Vote Early! - Only Good Things Can Happen

Today, I voted in the 2008 Presidential Election and for other issues and candidates on the Colorado state ballot. The following are my reasons why you should vote early too:

1. Voting is good for you and your country - All eligible voters should vote because our democracy operates at its best when Americans vote in large numbers. Further, it sends a message to other countries that we take our democracy seriously because we back up our externally directed democratic rhetoric with an internally thriving democratic process.
   
2. Less stressful - There is little to no pressure. It is kind of like going for a field goal on third down, if you screw up the snap you can try again on fourth down. That is, you can come back the next day if you forget your voter registration card or driver's license; or if they do not have your information on file (e.g., like my wife).
   
3. No waiting in line - My polling location was operating (i.e., staffed) as if it were election day so there were plenty of people to help me and lots of voting booths. Thus, I did not have to wait in line to vote.
   
4. Easy parking and less traffic - Parking and traffic are exponentially worse on election day because everyone is stressed out about missing work, dropping their kids off at school, or getting home for dinner.
5. Reduces the likelihood of voter fraud - Everyone voting on the same day (i.e., election day) puts a lot of stress on a state's vote collecting infrastructure and, as a result, increases the chance that mistakes and voter fraud will occur. Voting early grants your state's voting infrastructure ample time to do due diligence on the submitted votes.
   
6. No pollsters - You are less likely to run into pollsters if you vote early because pollsters do not have time to camp out at polling locations for weeks at a time.
   
7. You can relax on November 4th - You can have fun watching election coverage on November 4th knowing that you cast your vote.

Not sure if you can vote early? VoteForChange.com is an Obama web site that shows if there are any available early voting locations in your area. In addition, JohnMcCain.com has a web page for identifying early voting locations in your area.