EDITOR’S NOTE: This is not a “fair and balanced” story. It is an editorial by the editor.

Wayland City Clerk Michelle Herman reported some astonishing news Monday night. She said she received more absentee ballots in the Aug. 2 primary than the number who showed up at the polls, by a count of 199 to 196.

Maybe it’s not astonishing. Maybe it’s a warning about things to come. And maybe that’s a most welcome development.

The time-honored tradition of going to the polls to vote seems tiresome and outdated. In today’s modern a-go-go society, we’re increasingly finding not enough time to get things done. So science and business have been trying to come up with ways for us to complete necessary tasks in less time.

Voting by mail or voting by Internet could become one such instance. It’s time for America to quit kicking and screaming while being dragged into the 21^st century.

I hereby urge every able-bodied citizen who can read this to apply for an absentee ballot for the Nov. 8 general election. I’ve been told citizens can lie about the reason for voting by mail, and very few, if any, clerks will question them closely. Tell them you’ll be out of town, even if you won’t.

Then vote by mail, send it in before the deadline and sit back and relax on Election Day or go to work without the added hassles of standing in line.

I don’t see why it is necessary common everyday working folks should have to scramble on Election Day to set aside extra time to exercise arguably one of their most important responsibilities in a republic or democracy.

Essentially, the question is this: Why should we make it difficult for people to do what they must do? Why can’t we make it easier and more convenient for qualified voters to cast their ballots?

I suspect there are those who don’t want the riff-raff and lowlifes to vote. I suspect there are many in power who want to keep things just the way they are. And they’ll always tell us they want to keep doing this because of voter fraud, which has been demonstrated to be very low in nearly all cases.

Oregon and Washington have gone to voting by mail and they have the highest voter participation in the country. Oregon had 89 percent in one recent election.

We’re constantly wailing and wringing our hands about voter apathy and about low voter turnouts. But when possible solutions come forward, they are struck down by the all-powerful status quo.

The rich and powerful tiny minority don’t really want you and me to cast ballots. That’s not in their interests. And we only keep them in power and fail to see any substantive changes in a fast-changing world as a result.

If we really want to take back our country, we should all apply for absentee ballots and vote by mail in November. It will make it the most democratic election we’ve seen in our lifetimes.