Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: cosine on November 04, 2008, 09:47:30 AM
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For me: I pick up my ballot initialed by two voting officials in red ink. The second instruction at the top of the ballot in big bold letters says "Do not use red ink on this ballot!
I simply don't get it. Every election I've voted in they've used red ink to initial the ballot, and every ballot has contained the same instruction to not use red ink. The ballots themselves are pinkish-red, so I'd think it would be common sense not to use red ink, regardless of instructions.
I simply don't get it...
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No paper trail. We here have a paper ballot, blacken in the little circles, just like back in high school. The ballot gets fed through a reader into a locked box, and the voter count gets incremented. Congratulations! at 7AM I was the 58th voter.
But they have no way, at all, to know if the machine registered my votes correctly. No paper trail. No bit of printout they can give. And they have no clue why this is a problem.
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They're optical scan ballots, right?
The "Don't use red ink on this ballot" applies only to voting marks. If the elections officials used blue or black ink, the machines might kick the ballot as being mismarked.
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My district switched from the old mechanical voting machines to electronic touch-screen ones for this election.
I know enough code pigs (and I am one myself) to fear computer-based voting.
-BP
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I voted an hour ago. Fairfax County offered the option of voting on the touch screens OR voting on an optical scan paper ballot. I chose paper over electrons.
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Last 2 elections, I've voted early at the Courthouse. Good experience. Prior to that, local precinct: Bunch of incompetent old farts, and I'm no spring chicken!
Bob
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Other than the electronic voting, which I can't control for this election, the only thing that bugged me was the extremely slippery gym floor. I was wearing my road biking shoes and it couldn't have been slicker if I were on ice.
Chris
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I'm glad we still have paper ballots here in AZ. I fear and loathe electronic ballots, being a codegeek much like BrokenPaw.
Aside from that, it hurt to see people walk away from the line to vote after standing for an hour. Don't give up, folks! See it through to the end!
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1) At the door, sample ballots being given out by the DNC. So of course all the (D)'s are selected. A little underhanded if you ask me. Not sure how they can get away with it, either.
2) No paper trail.
Otherwise it was neat and orderly. Just over an hour waiting indoors.
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1) At the door, sample ballots being given out by the DNC. So of course all the (D)'s are selected. A little underhanded if you ask me. Not sure how they can get away with it, either.
I think they Republicans do that as well. They were giving out sample ballots, but I wasn't offered one. Something about a wool wearing fixed gear cyclist probably doesn't scream Republican.
Chris
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1) At the door, sample ballots being given out by the DNC. So of course all the (D)'s are selected. A little underhanded if you ask me. Not sure how they can get away with it, either.
That's ALWAYS done.
I voted in my first national election in 1984 and it was done then.
"Something about a wool wearing fixed gear cyclist probably doesn't scream Republican."
It screams something, alright, but probably not what you think... :D
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Here in GA, you show your ID, then you are given a yellow electronic "smart" card to process your ballot. Stick it into a voting machine, make your choices by touchscreen, review your choices, record your vote on the yellow card, then ...
... the annoying part: hand the yellow electronic "smart" card (my ballot) to someone who is presumably an election official, who smiles at you, and is holding a stack of votes in her hand. Done, I walk out - wondering what will happen to my ballot, in her hand with many others unsecured, no secure card reader or ballot box in sight, just inches from her pockets.
Ballots should be placed by the voter into a secured container which one can trust will be opened only in a secured and monitored location. Handing it to a stranger in hopes that it is properly counted does not comfort me.
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Other than the electronic voting, which I can't control for this election, the only thing that bugged me was the extremely slippery gym floor. I was wearing my road biking shoes and it couldn't have been slicker if I were on ice.
See, if you drove a car, like a red-blooded 'murrican, you wouldn't have had that problem, would you? =D
Where was your polling place? Mine's the Buckhall firehouse. Honest, gods-fearing vinyl tile on that floor.
1) At the door, sample ballots being given out by the DNC. So of course all the (D)'s are selected. A little underhanded if you ask me. Not sure how they can get away with it, either.
I believe either party has the opportunity to do so; certainly both were handing out sample ballots where I was. If there was only a DNC rep at your polling place, it's probable that the RNC just didn't have someone there doing the same.
I think they Republicans do that as well. They were giving out sample ballots, but I wasn't offered one. Something about a wool wearing fixed gear cyclist probably doesn't scream Republican.
I was actually surprised that the republican sample-ballot guy approached me. Long hair and a pentagram "Clergy" symbol on the back of the car isn't even within one standard deviation of their core. Still, he did, and I took it, because it kept the ravening Obamanauts at bay. Probably had garlic in it or something.
-BP
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Here in GA, you show your ID, then you are given a yellow electronic "smart" card to process your ballot. Stick it into a voting machine, make your choices by touchscreen, review your choices, record your vote on the yellow card, then ...
... the annoying part: hand the yellow electronic "smart" card (my ballot) to someone who is presumably an election official, who smiles at you, and is holding a stack of votes in her hand. Done, I walk out - wondering what will happen to my ballot, in her hand with many others unsecured, no secure card reader or ballot box in sight, just inches from her pockets.
Ballots should be placed by the voter into a secured container which one can trust will be opened only in a secured and monitored location. Handing it to a stranger in hopes that it is properly counted does not comfort me.
Okay now I've got a third thing that I didn't like. I hadn't thought about that one, but excellent point! How do I even know that the person who took my card was an official?
****!
Thank sweet baby Xenu for ACORN, otherwise my vote might not count.....
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See, if you drove a car, like a red-blooded 'murrican, you wouldn't have had that problem, would you?
Didn't have much of a choice today. I had to drop the car off to get new struts. My bike is my only transpo until SWMBO gets home around 1pm. Not that I'm complaining, I welcome any opportunity to ride, but bike shoes aren't very good for walking...
Where was your polling place? Mine's the Buckhall firehouse. Honest, gods-fearing vinyl tile on that floor.
One of the elementary schools nearby. It was down Wellington after Wellington Station but before the HS on Wellington, down S Main IIRC.
Chris
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How do I even know that the person who took my card was an official?
I figured with 4x the elections officials in the room (Sheriff deputy included) than voters, several looking at me as I handed it to her, and her having about a dozen cards in hand, I figured she must have been an official even without a suitable nametag. Still bugged me that the cards weren't IMMEDIATELY secured and/or processed.
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At the door, sample ballots being given out by the DNC.
What the... I thought there was a law making it illegal to promote candidates within 1000 ft of a polling place.
Maybe its only in my state?
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how do they allocate voters to polling places? one precinct no lines another had hour wait
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We use paper scan-tron ballots that you fill in circles with a black felt pen. When you're done, you put it inside a sleeve with only the top 2 inches showing(it's marked how much you leave outside of the sleeve). Then you carry it over to a table where an election official makes sure you have it in the sleeve properly. They don't look at it, and there's a Sheriff's Deputy standing behind the table. Then you walk up to a machine and push the uncovered part of your ballot into a slot and the machine sucks the whole ballot in, and you just hand the empty sleeve back to an official. It seems like a pretty decent system.
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how do they allocate voters to polling places?
I think its determined by where you live and how your state devides up its assembly and senate districts. All the people in one particular area vote at one polling place.
one precinct no lines another had hour wait
That probably had to do with population density and the availability of nearby state buildings.
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What little thing happened while voting bugs you?
I was there at 7:05am and the line stretched considerably outside the park pavilion building. Then people exiting pointed out that the line for my ward number started inside the building and was much shorter. They should have had signs for each ward district outside too.
Other than that, the only thing that bothered me was the petite size 2 pretty blonde MILF in line in front of me, and the panty-lines visible through her rather tight and thin khaki pants. :angel:
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This, seen on the way.
The signs, paid for by the state Democratic Party, have the same style as Republican Senate incumbent John Sununu's signs _ green and blue lettering on a white background.
But the Democrats' signs carry messages such as "Stand with Bush; Stick with Sununu" and "Privatize Social Security" by voting for Sununu. Many have been placed next to Sununu's own signs.
Sununu spokesman Julie Teer called it "a desperate attempt to salvage Jeanne Shaheen's candidacy."
She said state Democratic Party Chairman "Ray Buckley and the New Hampshire Democrat Party have again resorted to childish pranks in an attempt to distort Senator John Sununu's record.
"The people of New Hampshire are smarter than the Democrat operatives think and we know the voters will dismiss this type of political chicanery," Teer said.
They are such...immature...PESTS. :P
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The tables to check against voter rolls were organized alphabetically, and when my wife and I arrived, everyone waiting was in our line, with no activity at the other tables. The other volunteers were thumb-twiddling while one person checked us through. A very minor annoyance, as the whole process to ballot-drop took 10 minutes.
Whatever the outcome, I'm grateful we live in a place where exercising franchise doesn't routinely involve risk to life and limb.
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Standing in line this morning (still outside the building) the lady behind me was on the phone complaining that there was only one voting booth. She went on for several minutes while others around her asked how she knew. I finally said that there are 8-10 booths inside and she walked away. I figured she was just trying to say she was disenfranchised. Turns out she thought that a table outside the building was the voting booth, funny thing is I never saw a table. ;/ :O :rolleyes:
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We used to have touch screens, we're back on paper this year.
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But the Democrats' signs carry messages such as "Stand with Bush; Stick with Sununu" and "Privatize Social Security" by voting for Sununu. Many have been placed next to Sununu's own signs.
Hell, that'd get him my vote. Is that supposed to be a negative?
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We use paper and check ID.
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Touch screens here that prints out a paper copy of your choices for hard copy records. You get to view through a window after you cast your votes for consistancy. No issues here since I voted last week.
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What the... I thought there was a law making it illegal to promote candidates within 1000 ft of a polling place.
Maybe its only in my state?
It's only your state.
There's VERY little Federal input on how voting is conducted for National Elections. It's up to the individual states to determine how the elections are held and the particulars surrounding them.
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I heard a radio advertisement reminding us to vote in "the most important election of our lifetimes".
It seemed very naive and short sighted, if not outright alarmist.
Paid for by Obama for America.
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I heard a radio advertisement reminding us to vote in "the most important election of our lifetimes".
It seemed very naive and short sighted, if not outright alarmist.
Paid for by Obama for America.
Well, it is.
Continue "America", or destroy it.
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The most important election in my lifetime was 1980, and I wasn't old enough to vote.
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I heard a radio advertisement reminding us to vote in "the most important election of our lifetimes".
It seemed very naive and short sighted, if not outright alarmist.
Paid for by Obama for America.
I heard a Black lady call a radio show the other day. She didn't like Obama that much, but - BUT A MINORITY CANDIDATE WILL PROBABLY NEVER MAKE IT ONTO THE BALLOT EVER AGAIN! :rolleyes:
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I heard a Black lady call a radio show the other day. She didn't like Obama that much, but - BUT A MINORITY CANDIDATE WILL PROBABLY NEVER MAKE IT ONTO THE BALLOT EVER AGAIN! :rolleyes:
If he screws up as much as he's likely to if elected? That's likely true, sadly.
A qualified minority candidate would have been a good thing. People would have gone "Oh, well, yeah...huh. There really is no difference in skin color." As it should be. Because there is not.
In this case? If elected, he'll screw up stuff so badly that, among more racist voters, it will be seen as evidence that a black man can't do the job. Which is NOT AT ALL TRUE....but it's an uncomfortable truth that that will be the widespread perception.
Putting Obama, an empty suit socialist forward as the first black man who could become president...is likely to be the greatest setback to civil rights and equality of the 21st century.
What a lousy, lousy, horrible choice for that historic first. What a waste.
It's like finally getting your team to the Major Leagues...and sending up, as your first batter, a nearsighted and weak-armed sort with a wiffle bat and a .000 average.
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Having a supporter of the Dem Representative I hate with a passion (Joe Courtney) hold up his sign and wave at me like I was his pal or something as I drove into the parking lot. I looked the other way and his hand quickly dropped. I too thought it was illegal to have campaigners right outside the voting stations but, I guess it ain't. It should be as far as I'm concerned. I felt like going and asking the guy how he could support such a POS but I just did my thing and left. =|
Too bad Courtney himself wasn't there, I definitely would have had a few words with him. =D
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This is after I voted an needed to walk across campus.
Just because I have long hair and haven't shaved in three months doesn't make me an Obama supporter. Please don't pout when I say "No", when you ask me if I support Obama.
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I'm glad we still have paper ballots here in AZ. I fear and loathe electronic ballots, being a codegeek much like BrokenPaw.
Aside from that, it hurt to see people walk away from the line to vote after standing for an hour. Don't give up, folks! See it through to the end!
Just hope & pray they were Obamatons. Considering this topic (http://www.armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=15945.0) we can always hope that standing in line to vote is way too much work for these poor folks.
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Here in GA, you show your ID, then you are given a yellow electronic "smart" card to process your ballot. Stick it into a voting machine, make your choices by touchscreen, review your choices, record your vote on the yellow card, then ...
... the annoying part: hand the yellow electronic "smart" card (my ballot) to someone who is presumably an election official, who smiles at you, and is holding a stack of votes in her hand. Done, I walk out - wondering what will happen to my ballot, in her hand with many others unsecured, no secure card reader or ballot box in sight, just inches from her pockets.
Ballots should be placed by the voter into a secured container which one can trust will be opened only in a secured and monitored location. Handing it to a stranger in hopes that it is properly counted does not comfort me.
Your votes aren't recorded on the cards. All the card does is activate the machine, then the machine records your votes. If you'd watched before or after voting you'd have seen the person you handed your card over to after voting then handing a stack of them back to the people who were verifying status and handing them out.
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The only thing that bugged me was after voting.
I couldn't walk across the town square and pick up a nice
bottle of whiskey to sit and enjoy while I watch the results.
Got to close them evil stores down today or people might
get too drunk to vote.
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I too thought it was illegal to have campaigners right outside the voting stations but, I guess it ain't. It should be as far as I'm concerned.
Dunno where you are, 280, but here in Georgia campaigning is not allowed within 150 feet of a polling place. At the elementary school where I vote the entire school is considered the polling place, though the actual voting is usually done in the library. (Due to expected high turnout, today it was in the cafeteria.) Sign-wavers are kept at or past the farthest corner of the parking lot. Anywhere else and they're too close to the building or way the hell away where they can't be seen.
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I'm in the lovely state of CT. They were at the entrance to the parking lot of the school. Well within 150 ft that's for sure. I found it to be very annoying. Like they're going to sway my choice as I'm walking in. Yea, hokay... ;/
One thing though, the TV is saying Fla is too close to call. Not quite the "landslide" the Dems and the media would have you believe it was going to be.
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I got there at 5:40am, polls opened at 6. It was pretty smooth except one thing.
As you walked up to the gym you came across a line, and most people assumed it was the only line when in fact there was another 50 yds or so down the way. Heres the trick, if you lived west of Tibbs st. you were supposed to be in the first line, East of Tibbs and you got in the second. There were no signs up stating that and people were waiting in the first line for 40+ minutes just to be told they were in the wrong line and had to go to the other one. They would not let them proceed. Lots of angry people this morning at IPS#90.
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These last couple of infections I had to walk upstairs AND this time I had to wait 2 minutes to vote. The horror.
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What little thing happened while voting bugs you?
I tooted.
Loudly.
Mrs. G98 was next door in the other booth.
Everybody there at the polling place now knows my first and middle name.
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There were no signs up stating that and people were waiting in the first line for 40+ minutes just to be told they were in the wrong line and had to go to the other one.
I guess my dad and brother were lucky. They only had to wait 5 minutes. There were 2 tables to sign in at, one for each half of the alphabet. The problem was, they were not labeled.
There have never been big crowds when I have gone to the polling places in the past. I'm not surprised there were few today.
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I tooted.
Loudly.
Mrs. G98 was next door in the other booth.
Everybody there at the polling place now knows my first and middle name.
So your name is God Dammit also?
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I didn't have to wait. I voted absentee; sent in my ballot last Tuesday. =D
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Paper ballots, big envelopes to cover them.
The ballots were extra large this time (lots of highly contested local judicial races) and didn't fit. Everyone who voted a straight party ticket advertised that fact and their party of choice to everyone else waiting in line to hand it in.
Otherwise though, I am happy to say that my sleepy little neighborhood is, thus far, remaining sleepy and little.
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I liked the way MT does it. We have the scanner sheets which we then feed into the scanner ourselves. The only problem I had were the 3 people at once hassling me outside to get me to sign various petitions I did not care about since I was trying to get home to make dinner. I blew off the exit poll chick as well even though she was kinda hot.
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I think they Republicans do that as well. They were giving out sample ballots, but I wasn't offered one. Something about a wool wearing fixed gear cyclist probably doesn't scream Republican.
Chris
I wasn't offered one by the Repubs either, and I had an XD-45 on my hip. They just looked at me said hi. The kid who didn't even look 18 offered me one for the Dems, though.
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only one out of the 23 people there to help the voters was able to show me how to write in a vote.
My district switched from the old mechanical voting machines to electronic touch-screen ones for this election.
I know enough code pigs (and I am one myself) to fear computer-based voting.
-BP
we switch to electronic voting next year, and i also worry.
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My voting place is in a school, so I had to be unarmed in order to vote. =( Stinks! :mad:
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My voting place is in a school, so I had to be unarmed in order to vote. =( Stinks! :mad:
Hmmm, maybe you need to move to California. A CCW holder does not need to disarm at a school here.
Back to your regularly-scheduled thread - I had an annoying thing happen...
Obama won.
Sawdust
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My voting place is in a school, so I had to be unarmed in order to vote. =( Stinks! :mad:
What states allow you to carry concealed into a polling place in the first place, no matter where it's located?
Pennsylvania doesn't, Virginia certainly doesn't.
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What states allow you to carry concealed into a polling place in the first place, no matter where it's located?
Pennsylvania doesn't, Virginia certainly doesn't.
I'm pretty sure Iowa does if its not a school.
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My voting place is in a school, so I had to be unarmed in order to vote.
Just be glad you don't have to spend six hours in one every weekday!
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I voted across teh street from my house at teh old folks home.
No line. Fill in the oval with a pen, optically-scanned ballots.
Did feel guilty about not buying anything at the bake sale in the lobby though.
What? There was no fresh certified-Grandma baking waiting to be purchased at your polling place?
=D
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I tooted.
Loudly.
Mrs. G98 was next door in the other booth.
Everybody there at the polling place now knows my first and middle name.
Was it commentary on your choice of candidates?
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What? There was no fresh certified-Grandma baking waiting to be purchased at your polling place?
=D
Grandma-baked goods and you passed? Will of iron, man, will of iron...
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What states allow you to carry concealed into a polling place in the first place, no matter where it's located?
Michigan.
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What states allow you to carry concealed into a polling place in the first place, no matter where it's located?
Pennsylvania doesn't, Virginia certainly doesn't.
Virginia. My polling place is not a school, it's a library.
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The whole vote-by-mail thing in Oregon bugged me. Our system is set up perfectly to facilitate fraud.
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Well dang, I thought there was a general prohibition against carrying firearms into a polling place in Virginia. Can't find anything...
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Well dang, I thought there was a general prohibition against carrying firearms into a polling place in Virginia. Can't find anything...
I looked very throughly before carrying there, and couldn't find anything either. Hopefully I'll still be able to do it next election.