Early voting in Madison County, Ill., in 2006 (David Carson/Post-Dispatch)

Thirty-five states of all political hues — red, blue and purple — are providing voters with some convenient alternative to the Election Day crush. Not so Missouri — or at least not yet.

The Missouri Secretary of State is in charge of making Missouri’s elections system fair, efficient and convenient for voters. Successive holders of that office — Republican Matt Blunt and Democrat Robin Carnahan — sit at opposite ends of the political spectrum. But both are early-voting proponents.

Each has supported virtually identical early-voting bills. But when Mr. Blunt pushed the initiative, Republicans got on board and Democrats were skeptical. Now that Ms. Carnahan has taken up the cause, the Ds are more amenable, and Rs have reservations.

It shouldn’t be too much to hope that, some day soon, our elected representatives will pause long enough from petty partisan jockeying to realize everyone benefits from early voting.

There are two main options for early voting: No-excuse absentee voting and in-person early voting. Most people are familiar with absentee voting, which enables voters who expect to be out of town on election day to submit an early ballot, often through mail.

The “no excuse” option opens this up to everyone; you don’t actually have to have plans to be out of town, or even pretend that you do.

In-person early voting, on the other hand, opens the polls (usually at a central county facility and, sometimes, at a handful of satellite sites) for a week or two prior to Election Day.

Either option would be a major improvement over Missouri’s existing system. Each makes voting easier.
Of the two, in-person early voting appears to be simpler, more secure and considerably less expensive than extended absentee voting — the main savings coming in the form of drastically lower postal costs.

Both options help voters who are less mobile (especially elderly or disabled people) or who have trouble getting time off work to get to the polls. Both options can minimize the potential for long lines and confusion at polling places by spreading voting out over many days. Problems with registration can be identified and settled outside the pressure of Election Day. And there’s less of a chance that ballots will get tossed out for technical mistakes, such as voters showing up at the wrong polling precinct.

There’s some good news on Missouri’s early-voting front. Bills have been introduced in the House and the Senate. Committees from each have heard testimony from proponents and opponents. Lawmakers, in other words, are doing something on the issue.

But not enough.

Forty million Americans voted early in the 2008 general election. Eventually, Missourians will join the party. Voters should tell their representatives to quit fooling around and bring early voting to Missouri.