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U.S. Election Day In Progress: What's Been Your Experience?
Today is Election Day in the U.S., and polls are open even in Hawaii now. The current Slashdot poll gives a snapshot of how many readers have voted or plan to vote; more rigorous and wide-based polls are easy to find. If you're taking part in today's election, what have you found? Did you or will you vote electronically, or on paper? How long did you wait to vote? Did you vote weeks ago by mail? How much time did you put into making your choices? It would be helpful if in comments you start the subject of your post with your 2-letter state abbreviation, like this: "TX - About to go get in line to push some buttons."
Voted first thing this morning... Based on the number of commercials running in Ohio, and the tight margin between the candidates, I've been watching the news online expecting to see some controversy start brewing. Fortunately, I've been disappointed thusfar.
My drivers license expired in 2005, and I never bothered getting it renewed. So I don't have a "valid ID" even though I'm on disability.
I was turned away not allowed to vote for not having a valid id :)
I said oh well, not like voting matters anyhow due to electoral college bullshit and went home
"So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?"
"It honestly doesn't occur to them," said Ford. "They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates to the government they want."
"You mean they actually vote for the lizards?"
"Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course."
"But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?"
"Because if they didn't vote for a lizard," said Ford, "the wrong lizard might get in.
VA - Filed registration 45 days ago, didn't take effect, told yesterday by three election offices to vote where I was previously registered, two hours of driving, turned away, told to file provisional ballot where I live, provisional ballot where I live must be defended.
Apparently these guys made their money and did their job:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/virginia-voter-fraud-case-expands-to-focus-on-gop-firm/2012/11/02/76285252-24eb-11e2-ac85-e669876c6a24_story.html
I've read about this happening to other people but can't believe it happened to me. Understand what voter ID laws are. They are voter fraud laws - they create voter fraud. Can't believe it happened to me.
For me the kicking and screaming and foaming was all over a coupla weeks ago.
The best of it: Gave me time in the privacy of my own home to leisurely read through the pro and con positions on things, choose local officials, flip coin, etc.
The worst of it: Didn't stop the junk mail or advertising. :P
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
i used the provisional ballot at a polling place by my house, then by my kid's day care and at work during lunch
just to make sure at least one will be counted
Everything was orderly and calm at the polling place in our hometown. I was in and out of the polling place in 10 minutes.
I'm curious to know how many places are using computerized voting machines in the country? MN still uses Scantron machines; it's hard to screw up, and cheap to operate.
root@allevil:~#
Annoyingly long line this morning but no big deal. It's only once every 4 years. Strangely noticed 5 to 1 male turn out, in a largely suburban precinct. Don't know what to make of that yet.
http://www.sos.georgia.gov/gaphotoid/default.htm
A Georgia Driver's License, even if expired
Oh, and it was a really short wait with friendly people. And the lead polling judge even baked cookies for today. God bless small town America.
Washington state is all vote-by-mail. Works great -- can set aside a few hours to research the issues and make well informed decisions instead of "guessing" based on memory recollection.
My postfix server has been voting all day in NJ.
Headed out latish in the morning to avoid the lines - things were busy, but not insane. No problems with my somewhat complicated ID. My helpful online guide had not given me all of the right judgeships on the ballot, so I ended up leaving a few blank having no clue as to who these people were. (It could be worse - my labmate had a similar experience, but in his case it cost him a chance to vote against the person who thinks that jihadists are trying to infiltrate textbooks with sharia law.)
And I forgot about the excellent http://www.judge4yourself.com/ website, which could have helped considerably on my judgeships problems. No, really, if you're in Ohio, check it out.
Generally painless. I do miss being able to sign up for absentee ballots and stay signed up, rather than having to re-do it every time.
Got there 10 minutes after they opened (6:10am) and was out before 7. Lines were long but moving quickly. Efficient process and good poll workers, who don't get nearly enough credit for what they do. Scantron-style voting machine (paper ballots ftw). The stuff I expected on the ballot (President, senate, congress, governor and associated state executive, state representative, and a ballot measure) along with a couple other ballot measures I wasn't familiar with but I read through and voted on.
Electronic voting, but is not a computer terminal or touch screen. It is a large sheet of paper with candidates and referendum items on it, that allow the buttons for each choice to show through.
You push the screen to see a 'X' appear by the choices you like, push the OK button, and your done.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
maybe get Gary Johnson above 5%? It will change the national discourse even if you don't agree with him 100%.
your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
> what have you found?
The usual: three elderly ladies at a table in the town hall, our 100 year old ballot box, a voting both, and an electronic voting machine (a new one: the manufacturer of the $6000 original went out of business and the machine could not be used without their support).
> Did you or will you vote electronically, or on paper?
Paper, of course. I could have voted "electronically" but I'm not that stupid.
> How long did you wait to vote?
Wait? I suppose if we had delayed until after supper we would have had ten minutes or so to chat with the neighbors.
> Did you vote weeks ago by mail?
I don't approve of that other than for extraordinary circumstances where a voter cannot possibly get to the polling place.
> How much time did you put into making your choices?
I made my decision long ago.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
No one in line ahead of me. Filled out paper ballot, fed ballot into Sequoia machine. My ballot was three pages, double sided - over ten propositions to vote on in California! Spent more than a hour doing research on them last night.
Oh yeah, this is my first election! Newish American citizen - proud to exercise my right to vote :)
Why I Do Not Vote by Michael S. Rozeff
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff224.html
I'm voting for Johnson, and I live in a very close swing state, and I truly hope the balance hangs on less votes than the 3rd parties get, but I like Rozeff's article anyway.
Two choice quotes by Mr Rozeff:
"I don't believe in representative government under our Constitution. The Constitution has no legitimate authority over me. I have never signed off on it."
"I do not wish to endorse a system that has produced and continues to produce what I think are pragmatically bad results."
I particularly like the first quote. Kind of mind expanding. The D and R parties want to use the constitution as toilet paper, other than the R have been beating the drum for almost 5 years that Obama is a Kenyan, and that little clause about prez being native born is sacred, but the rest of the constitution and BoR is just used Charmin so don't worry about it. Yet in the long run, what do I care for or against the constitution, Like Rozeff writes, I never signed the damn thing anyway and if I wrote it, it would look a bit different. So as a thought experiment, say he came from Kenya, what do I care, the cleaning lady at work is an illegal el salvadorian and no one cares much and its not my rule, nor do I much care about that particular rule.
There's been a couple other good articles along these lines on zerohedge recently, but I didn't save the links. Oh well.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
Woo-hoo, don't need to change the subject line!
Voted at 6:30AM. By that point the line was already 5x longer than it had been in the 2008 election, and I was glad to have arrived at 6:00 to the polling center.
Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
Waited 15 minutes in line and then voted electronically on a diebold machine with no apparent problems.
That's the biggest issue with those machines: Any problems with them aren't apparent.
VA - Filed registration 45 days ago, didn't take effect, told yesterday by three election offices to vote where I was previously registered, two hours of driving, turned away, told to file provisional ballot where I live, provisional ballot where I live must be defended.
Apparently these guys made their money and did their job: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/virginia-voter-fraud-case-expands-to-focus-on-gop-firm/2012/11/02/76285252-24eb-11e2-ac85-e669876c6a24_story.html
I've read about this happening to other people but can't believe it happened to me. Understand what voter ID laws are. They are voter fraud laws - they create voter fraud. Can't believe it happened to me.
In Northern VA myself. Voted thrice in Minnesota and many times in Virginia. Have to say that Virginia requirements are ridiculous for voting and are almost designed to stop people who don't have their shit together from voting. In 2000 on the U of MN campus I was walking around campus on election day and outside they had a big thing setup for me to vote. I had my student ID and driver's license and that was all they needed to register me, take my vote and give me a voter registration ID! They asked if I had a utility bill and I told them I was living in a dorm room on campus. No further questions needed, just had to fill out a form.
... totally different story. After producing my birth certificate and about five other forms of documentation at a Virginia DMV, I get my VA license. A month later I check out what I have to do to vote. Guess what? You have to register 22 days before the election SO I was basically shit outta luck. Good thing I was able to absentee ballot for Minnesota (having recently moved).
I arrive in September of 2004 in Virginia
Seriously, I check five or six times each election year that my stuff isn't messed up on the VA voter website because if that stuff isn't accurate down to a T you aren't voting. One of my friends moved across town, showed up to his old precinct with his last residence on his voter ID card and his new residence on his driver's license. Aaaaaaand they wouldn't let him vote. The real kick in the pants was they told him that if he hadn't shown them his driver's license and he could have recited his old address, they would have let him through.
So my experience today? Showed up at 5:45 am today. Waited until 7:15 am in line to vote. Voted on paper (line was much shorter than the electronic line) and was out. I only saw one advertisement on my way to vote: a portly fellow came in through the doors and removed his jacket to reveal a Romney/Ryan shirt upon the vast real estate of his chest. As he walked by he looked large and in charge. It should be noted he was only the former.
Can someone tell me why voter registration can't happen at the polls?
My work here is dung.
I live in Oregon and registered voters were mailed ballots about two weeks ago, along with a nice booklet with candidate-, party-, and interested-party-provided information. I was able to read and research in depth each of the candidates and measures and make an informed decision for each of my choices. Best and easiest ballot experience of my life. I could have mailed it in, but decided to drop it off at the local library instead. No lines, no muss, no fuss, no hanging chads or mis-calibrated touch screens. No pressure to vote quickly.
I was in and out in about 20 minutes, so my experience was fairly quick. There was a Somali lady in front of me who might have had a more interesting time of it however. I made some small talk with her, and she told me it was her first time voting, as she had just married her husband, an American. I asked her if this was the "F - K" line and she nervously told me that yes it was, but kept repeating "This is the line, be careful, be careful!" as though they wouldn't let me vote if I accidentally got in the wrong line. She was both proud and afraid of the whole process. The interesting bit of this is that when her time came there was some activity, and I made out that she couldn't read the ballot, and wanted to know if her husband (who was also in line) could read it for her. I didn't hear the rest though, as it was quickly my turn at the polling station.
I haven't had a chance to look up the pertinent law regarding whether someone else is allowed to read the ballot or not, but I would imagine this same scenario has played out many times over (This isn't an argument for or against ballots in multiple languages, just an account of a polling incident).
God, schmod. I want my monkey man!
Don't listen to pollsters or political analysts - they are well-paid liars. Every year there are surprises. You should vote.
I'd vote, but then I heard that a definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different outcome each time.
Be seeing you...
President isn't the only position, local, state and congressional positions matter just as much.
Get your ass out and vote for the sake of your country!
You can't be bothered to look up referendums and local races, so I can't be bothered to do it for you, but often there's school funding bonds and school boards and stuff like that to vote for where you might have an impact even if, as you say, the presidential portion of the ballot is, for your location, utterly meaningless.
If it is meaningless, I think you should vote Johnson like I'm going to. You've obviously got nothing to lose. I respect the decision, although disagree, with a friend who's voting for the Green Party candidate. Anybody's better than the D's and the R's so any vote for someone other than D or R is always good vote.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
In and out, kind of how I wish sex was...
I'm confused... Do you find yourself getting stuck in the "in" position?
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Went around lunch time. No one in front of us in line. Talked to our neighbors who were volunteering about new babies and hunting while my wife voted. We would have been in and out in five minutes if we didn't feel like socializing.
I love voting in this district. It always just seems like a nice way to be social and get to know the community. Really too bad they don't put in enough polling stations in urban areas to get that same feeling. Feels like there ought to be a couple machines in every subdivision or big apartment building.
It's hopless here, but I'm voting for Gary Johnson anyway. I just want to see a black mark on the paper, a margin that says "OBAMA WINS!!" with barely over a third of the nation behind him. Maybe one day we'll see stats that make people think: maybe these two assholes aren't our only option. Maybe one day we'll stop worshipping the constitution, burn it, and become 50 separate countries with our own currency and economic robustness, and let Europe take over the one-big-currency-one-big-problem market. Maybe we'll burn it and rewrite it with a parliament so if 10% of us vote for Libertarians or Greens or Nazis then we have to fill in 10% of the Senate and House with Libertarians or Greens or Nazis. Maybe we can get a pluralist presidency where if you don't have 50% we eliminate all until the combined votes bring the lowest to above the second place, and then try again until it's 1 on 1.
Our constitution dictates a system of government which creates a system by which we believe we only have two options (look how old the Republicans and Democrats are). The only way is to rewrite it. Then the people can chose.
Support my political activism on Patreon.
OH suburbs - waited 45 minutes early this morning to vote on a hybrid machine (electronic UI, writes on a paper tape that I could see).
There is no 'i' in team, but there is in fiasco...
live with him for 4x more years ruining your country.
LOL I'm not voting for the guy, but the R party really shot themselves in their foot by spending 4.5 years of every village idiot emailing and FB and G+ stuff about, sure, the kenyan marxist muslim hasn't grabbed our guns and sent in the UN troops YET, but I heard next week he's gonna start... and 200 odd weeks of the crying wolf stuff absolutely makes them a laughingstock. I suspect if "O" wins we'll have to suffer thru another 200 weeks of weekly emails about how "O" is gonna open up the UN concentration camps for gun owners starting "next week".
He's got issues... He's just a lapdog of the 1% banking elite, they say "jump, O" and he says "how high, master?". His R opponent is even worse being a corrupt 1%er himself. So, the devil's tame quisling lapdog, or the devil himself? I'll vote Johnson instead.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
He's in the UK, Obama does run his country, doesn't he?
Learn to love Alaska
using Oregon's mail in ballots.
Every state should do it this way.
Research everyone I could. Even looked through church rooster to see if any people running for board comes up from a church known for shoving their stupid into the government
As someone who has studied corporate history, and economic history, the presidential vote as easy. Obama.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Yes. Obama "ruined" the US. All by himself. Just like magic.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Not quite, according to salon.com, "uncertified, 'experimental' software patches have been installed on machines in 39 counties of the key swing state."
I hope I didn't brain my damage.
My god, commercial breaks were so overwhelmingly political and retardedly negative. During Jeapordy the other day, every commercial except one was an actress supporting Romney (gee, wonder who they're pandering to...). The one exception was for the senate race - a race I deliberately avoided both main candidates specifically because they are both putting out so many negative campaign ads. Poor characters all around.
God I hate elections. The one bright side is the place I voted early at had no line and friendly staff!
+1 Disagree
I voted on 28 Oct before Sandy came through. It was cold and blustery and took over three hours. I think this is the first Presidential election MD has had early voting for, and massively underestimated the turnout. The line wrapped around the parking lot. Folks were generally very nice about waving incomers to available parking spaces and holding places in line for people to run in to use the facilities, pop over to the 7-11 to get coffee, or retrieve additional outerwear from their vehicles.
I was at one of five early voting stations in Anne Arundel County, and they had a total of ten voting machines available for it. Judging by the rate at which people left (about one per minute), I estimate that it took an average of ten minutes to cast a ballot. There were a lot of ballot questions and such on there, but I got the impression that many voters hadn't bothered to read them before showing up. Why stand in line to vote if you haven't made up your mind yet? Poll workers were constantly walking down the line offering sample ballots for people to read and never got any takers.
Voted last week by mail. Now want to create an app that disables all television, radio, political advertising and replaces it with soothing music and pictures of puppies and kittens as soon as King County has acknowledged receiving my vote.
Waited 20 mins in line at 7:20AM. Name was on roll with correct address, I had correct address on new drivers license. Comment next to my name on roll said "VNC returned - Vote provisional" so I had to cast a paper provisional ballot. I filled out voter registration change of address when I moved in early September, waited and waited for local board of elections to respond, they finally did near the beginning of October. I signed the postcard and returned it the next day so I thought I would be in there. Apparently not. Provisional ballot only had president, state senators, local government positions and two state issues. No local issues listed as I guess they can't have you voting for local issues if you they can't prove where you live. Overall bad experience, never had to cast a provisional ballot before in any election. They did have four electronic UI machines that verify by printing onto paper but I couldn't use them.
Voting went fine, but they ran out of "I voted!" stickers! How could this happen?? How else can I vent my smug satisfaction at having exercised my same-freedom-everyone-else-also-has?
Everything is better with chainsaws.
Nah, I think he can't get passed the "out" position.
On the Oregon Cost born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days
Wow, this democracy must have been hell back before cameras were invented, eh?
A teacher (junior high, I think) told me years ago that who your mayor is will have a bigger impact on your life than who your president is. So if anything, read the local stuff and don't worry about the presidential race.
BTW: Central Florida suburb, voting was at a retirement home, two people in line in front of me. I spent longer walking to and from my car (I parked in the front, not knowing the voting was in the back) than voting. Around 10am. Used the electronic machine because the trees I save in my lifetime will probably have a bigger impact on the world than who wins any particular race. Look, the whole system is a black box. Paper votes can get lost, mishandled, or ignored just as easily as a voting machine can get hacked.
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/16/Tampabay/Pinellas_ballot_box_s.shtml
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
I don't have a "valid ID" even though I'm on disability.
Receives disability benefits but carries no valid photo ID?
No Georgia EBT card?
Required for "Food Stamps" and other services.
No Veterans Identification Card?
What IDs are acceptable?
Any valid state or federal government issued photo ID, including a FREE Voter ID Card issued by your county registrar's office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS)
A Georgia Driver's License, even if expired
Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority or other entity of this state.
Valid U.S. passport ID
Valid U.S. military photo ID
Valid tribal photo ID
Georgia Voter Identification Requirements
Went and registered and voted in about 20 minutes. New to the area so had to bring a utility bill. Actually wasn't really concerned about the presidential elections as voting against a stupid amendment that was on the ballot. Minnesota is most likely going Obama but the votes on that amendment are too close to ignore. I have friends and family that are homosexual and I damn sure am not gonna sit on the couch while people try to take their rights away. Granted the stupid law already does that (and I voted against those jerks too) but I do not want it made that much more difficult to get it repealed by making it an amendment.
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the (supposed) good of its victims may be the most oppressive
Voting went fine, but they ran out of "I voted!" stickers! How could this happen?? How else can I vent my smug satisfaction at having exercised my same-freedom-everyone-else-also-has?
Here in NYC they don't even bother offering "I voted!" stickers. The smug satisfaction is just presumed on everyone's part.
under construction
Dice has been rolled, waiting to see result.
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
Oregon does all the voting through the mail.
It would be kinda boring to tell the tale, but okay: I sat in the living room, filled it out while Adult Swim played on TV, then I stuffed it in an envelope. Dropped it off at the post office on my way to work 2 weeks ago.
'course, this whole vote-by-mail thing does destroy a good excuse to take half the day off from work. :(
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
You don't need to force people to "show their papers" to avoid the problem of voting multiple times. One man one vote is easy enough to enforce even without Gestapo tactics.
How?
What, as opposed to some other dipshit ruining it for 4 years?
I'd rather the current dipshit get his full 8 years to try to get anything accomplished rather than yanking the rug out from under and throwing it all in the trash.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
I also voted by mail in CO. There was a "I voted" sticker attached to my mail-in ballot. I wonder if it comes down to which county you live in.
Because Ohio is split between north and south much like the rest of the eastern US with the north more liberal and democrat and the south more conservative and republican. The division crosses economic and cultural lines. In southern Ohio you will find lots of people with southern or hillbilly accents while northern Ohio has typical mid-western accents. The southern areas are "bible belt", northern areas not so much. The southern economy is agricultural, rural and resource based (coal), the northern is old industrial (auto & steel). Here's an article on it: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/11/05/3901108/5-ohios-analyzed-in-swing-state.html. It's a serendipitous mirroring of the red state/ blue state division of the whole USA. That is why it doesn't come together.
I voted Johnson, but only because my state is solid for Obama. I really think we all need to focus on getting the ignorant religious conservatives out of our government, and getting some reality-based people in.
Yeah, I'm a fiscal conservative, don't like government constantly getting bigger, and so on. I voted a straight Democratic ticket all the way down this time, because I just can't stand these ignorant jackasses that have taken over the "conservative" side of the dialogue. Sigh.
Oh of course, only Democrats would do bad things. Republicans are right and good and would never dare fuck with the vote to win. Oh wait.
Republicans have been up to funny business in state legislatures across the country deliberately making it harder for people to vote under the guise of "preventing vote fraud," despite the fact that the only people caught recently were Republicans. That you think they aren't up to any funny business means you're blind to the legislative bullshit they've been pulling across the country to fuck over the citizens of their states and this country.
Given you cite a number of articles on aggressively "conservative" web sites, I suspect that you refuse to look outside your tiny world.
You don't need to force people to "show their papers" to avoid the problem of voting multiple times. One man one vote is easy enough to enforce even without Gestapo tactics.
How?
One way that's popular in less-developed areas is to simply apply an indelible dye to the voter's hand. Since it takes a few days for the dye to wear off and the election is only for a single day, it makes it pretty hard for someone to attempt to vote more than once. Providing that the election officials are honest, anyway.
That's really hard to believe. A mayor can't get us into a war. A mayor can't appoint judges that will fundamentally change the way we interact with the government.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Nah. His problem was people kept voting no on his propositions.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Obama is quite the student of this community organizer philosophy, and the quotes along these lines (and even those praising Mao) from his early choices for his administration seem to confirm this somewhat.
I don't see this as a problem. What I do see as a problem: throwing out ideas because they might possibly have something in common with what is thought of as communism. Just because you want a few things, doesn't mean you want the whole package. Outright rejection and killing-with-fire is just proof that the Red Scare never ended.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Was very sad I wasn't asked to prove who I was other than I knew a name and and address off the top of my head.
Security is for important things, like Facebook accounts; not unimportant things, like selecting the President of the US.
How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
You've seriously never seen photos of people in low-tech, war-torn areas proudly holding up their inked finger to show they voted?
But all this is beside the point. In-person voter fraud is so incredibly rare it isn't worth worrying about, much less disenfranchising tens or hundreds of thousands of people.
Voted about 7pm. I didn't vote for ANY democrats of republicans. Voted for libertarians if available. If only democrat and/or republican as choices I used the "write in" and put in things like "Bozo the clown" "Mr. Ed" etc.. No I didn't wast my vote - I'm one of the 46%!.
46 percent of Americans want a third party
http://dailycaller.com/2012/09/12/poll-46-percent-of-americans-want-a-third-party/
The Truth is a Virus!!!
...well, the cost of a stamp anyway. Washington is an all mail-in ballot state but it's not postage pre-paid. :( Our state does send out a full voters guide though so you can educate yourself pretty decently if you want to. They send different versions to different regions and despite forgetting a county position in my version, I think they did well covering the issues & candidates.
The conflated reports of voter fraud and the new ID requirements are just covers for organized disenfranchisement campaigns. If voter fraud truly did occur, it seems to me a mail-in ballot state would be more susceptible than in-person poll stations but I've never heard a peep from the voter fraud evangelists in that regard.