Election Day is here.

[Thoughtbot360]

Hello everyone.

First order of Business, is to remind everyone here that unless there was a major change in Forum rules: It is not okay to post political or religious subjects here. So keep that in mind.

In that light, I'm not going to tell you who to vote for, or who does or doesn't look good, or even what made me post this reminder now. (Also, there's more than one election across the country)

Now, for all you Americans out there. I want you to know that Tuesday, November the 2nd (or today for me) is Election day.

For anybody who can vote (old enough, is Registered, etc.), find out where you vote (if you haven't already) and try to make time to vote, please. I don't know the particulars of state-to-state or Region to region, but you should try to get there before 8:00 PM, no matter where you go.

Thank you.

The Mod Wonder: This thread IS being monitored. Please, remember not to post political or religious posts. They will earn you infraction points.

[Renegade Paladin]

Polls generally close at 6:00 pm, not 8:00.

[Thoughtbot360]

Polls generally close at 6:00 pm, not 8:00.

Not in my neck of the woods, but noted.

[Zeb The Troll]

According to USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/vote2000/polltimes.htm), Indiana, Kentucky, and Hawaii are the only ones that close all polling as earliy as 6pm. More than half are 8pm or later.

[shadow_archmagi]

I express remorse that I forgot to register after turning 18.

[Diva De]

Polls here are open from 7-7. Pretty sweet deal, if you ask me.

Also, I voted. I even haz a sticker.

[CoffeeIncluded]

*Sigh* Only 17. At least I get the day off from school.

[Silverraptor]

Eh. I voted early to avoid the rush.:smallcool:

[SDF]

I never encourage other people to vote. I'd encourage people to get involved in the process as a whole, but if you need encouragement ON election day and haven't done any research or gotten involved to this point you probably shouldn't vote.

[LCR]

If you don't take part in public life, you're an idiot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot_(Athenian_democracy))*. So, go and exercise your right to vote or at least make a conscious decision not to vote.
But do get involved in the process.


*in the original, Athenian sense.

[LibraryOgre]

Polls are open varying amounts in various states. In Houston (Harris County), they are open 7 to 7. I am spending most of my job telling people where to vote, because they've early voted at our library in the past.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

You bet I'm voting.

Here's hoping most who do as well knowing what it is they are voting for and did their research to make sure it's what they want.

Here in Georgia it's 7 to 7, but anyone still in line at 7 is allowed to vote. I.e. you could theoretically keep the voting going til midnight.

[LibraryOgre]

Here in Georgia it's 7 to 7, but anyone still in line at 7 is allowed to vote. I.e. you could theoretically keep the voting going til midnight.

One of our staff was present for Early Voting last week (to lock up when they were done). She was out at almost 10.

[arguskos]

I wish I could, but I have class ALL DAY with not long enough of a break to get to my district. :smallsigh: I'm actually kinda disappointed honestly, I wanted to vote today.

EDIT: By "all day" I mean 8 AM-11 PM. :sigh:

[valadil]

I voted. Got my sticker. Can't really say anything else about it.

[Zevox]

I'm mildly surprised this thread hasn't been locked yet. Figured it would be since there's not a heck of a lot we can say on this topic without breaching board rules.

Anyway, yeah, I voted. Couldn't help but notice that even though I went in a couple of hours later than I did two years ago (due to waking up late) the voting machine I fed my ballot through said there were a good hundred votes fewer than it did last time. Guess that's what happens for non-Presidential elections.


Here in Georgia it's 7 to 7, but anyone still in line at 7 is allowed to vote. I.e. you could theoretically keep the voting going til midnight.
Same here in Michigan, except it's 7 to 8 instead of 7 to 7.

Zevox

[Lycan 01]

I'm not registered. :smallsigh:

My girlfriend is going home to vote though. She's also using it as an excuse to eat non-college-cafeteria food and play her 360. :smalltongue:

[valadil]

I'm mildly surprised this thread hasn't been locked yet. Figured it would be since there's not a heck of a lot we can say on this topic without breaching board rules.


I guess the thread is so meta that it's not in the same scope as the rules? So far it seems more philosophical than political.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

To vote, or not to vote, that is the question...

[Trobby]

Voted. Eh. ^^;

[Diva De]

Be informed, or don't vote. Inform thyself! Along those same lines, if you don't take part in the process, you don't have any room to complain about those in office.

If you haven't voted yet, you still have 4 hours to do research and get out there!

[Abies]

I've always thought the practice of having one day designated as Election Day was odd. Why not a week, or at least 3 days, or heck a weekend. Restricting the timeframe one is permitted to exercise the right to vote into a 12 hour period is odd. Of course there are options to vote early or by mail or what have you, it is the "standard" one day deal that I find odd.

And luckily, my polling place is right next door to my apartment complex so I'll have no trouble at all getting there when I get home from work.

[Fax Celestis]

I express remorse that I forgot to register after turning 18.

You can register at the poll, and your vote will count for this election.

[Syka]

Not voting. I am a conscientious citizen, but I haven't had any time to research the candidates. What I have seen (ie- harsh, attacking commercials) has reflected poorly on the main candidates and I don't like either.

However, as a conscientious citizen, I do NOT feel comfortable voting without knowledge of who and what I am voting for. I didn't vote in 2006 either, mostly because I was in immense emotional distress (had been broken up with literally the night before) so I didn't feel I was in the right mind to vote and also hadn't had much time to research candidates. I was able to in 2008, however. I didn't vote for something I didn't know, though.


Plus, I think polls are only open 7-7 here, and my class tonight isn't scheduled to get out until 7:40. :smallfrown:

EDIT: And even if I could get to the Polls, I'm currently putting out fires with a team, trying to arrange meetings, and finishing up homework due tonight. No time. :(

[Ceric]

*glances at vote-by-mail envelope*

Oh shoot I forgot :smalleek: I can still turn it in manually to a polling place before 8pm, though. Thanks for reminding me...

*is terribly pathetic for getting news off of GitP* :smallbiggrin:

[Fax Celestis]

Funniest thing ever: five scraggly, pot-soaked dudes all came in to vote at the same time when I was there, mumbling about CA Prop 19 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_19_%282010%29).

[Kastanok]

(UKitP here but have fun being part of the political process, you idealistic United States-ians, you)

If you don't want to vote for whatever reason, remember that voiding your ballot paper is an option. It's a nice, peaceful way of voicing your apathy/disgust/fatigue with the current system and/or its candidates.

[valadil]

I've always thought the practice of having one day designated as Election Day was odd. Why not a week, or at least 3 days, or heck a weekend. Restricting the timeframe one is permitted to exercise the right to vote into a 12 hour period is odd. Of course there are options to vote early or by mail or what have you, it is the "standard" one day deal that I find odd.

And luckily, my polling place is right next door to my apartment complex so I'll have no trouble at all getting there when I get home from work.

Why would you want it drawn out so much? I wouldn't want the news reports each night changing peoples' minds. I'd rather just vote and get it over with. Also, I'm pretty sure that making it 3 days would just make lazy people miss voting. It's easier to skip out on something that you can procrastinate on for a few days.

My job lets people be late on voting days. I'd always assumed this was standard, but I don't really know TBH.

[Zevox]

I guess the thread is so meta that it's not in the same scope as the rules? So far it seems more philosophical than political.
I wouldn't even say philosophical - we've pretty much confined ourselves to mentioning things like voting times, which are simple facts about the "how" of voting.


I've always thought the practice of having one day designated as Election Day was odd. Why not a week, or at least 3 days, or heck a weekend. Restricting the timeframe one is permitted to exercise the right to vote into a 12 hour period is odd. Of course there are options to vote early or by mail or what have you, it is the "standard" one day deal that I find odd.
Yeah, I have to agree with that. Also, having it on a Tuesday instead of a weekend seems counter-intuitive, since most people have to work on weekdays. I have a part-time job with weird schedules, so that wasn't an issue for me, but both of my parents work today, so they'll have to go in after work, when there will no doubt be a line-up from everyone else going in to vote after getting out of their jobs. Can't imagine that'll be pleasant.


And luckily, my polling place is right next door to my apartment complex so I'll have no trouble at all getting there when I get home from work.
Yeah, mine is just a couple of blocks from my house as well, so that makes it awfully easy for me. Must be annoying for those that have to travel further.

Zevox

[Tirian]

My job lets people be late on voting days. I'd always assumed this was standard, but I don't really know TBH.

The funky thing about the United States (which surprises most every international person) is that every state has its own voting laws. Different hours, different voting methods, different rules about early voting and absentee voting, different everything.

Me? I haz a sticker.

[Syka]

Now I feel bad about not voting. :( If I get out of class early enough, I may go to the Polls just to write in "None of the above" on my ballot. :smallbiggrin: That way I can say I voted, but I didn't vote for any of them. I'z crafty.

[valadil]

I wouldn't even say philosophical - we've pretty much confined ourselves to mentioning things like voting times, which are simple facts about the "how" of voting.


A few posts threatened to go into the philosophy of it. Refusing to vote for someone you don't actually support instead of going with the lesser of two evils. That makes for an interesting discussion, which I think would be in the bounds of the rules here (assuming it didn't devolve into a debate about whether or not it actually was a two evils case).

[LCR]

Elections in Germany are always on sundays, so most people don't have to work anyway.
I don't know, why you Americans vote on weekdays, but I think I've read something about being able to go to church on sundays, even though you sometimes had to travel for days to cast your ballot.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Elections in Germany are always on sundays, so most people don't have to work anyway.
I don't know, why you Americans vote on weekdays, but I think I've read something about being able to go to church on sundays, even though you sometimes had to travel for days to cast your ballot.
I don't know about the whys of it being what day it is, but except for the possible exception of Alaska I wouldn't think there would be anywhere in the U.S. that wouldn't have a voting station within an hour or two drive at most. They're usually held in a school, fire station or other government institution. Sometimes churches. I.e. everyone should have one of these within a reasonable distance.

I live in the boonies of north Georgia and mine isn't even but a half mile away in a tiny one-engine fire station. Next closest is only maybe 8 miles.

[Tirian]

But on the flip side, if you hold elections on a weekend then everyone who went out of town for the weekend is out of luck. In the middle of the week, it's more likely that everyone is in the middle of their ordinary work/home routine, so walking a few blocks to your polling site at some point during the day is not too unusual.

Plus most everywhere in the United States there are laws forcing employers to give their workers sufficient time to get back and forth to the polls if they are working a shift that covers a large portion of the time that the polls are open. It shouldn't happen very often since polls really should be open longer than anybody's shift would be, but there it is all the same.

[Asta Kask]

I voted in September. :smallbiggrin:

[The Vorpal Tribble]

It shouldn't happen very often since polls really should be open longer than anybody's shift would be, but there it is all the same.
Yeah, it 'shouldn't'.

*growls*

For almost two years I worked as a satellite TV technician. I'd install, troubleshoot and repair satellites from 7 in the morning to up to midnight. Yeah, 17 hours straight. In summer you got maybe one day off, and only two vacation days period. And I've been told its hours had improved in the last year or so. Some of these guys use to have to be out til 3 am, get 3 hours of sleep, restart.

Biggest waste of my life ever. Still don't know how it was legal.

[Zevox]

But on the flip side, if you hold elections on a weekend then everyone who went out of town for the weekend is out of luck.
Right. Because those are far more numerous than people who have tight schedules during work days. Sorry, but that sounds like a pretty insignificant concern - especially considering it's a completely avoidable one if people would simply plan to not go out of town when they know the election is occurring.

Zevox

[Rockphed]

Eh. I voted early to avoid the rush.:smallcool:

I voted absentee because I am going to school out of state but still want to participate in my home state. What can I say, I like home.


Be informed, or don't vote. Inform thyself! Along those same lines, if you don't take part in the process, you don't have any room to complain about those in office.

If you haven't voted yet, you still have 4 hours to do research and get out there!


I never encourage other people to vote. I'd encourage people to get involved in the process as a whole, but if you need encouragement ON election day and haven't done any research or gotten involved to this point you probably shouldn't vote.

I agree with this. I actually spent about a week with my absentee ballot checking out who I was voting for.


I wish I could, but I have class ALL DAY with not long enough of a break to get to my district. :smallsigh: I'm actually kinda disappointed honestly, I wanted to vote today.

EDIT: By "all day" I mean 8 AM-11 PM. :sigh:

Most places either offer early voting, or let you get an absentee voter thing with minimal hassle. By minimal hassle, I mean you can go to the clerk, present ID, and they give you a ballot. I hope you find time to go vote though. Maybe one of your professors will be willing to encourage you to engage in democracy. But, again, as above, voting without knowing what you are voting for is possibly worse than not voting at all.




I've always thought the practice of having one day designated as Election Day was odd. Why not a week, or at least 3 days, or heck a weekend. Restricting the timeframe one is permitted to exercise the right to vote into a 12 hour period is odd. Of course there are options to vote early or by mail or what have you, it is the "standard" one day deal that I find odd.

And luckily, my polling place is right next door to my apartment complex so I'll have no trouble at all getting there when I get home from work.

Back home, I voted about a mile from my house. Normally either walked or rode a bike.


You can register at the poll, and your vote will count for this election.

Not in Michigan. Not many other places either.


Now I feel bad about not voting. :( If I get out of class early enough, I may go to the Polls just to write in "None of the above" on my ballot. :smallbiggrin: That way I can say I voted, but I didn't vote for any of them. I'z crafty.

I didn't vote for a few things because either I didn't like any of the people or because there weren't enough options, or because I didn't care.

[AtlanteanTroll]

*Sigh* Only 17. At least I get the day off from school.

For voting day? Lucky.

[Elder Tsofu]

Hm, I think I saw something about pre-voting in the thread. Shouldn't that almost avoid every concern regarding the day of the vote?*
If you don't have pre-vote, then it is something to consider. :)
*Voting on a weekend is nice, so having pre-voting shouldn't justify strange voting-times or voting-day for the actual vote.

But anyways, ain't allowed to vote due to being a foreigner and I missed the national elections in September due to the nation not sending me the required papers.
(I'm far to busy/lazy to travel to the closest embassy)

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Maybe one of your professors will be willing to encourage you to engage in democracy.
The U.S. is officially a Republic. (Not getting political, just nitpicking.)

[AtlanteanTroll]

Hm, I think I saw something about pre-voting in the thread. Shouldn't that almost avoid every concern regarding the day of the vote?*
If you don't have pre-vote, then it is something to consider. :)
*Voting on a weekend is nice, so having pre-voting shouldn't justify strange voting-times or voting-day for the actual vote.

But anyways, ain't allowed to vote due to being a foreigner and I missed the national elections in September due to the nation not sending me the required papers.
(I'm far to busy/lazy to travel to the closest embassy)

Early voting is too potentially dangerous. Things could change, and you could end up wanting to change your vote; which you wouldn't be able to do.

[Thrawn183]

Two pet peeves with voting.

First, stickers. I HATE STICKERS. Why do people make a big deal out of it when I refuse to wear a sticker!?

Second, brothers. My brother always tells the ladies at the polling place about how he's going to get on me about voting. I'm sick and tired of them bringing it up when all I want to do is go in and vote.

It really takes the fun out of voting. :smallannoyed:

[Rockphed]

The U.S. is officially a Republic. (Not getting political, just nitpicking.)

Yes, and I frequently call people out on it. I just don't have a good word for the process of running a Republic.

[Kaiser Omnik]

The U.S. is officially a Republic. (Not getting political, just nitpicking.)

A presidential, republican, representative democracy yes. Now you could argue the definition of democracy (not here though), but republic and democracy are not exclusive concepts. Just saying.

[Zevox]

I didn't vote for a few things because either I didn't like any of the people or because there weren't enough options, or because I didn't care.
Did that myself as well. And for a couple of other reasons in some cases - for instance, one batch of judges we could vote for had 20 candidates for 19 available positions. Yeah, I'm totally going to research twenty people so I can vote for all of them except the one I least want to win. :smallsigh:

For others I don't even understand why some positions are voted on to begin with. I mean, County Sheriff is an elected office? Really?

Oh well, it's not like those are the only weird things in the system.

Zevox

[Emperor Ing]

I voted, damn proud to have as well. :smallbiggrin:

Won't say any more though

[Icewalker]

Already did a couple days ago, absentee :smallbiggrin:

Had to leave a couple blank cause they went to lengths I didn't understand (and didn't have the time to research), and I think an uneducated voter is even worse than a nonvoter.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Yes, and I frequently call people out on it. I just don't have a good word for the process of running a Republic.
Fair enough.

[DrakebloodIV]

Best voting plan ever:

Walk in to your voting location. Wait in line with everyone else. When somebody tries to hand you your ballot, yell ABSTAIN at the top of your lungs. Walk out of there. ???. Profit.

Honestly though, please vote. I don't care who you vote for, so long as you do it. Every time you don't, our founding fathers die a little on the inside.

[Mauve Shirt]

I didn't vote because I'm not in the state where I'm allowed to, and I didn't order an absentee ballot. :smallsigh: Feel guilty after seeing so many of my friends on facebook having voted, or pressuring everyone else to vote.

[Elder Tsofu]

Early voting is too potentially dangerous. Things could change, and you could end up wanting to change your vote; which you wouldn't be able to do.

Well, that's probably the case if you haven't done your research. If you are scared of something completely horrendous and unexpected happening then you should wait one day (or two) and go on the regular voting-day.

[afroakuma]

To Americans on your election day, I would like to congratulate you all on a small political victory (http://www.theday.com/article/20101028/NWS01/310289299/1017).

Not a win for the left, or a win for the right, but a win for the people and for forward-thinking politics. No matter who wins in this race, I think both of these men should be commended for conducting a campaign of this nature. It's the kind of thing that makes you ask, "why isn't politics like this all the time?"

[AtlanteanTroll]

Well, that's probably the case if you haven't done your research. If you are scared of something completely horrendous and unexpected happening then you should wait one day (or two) and go on the regular voting-day.

Well, I've heard some pretty horrible stories about bastardised Early Voting.


To Americans on your election day, I would like to congratulate you all on a small political victory (http://www.theday.com/article/20101028/NWS01/310289299/1017).

Not a win for the left, or a win for the right, but a win for the people and for forward-thinking politics. No matter who wins in this race, I think both of these men should be commended for conducting a campaign of this nature. It's the kind of thing that makes you ask, "why isn't politics like this all the time?"

Because of reasons that can't be posted.

[Savannah]

I don't know how early your early voting is, but in Oregon your ballot is mailed to you and you can mail it back or drop it off whenever as long as it's before election day. I always vote about a week before election day, and have never had anything come up to make me want to change my vote.

[AtlanteanTroll]

I don't know how early your early voting is, but in Oregon your ballot is mailed to you and you can mail it back or drop it off whenever as long as it's before election day. I always vote about a week before election day, and have never had anything come up to make me want to change my vote.

I dunno myslef, because I'm still a minor, but I think we have almost a month. Think, is the key thing here. It may be 2 weeks. It's a bit.

[RS14]

GA absentee ballot requested three weeks ago; it never arrived. :smallmad:

[Marnath]

I voted today, after two hours of near-tears frantic searching for a misplaced wallet. It was under my cat somehow. :smallsigh:

[Helanna]

I got to vote for the first time today! It makes me happy. Especially since I hold that if you can vote and choose not to, then you don't get to complain about the government. I don't care if your one vote wouldn't have made a difference, if you couldn't be bothered to vote then I can't be bothered to listen to you complain. :smalltongue:

[CrimsonAngel]

Polls are open varying amounts in various states. In Houston (Harris County), they are open 7 to 7. I am spending most of my job telling people where to vote, because they've early voted at our library in the past.

We live in the same state, city, and county.:smalleek:

[Emperor Ing]

I don't care if your one vote wouldn't have made a difference, if you couldn't be bothered to vote then I can't be bothered to listen to you complain. :smalltongue:

Quite frankly, the "my vote won't make a difference" mentality is dangerous. One vote might not mean much in the margins that politicians usually put out to win, but get 100,000 people thinking like that and suddenly you've got a game changer.

[onthetown]

Up here in eastern Canada, in my province, there was an election for mayor in the capital city and one of the other towns today. I didn't vote because I haven't been following the election... it wasn't as well-campaigned as other ones have been, which was kind of annoying. Oh, well... I usually only vote in the ones for our Members of Parliament/Prime Minister's party, anyway.

Assuming we're allowed to talk about other elections than the mid-terms in America.

[Orzel]

Just voted.
NYC just converted to paper ballots.

Them things are hard to read in the dark.

[Marnath]

Just voted.
NYC just converted to paper ballots.

Them things are hard to read in the dark.

The polling station wasn't lit? O.o

[Orzel]

NYC public schools have poor lighting, that's we can't reed or rite so gud.

[Trog]

*wanders in smoking several Coffin Nail™ brand cigarettes at once*

Trog had to re-register after moving back to the Spoooooky part of Trogland but it only took a few minutes despite Trog's fear of forms. Trog voted and now Trog has a nifty sticker given to him by some giggly young thing who wouldn't stop checking Trog out while Trog was in line. :smallconfused:

They wouldn't let Trog smoke while waiting in line though. Barely made it out alive.

*puffpuffpuff*

[The Vorpal Tribble]

...giggling young thing?

I've never voted where the one giving it out wasn't at least in her 60's.

That's it, I'm coming to Trogland.

[Fax Celestis]

...giggling young thing?

I've never voted where the one giving it out wasn't at least in her 60's.

That's it, I'm coming to Trogland.

Had one of those out here too. Kind of cute, but reaaaaally vapid.

Still, that describes like 70% of California's population, so... *shrug*

[The Vorpal Tribble]

My state has like some of the most long-living folk in the country. I know about a dozen around a hundred. Great-great grandmother got up to 110. Her sister in law lived to be 113.

In other words, as much of the population is derned old as not. And they're not cool old folk either. Stern-faced, no nonsense, prune heinies. If they were awesome that'd be fine. Then again, maybe the awesome old folk are out being awesome instead of sitting in a fire station all day.

Just assume have the cuties, vapid or no.

[Orzel]

The lady who toke my vote was only maybe 10 year older than me and very happy.

Everyone else was 60+ and half blind.
OR MAYBE IT WAS TOO DARK!!!

They messed up by first ballot.

[Alleine]

I've still got a few hours, but I'm considering exercising my right not to vote. I didn't take any time to figure out who wanted what, or what any of the props actually do. Not to mention I don't think I'll be able to read the ballots what with all the mudslinging that's been going on. :smallsigh:

[Katana_Geldar]

Right not to vote? Downunder we HAVE to vote :smallannoyed:

[SurlySeraph]

Didn't vote, since I have a lot of work tomorrow, I don't have an absentee ballot, and the same people always win in my state anyway. Also because even if I had time, I wouldn't be able to choose between the guy who's going to win and this guy. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4o-TeMHys0&feature=&p=30CD8B41753AEA9F&index=0&playnext=1)

EDIT: Orzel, paper ballots you say? Not the lever machines? But the lever machines are so much fun!

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Right not to vote? Downunder we HAVE to vote :smallannoyed:
Really? What happens if you don't? :smallconfused:

[Katana_Geldar]

You get fined.

Theoretically, it is possible to register your name and walk out and not vote, but your name still must be crossed off the roll.

If you like you can vote for Mickey Mouse, he usually gets a few votes.

EDIT: And I am against level machines, paper ballots never break down.

[CynicalAvocado]

aaaand texas closed. i was the last to vote :] stupid procrastination

[Zevox]

If you like you can vote for Mickey Mouse, he usually gets a few votes.
My dad has told me a few times that he has in fact submitted write-in votes for Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny for President when he didn't like any of the candidates and didn't have a better write-in in mind. So that happens over here too. Though he was of course actually voting on other races rather than showing up because he was forced to.

Zevox

[Cealocanth]

I'm not old enough to vote yet. *sigh*:smallfrown:

Our Social Studies class did a simulation though. Everyone voted for one side!

[Cristo Meyers]

I got to vote for the first time today! It makes me happy. Especially since I hold that if you can vote and choose not to, then you don't get to complain about the government. I don't care if your one vote wouldn't have made a difference, if you couldn't be bothered to vote then I can't be bothered to listen to you complain. :smalltongue:

I really hate when people say this...it's debatable at best and outright untrue at worst. But forum rules forbid getting into a discussion about it.

We would have voted, but the state messed up our registration yet again, which meant we had to get that straightened out again, and get told that it meant we wouldn't be able to vote in the current election again.

Don't ask about the last part, even I'm not so sure about the logic behind that...

[Katana_Geldar]

Maybe they just don't want you to vote.

[Cristo Meyers]

Maybe they just don't want you to vote.

It has something to do with the fact that we moved recently (last summer) and our current address didn't match up with the address that had in the system. Which is strange, because we both updated our addresses with everybody...

Gotta love bureaucracy. :smallsigh:

[Tirian]

EDIT: And I am against level machines, paper ballots never break down.

Paper ballots break down ALL THE TIME. Using those punchcards and someone doesn't punch out their chad all the way through? That's a broken ballot. Didn't fill in your bubble all the way through? That's a broken ballot. Someone finds a way to slip a couple dozen extra sheets of paper into the box or make a box disappear? Those are serious flaws in an election scheme.

In my (lifelong) experience, a lever machine breaks down as often as a finely crafted watch. It doesn't let you place a vote or even leave the booth until your intentions are unambiguous, and then it records them in a way that cannot be undone or tied back to you, and you can't tamper with the machine. I trust my state (New York) to get elections right for a large number of administrative reasons, but I'm super sad that the lever machines aren't a straightforward icon of that stability.

[Orzel]

Paper ballots hurt orzel eyes
Make orzel mad
no light

ORZEL SMASH PAPER BALLOT!!!
RAWR!!


Orzel smell bbq sauce.
Sauce save paper ballot life.

[Katana_Geldar]

Paper ballots break down ALL THE TIME. Using those punchcards and someone doesn't punch out their chad all the way through? That's a broken ballot. Didn't fill in your bubble all the way through? That's a broken ballot. Someone finds a way to slip a couple dozen extra sheets of paper into the box or make a box disappear? Those are serious flaws in an election scheme.


I'm talking about pencil and paper, that doesn't break unless you rig the election.

[Tirian]

I'm talking about pencil and paper, that doesn't break unless you rig the election.

I'm not sure how it stacks up differently than a lever machine. The only electricity you need is to run the light, and you'd have to shut down any polling site if the electricity ran out no matter what balloting system you use. Also, even recent history is filled with long legal battles over understanding the "voter intent" of poorly marked paper ballots, where stray marks and partially-filled bubbles become matters for the courts to interpret.

Curiously, today was my first general election in New York State with paper ballots, and the marker they gave me was nearly out of ink, making it difficult to completely and darkly fill in the bubbles as instructed. Frankly, I was also disappointed by the new level of privacy, because anyone walking behind me could have looked down at my desk and watch me make my selections without me being fully aware of the invasion of my privacy. I'll grant that the ballot machines had a small number of flaws, but the state had a full century of experience in compensating for them and I am quite disappointed in all of the new weaknesses that we bought in exchange for an unimportant few new strengths.

[AtlanteanTroll]

And it's all over. Or, it is on the East coast.

[Fax Celestis]

My dad has told me a few times that he has in fact submitted write-in votes for Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny for President when he didn't like any of the candidates and didn't have a better write-in in mind. So that happens over here too. Though he was of course actually voting on other races rather than showing up because he was forced to.

I generally write in Hugh Hefner when I take that option, but yeah, that option is available in the states.

[Elder Tsofu]

The "Donald Duck Party" is an old Swedish favourite...

[Helanna]

Quite frankly, the "my vote won't make a difference" mentality is dangerous. One vote might not mean much in the margins that politicians usually put out to win, but get 100,000 people thinking like that and suddenly you've got a game changer.

Sorry, I should have been clearer. That's not a view I personally hold, it's just an excuse I've been given a lot when I ask people if they're voting.



EDIT: Orzel, paper ballots you say? Not the lever machines? But the lever machines are so much fun!

Yep, New York has pen and paper now, I guess. I'm not a fan. :smallfrown: Although at least my voting place was well-lit?


I really hate when people say this...it's debatable at best and outright untrue at worst. But forum rules forbid getting into a discussion about it.


Again, I should've been clearer. Of course your one vote might not swing the election. But your vote, and your neighbor's vote, and their neighbor's, and their neighbor . . . my analogy is donation drives. Your $5 or $10 might not make a huge difference, but you get enough 5 and 10 dollar bills together and suddenly you have 30,000 dollars.

[Haruki-kun]

My dad has told me a few times that he has in fact submitted write-in votes for Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny for President when he didn't like any of the candidates and didn't have a better write-in in mind. So that happens over here too.

I was one of the people in charge of counting the votes during a certain election in Mexico. You actually laugh a bit when you see the write-in candidate choices. :smalltongue:

[Thajocoth]

It was really annoying how horribly worded the propositions were. Took me several re-readings to guess at what they said.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

It was really annoying how horribly worded the propositions were. Took me several re-readings to guess at what they said.
I practically read for a living, and have had editing positions... I still had to do many re-readings to figure out what the heck they were saying.

[blackfox]

Vote'd! My guy lost though. Sadface. :smallfrown:

My dad has informed me that he has written in "Anyone else" or "My mother" when there were [happywords^^] running unopposed and he refused to vote for them.

[Emperor Ing]

My guy won. I am very happy. :smallbiggrin:

Unfortunately because I am extremely interested in politics, some of the races I was watching came with less than satisfactory results. Oh well, i'll take what I can get.

[Syka]

Florida still hasn't decided it's governor yet, lol. It's within a percentage point and Sink won't concede due to (apparently) a large number of absentee ballots from heavily democratic areas that still need to be counted*.

If there is one thing I can say for Florida, at least we make our politics interesting. :smallcool:


*Not really political, just an observation, as I couldn't care less which gets elected governor. I just find all the recounts and all we go through hilarious. 10 years on, and we're STILL the butt of 2000 Election jokes.

[SDF]

Well, there was a reason the game is called Germany or Florida.

[Temotei]

:smallsigh:

I was sick yesterday.

[Zevox]

Meh, I find myself bored with the results portion of elections. With modern polling finding out the actual results of an election is more a formality than anything else, except in the closest races (none of mine qualified), or the smallest local ones which don't have any real polling done in advance of the election (none I cared about qualified). Which probably contributes a fair bit to the whole "my vote doesn't matter" mindset there was some discussion of earlier. Certainly would for me if I didn't continue to tell myself that not voting is guaranteed not to accomplish anything and just contributes to our low-turnout problems.

Zevox

[EmeraldRose]

I didn't vote. Partially because I didn't want to stand in line, considering I'm hugely pregnant, partially because I was exhausted when I left work, and just wanted to come home and sit down.

I must say though, I'm glad all the stupid signs are now gone from my yard.

[Orzel]

I practically read for a living, and have had editing positions... I still had to do many re-readings to figure out what the heck they were saying.

At least you could read them.
I could not read my ballot because the place had little light and the little light in the booth pointed up.
Up!
Away from the ballot!
In the opposite direction of where a person places the ballot to read it!

Orzel not have night vision!
Orzel have partial echolocation but Orzel can't read with sound.
And Orzel's phone was dead so Orzel did not have access to flashlight app.

Orzel spend all day complaining about the poor lighting. Orzel'd say more details but that's against the no politics rules.
Orzel take solace that all of New York feel same anger as Orzel in Hulk speak mode.