| − | Early voting increases taxpayer expenses by millions of dollars but does not increase turnout. "Early voting, in a sense, is like having my students evaluate my course halfway through the first class," said Professor Matt Streb, who also observed that early voting does not increase overall voter turnout.<ref>http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20121111/news/711119900/</ref> In an exit poll conducted during the November 2012 elections, CNN found that 69% of voters had decided whom they would vote for before September, and an additional 9% made up their mind in September.<ref>http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/results/race/president#EP2816_P</ref>
| + | Traditionally, absentee voters had to state one of several allowed reasons to vote before election day, while early voting permits all eligible voters to cast ballots that are not fully informed, prior to Election Day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://earlyvoting.net/research/journal-article/convenience-voting-gronke-galanes-rosenbaum-miller-toffey-2008/|title=Convenience Voting|author=Gronke, Galanes-Rosenbaum, Miller, Toffey|accessdate=October 30, 2012}}</ref> which are used by more that 30% of United States voters. |
| | Early voting has spread as Democrats realize that the uninformed votes give them a comparative advantage. As pushed by [[Democrat]]s, many states in the United States have laws adopting forms of early voting. According to the Early Voting Center at Reed College, the following states allow early voting in 2012: North Carolina, Indiana, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Georgia, Arkansas, Idaho, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Louisiana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, California, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada and Hawaii.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reed.edu/earlyvoting/calendar/|title=Early voting calendar, 2012|accessdate=October 30, 2012}}</ref> Liberal-leaning foreign nations have also adopted some form of early voting, such as Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Thailand. | | Early voting has spread as Democrats realize that the uninformed votes give them a comparative advantage. As pushed by [[Democrat]]s, many states in the United States have laws adopting forms of early voting. According to the Early Voting Center at Reed College, the following states allow early voting in 2012: North Carolina, Indiana, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Georgia, Arkansas, Idaho, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Louisiana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, California, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada and Hawaii.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reed.edu/earlyvoting/calendar/|title=Early voting calendar, 2012|accessdate=October 30, 2012}}</ref> Liberal-leaning foreign nations have also adopted some form of early voting, such as Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Thailand. |