McVoting

A Slate article today notes that though it had many critics, there was something fun about the California Recall election. It bypasses the two ballot initiatives that got short shrift, the controversy over electoral procedures (certain machines were later rejected by the state given technical problems), and so forth, but it has a point. The recall increased turnout, something that all too often is rather low, especially for races that are not statewide or for the presidency. All of these matters point to the serious problems present each Election Day, problems that in some key ways interferes with the carrying out of our basic act as citizens, voting.

Many possible solutions have been suggested to deal with these problems. My suggestion would be to examine this as a sales problem. As one ad campaign suggests, "the educated consumer is the best customer." Why not view voters as customer, who must be educated and encouraged to "buy" a certain product, namely voting? A lot of time and effort is put forth to encourage people to spend their money on overpriced coffee, overprocessed fast food, and often inferior amusements. Why not put this time, effort, and design savvy to encourage and assist the voter? Why not make voting as easy as getting a coffee and a muffin? In fact, it wouldn't be that bad of an idea to offer such items at every polling place. For instance, the Hartsdale, NY polling location is actually a Starbucks, conveniently located at the Metro North spot. Voting, breakfast, and transportation all at one place. Think of it as "McVoting" without the excess fat.

This is not as strange of an idea as it sounds. For instance, I have noticed that post offices are must more customer friendly places than they once were. The clerks are encouraged to be polite, helpful, and (like in a fast food restaurant) encourage further purchase ("do you want stamps with that?"). There is self-service (postage machine), individuals to guide traffic, and at times even a scale to weigh packages. It is clearly a response to the growing competition from private package transportation companies. The competition to voting might be less obvious, but the small size of the voting public each Election Day suggests it is as powerful. The specter of a small minority of the population determining our leaders should be concern enough. There also can be competition of voting machines, all of which do not fit the needs of a particular community, and diversity would limit the problems the do arise because all of our eggs would not be in one basket. And, we can have a quick and efficient process, helped by snappy advertising campaigns and customer service lines.

The article also speaks about using pulpits, schools, and even special voting lotteries. Churches are already are major source of voting education, across party lines (remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a minister; the Christian Right also uses churches quite effectively). Schools also are an important resource, especially after the Twenty Sixth Amendment gave the vote to eighteen year olds. Why not tie registration directly to a high school civics class with those who successful pass might be able to vote in local elections even before they are eighteen? Colleges and other civic organizations should remind people of the issues that especially affects them. Registration information should be at major locales, including malls, along with information on issues that affect the communities.

Voting is a lot more important that most things that consumers purchase everyday, but similar techniques can be used to promote them all. There is no reason why we cannot make voting more fun and interesting given what is involved and is at stake. In fact, we must.