree to disagree; I think making it possible for lazy-but-not-inable people to vote at their convenience is a better thing than not voting at all, though I’d personally not do it myself because you never know what issues come up at the last minute. She feels that voting when all the information you’re going to get is in is absolutely the best option. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-polls-open-earlier/559076.md?page=1)