The Many Methods of Voting

[Silver Raven]

A local TV station has been running stories all week about how different places are telling them different things about how much postage you have to put on your overstuffed California mail in ballot, they've been getting different stories.  Well today, we filled out ours, and right there on the envelope, it says postage free when mailed inside the US.  So now I'm confused.  We're going to take it to the post office in the morning and let them figure it out.

[StatisticalOutlier]

This is maddening.  I'm voting absentee because I'm out of the state.  The ballot came folded in an envelope with some notices and directions and return envelopes.

You put your ballot into a pink "privacy" envelope and seal it, and then put that in a white envelope that is pre-addressed to the county.  The problem is...the ballot, as it came folded, doesn't fit into the pink envelope.  It almost fits, so you can put it in there and the flap doesn't fold over where it's supposed to, but you can kind of fold the flap a little higher and the flap goes over.  BUT if you lick the envelope, there's a chance that the glued part will be touching the ballot, not the envelope, because the "new" fold makes the flap shorter than it should be.  I'm doing everything I can to not give any voter fraud aficionados anything to go on, and obviously don't want to damage any part of my ballot by gluing something to it. 

And on postage...there's a notice that says, "Due to the size of the ballot for this Election [no idea why they capitalized "Election"], USE AT LEAST 2 FIRST CLASS STAMPS."

At least two?  Is three stamps even in contention?  Why can't they just say "use X stamps"?  (I weighed it on my cheap kitchen scale, and it's right at one ounce, so maybe it's two stamps.  But it's nowhere near two ounces, and actually, it's not two first class stamps--it's one first class stamp and one stamp I assume for the extra ounce (the size of the envelope doesn't trigger extra postage). 

And the size of the ballot for this election?  I've voted this way for over 10 years, and the ballot is always the same size--one big sheet.  We don't have voter initiatives and stuff like that, so it's never a bunch of pages. 

God, I hate this kind of lack of clarity.

[ClareWalks]

Can I just say it is some real gangster shit that anyone has to pay postage for their ballot? In my state, thankfully, the return envelope is postage-paid. You shouldn't have to essentially pay extra to vote absentee.

[StatisticalOutlier]

The main reason I think it should be postage-paid is so there aren't any screw-ups with postage.  But voting in person has its costs, too--time getting to and from the polling place, and maybe even transportation costs. 

In my county (and I assume state), you can't vote by mail unless you're outside the county for the entire voting period (including early voting), and you have to have your ballot mailed to an address outside the county--so you can't have it sent to your house to wait until you have an address where you can receive mail and can have a family member send it right then.

[NewDigs]

6 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

The main reason I think it should be postage-paid is so there aren't any screw-ups with postage.  But voting in person has its costs, too--time getting to and from the polling place, and maybe even transportation costs. 

In my county (and I assume state), you can't vote by mail unless you're outside the county for the entire voting period (including early voting), and you have to have your ballot mailed to an address outside the county--so you can't have it sent to your house to wait until you have an address where you can receive mail and can have a family member send it right then.

Wow.

Where do you live?

That sounds like it rubs up against voter suppression.

[ClareWalks]

11 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

But voting in person has its costs, too--time getting to and from the polling place, and maybe even transportation costs. 

Yeah, but there's something very fair about voting in person - you *could* vote totally free by walking to the polling place, etc. If they require a stamp, that immediately disqualifies people who, for whatever reason, cannot afford or obtain one (or for whom even a couple stamps would be a financial hardship). 

[Kromm]

On 10/21/2016 at 11:01 AM, madmaverick said:

I see.  Thanks for the explanation, NewDigs, to a non-American.  

By the way, and excuse the basic question, but do all states use the same voting machinery?  And is there still any risk of chads?  Cause I still remember 2000 and that was a freaking nightmare.

I doubt after that election many places kept using those cards.

They had to deal with distinctions like this:

[StatisticalOutlier]

4 minutes ago, NewDigs said:

Wow.

Where do you live?

That sounds like it rubs up against voter suppression.

Texas.  So yes, voter suppression.  Duh.  :-)

And actually, it's Austin, where it's occasionally possible to forget you're even in Texas, so this sort of nonsense really bugs.

 

24 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Yeah, but there's something very fair about voting in person - you *could* vote totally free by walking to the polling place, etc. If they require a stamp, that immediately disqualifies people who, for whatever reason, cannot afford or obtain one (or for whom even a couple stamps would be a financial hardship). 

But there's still the time you "spend" by walking to and from the polling place, plus not everyone can actually do that.

As for people with financial hardships, voting by mail doesn't require an ID, unlike in-person voting, so it might actually benefit them.  So of course it's available only if someone is outside the county, which generally wouldn't include people who can't afford a government ID.  A coincidence, I'm sure.

Never mind that you need a college degree to even understand the procedure for voting by mail, and even with that (and a law degree in my case) it was still confusing.

 

On 10/22/2016 at 6:21 PM, Cosmocrush said:

I live in Washington state where all ballots are automatically mailed to registered voters 18 days before election day and then we have the option of mailing them back or dropping them off at a few local designated places on or before election day.   Yes, it's easy and convenient but I have to say I miss the days where I could head to the local voting place and cast my ballot even though it was either before work or leave early to make it.  There was something about the act of standing in line or just showing up that helped remind me / us how fortunate I was to live in a democracy.  

I'm in Colorado right now and they mail a ballot to everybody and you can mail it back (voter pays postage) or drop it in a designated box (like Washington) OR you can vote in person either during early voting or on election day.  I'm not sure how they wrangle all that.  And not only that, you can register to vote ON election day.

[Bastet]

Well, I'll be damned -- I finally got my sample ballot, and we do have early voting here.  How embarrassing; I am not normally so uninformed.  I believe I vaguely knew it was available at Department headquarters, far further than I'm willing to go, for about a month up to Election Day, but I had no idea that for the two weekends prior to Election Day, there are early voting stations set up, although in only five locations around the (huge) county.  I'm still going to vote on Election Day, because I can just walk half a mile rather than driving to the nearest early voting station about ten miles away (and because I can take time to go in the middle of the day and avoid crowds), but good to know.

There is no requirement here to show ID. 

And anyone can vote by mail so long as they apply to do so in time (deadline is a week before Election Day); you don't have to be out of town or anything like that.  I don't know if postage is required, but one must put postage on the application (although there is an online application available), so probably.  There are drop-off boxes available, about 75 locations.  If I was going to vote any way other than in person on Election Day, that's how I'd do it; I wouldn't risk putting it in the mail.

Edited October 26, 2016 by Bastet

[Silver Raven]

There have been so many different stories about how much postage you are supposed to put on your ballot when mailing it back in, that it got really confusing.  Especially since our ballot envelopes say no postage required.  So we took them to the local post office and asked the clerk there for an explanation.  He pulled out somebody else's envelope it was a different color.  Ours were green, and this other person's was kind of a pinkish orange.  Apparently, if you are required to vote mail in, as in our precinct, you don't have to pay for postage, but if you do it just because it's more convenient for you, then they make you pay.

 

However, according to the newspaper this morning, if you don't put enough stamps on the envelope, the USPS will deliver it anyway, then bill the county.

[BW Manilowe]

I'm in Indiana. We have Early Voting by Mail (aka Absentee Ballot, which my parents & I are all eligible for, & are taking advantage of, because of age, permanent disability, &/or other illness), Early Voting in Person (which is currently going on & starts 28 days before the election) & Election Day Voting.

As I said in 1 of the threads before, you have to fill out a ballot application if you wanna/need to vote by mail, which has to be received at the county election board by October 31st. You can download it or request it be mailed; to return, you can mail, email or fax it. You're eligible to vote early by mail (& probably also in person) if:

1. You have a specific reason you won't be in your county on Election Day the entire time the polls are open (6A-6P)
2. You're disabled.
3. You're at least 65 years old.
4. You have official election duties outside your precinct on Election Day.
5. You're scheduled to work 6A-6P on Election Day.
6. You'll be confined due to illness or injury, or caring for someone confined due to illness or injury, 6A-6P on Election Day.
7. You're prevented from voting because of religious obligations 6A-6P on Election Day.
8. You're in the state's address confidentiality program.
9. You're a member of the military or a public safety officer.
10. You're a convicted "serious sex offender" who is eligible to vote.
11. You don't have a ride to the polls.

When you get your ballot package/envelope, you get a paper ballot with the parties, candidates, & other local issues to be decided (retention of Judges, etc.) which has numbers next to your choices (i.e. 36 Hillary Clinton & Tim Kaine); a computer-type card with numbered ovals corresponding to your ballot choices--you color in the oval for the number you're voting for (like those "of a certain age" had to do with standardized/PSAT/SAT tests answers in school); a folder to put your completed computer card ballot in; an envelope you seal, with an affidavit you have to sign regarding your ballot, to put the folder with the computer card in; a prepaid, with 1 stamp, envelope to put that envelope in, which sends it back to the county election board no later than noon on Election Day; a notice that local mail could take 3-5 days so you can be certain of returning your ballot on time; a folder on how to vote properly & how to track your ballot once it's returned; a sheet with your absentee ballot voting rights, & a sheet explaining how to vote straight ticket, & that, at least where I am, voting straight ticket doesn't include the candidates for County Council At Large, even though there are 3 candidates (the limit) from each of the major parties--you have to pick 3 & vote for them (if you choose to) in addition to your straight ticket vote in the other races.

Edited October 29, 2016 by BW Manilowe
To add info & to change info.

[Silver Raven]

I wish WE had a way to track our ballots after they're mailed.

[atomationage]

Another worry I have is when all the mailed in votes are actually counted.  Are they counted as early votes, or are they counted afterwards, like absentee ballots? 

[Ceindreadh]

I am fascinated by all the different methods of voting available to you guys!

In Ireland, there's only limited options for postal voting - usually only for persons with disabilities who can't go to the polls.  Pretty much everybody else has to go to their assigned polling station on the day of the election/referendum, and if you're not going to be there on the day, well tough luck.

However, on the plus side, when we elect a new government, the election day has to be within 30 days of the dissolution of the Dail (Irish Parliament) so at least we're not stuck with campaigning ad nauseum!

[MulletorHater]

I'm not sure if this belongs here, but Rachel Maddow did a show a couple of nights ago about racialized voter intimidation tactics in New Jersey that resulted in a consent decree in 1982 where the RNC agreed to curb its poll watching tactics.  Fast forward to 2016 where the party's standard bearer has incited his minions to "monitor" the polls in certain neighborhoods because of his faux concerns about voter fraud.

Well, the DNC finally grew a backbone and is fighting back according to Politico.  I hope this gains more traction and is closely followed.

RNC Accused of Violating Consent Decree

[StatisticalOutlier]

BTW, I noticed in my mail-in ballot in Texas that you can write in only people who are on the official write-in list that is included with your ballot.  Or, I guess you can write in anybody you want, but the vote isn't going to count unless it's one of the people on the list.

Is that the case elsewhere, writing in only candidates who are on a list?

[Bastet]

Yes.  Here, in the general election, to begin with you can only do a write-in vote for party-nominated and local offices, not for the voter-nominated offices (so, you can write in for President, County Board of Supervisors, judges, etc. but not for U.S. or CA senator/representative).  Then, there is a list of "qualified write-in candidates" that becomes available online something like 10 days before the election.

Edited October 27, 2016 by Bastet

[BW Manilowe]

15 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

I wish WE had a way to track our ballots after they're mailed.

Have you Googled to see if you can? Or tried calling your local election board to ask if you can? I'd try those things. It may only be possible if you're not voting on Election Day though.

[BW Manilowe]

6 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

BTW, I noticed in my mail-in ballot in Texas that you can write in only people who are on the official write-in list that is included with your ballot.  Or, I guess you can write in anybody you want, but the vote isn't going to count unless it's one of the people on the list.

Is that the case elsewhere, writing in only candidates who are on a list?

That's the case in Indiana. You can't just write in anyone's name. It has to be on our state's official list. They mentioned that, for some reason, on 1 of our local newscasts in the last week or so.

Oddly enough, I think I've voted Absentee by Mail at least since Bill Clinton ran for re-election (I'm mobility disabled, which has gotten worse in the last 2 years, & it's just easier than waiting in the lines at my polling place; I did vote in person during the 1st Clinton election, which was the 1st time I felt there was a POTUS candidate I could support though I turned 18 in 1981 & could vote for President as of 1984).

While at least certain races on the paper ballot you're supposed to use to complete the computer card your votes will be counted from show a Write-In option, I don't believe I've ever gotten a list of our official Write-In candidates with any of my Absentee Ballot packages. I know I didn't get 1 this year.

Not that I'd ever actually vote Write-In, but why give people a write-in option but tell them they can only use an approved list of names for that option & then NOT give them a copy of that list of names with their voting materials? That makes no sense to me, except that they're trying to discourage that.

[ClareWalks]

I am stunned that there are states where you cannot vote for whoever you want (via write-in). STUNNED. That's kind of what the foundation of democracy is. I guess this is what happens when we leave voting methods up to individual states. Maybe this should be standardized across the whole country.

[BW Manilowe]

I completed & returned my mail-in absentee ballot yesterday afternoon. If POTUS 45 isn't female, the mother of a daughter named Chelsea & the grandmother of grandchildren named Charlotte & Aidan, & the FLOTUS to Bill Clinton's POTUS 42, among other things, it's not my fault!

Edited October 28, 2016 by BW Manilowe
To add a word & make the post sound better.

[atomationage]

This is an interesting video from Vox on the difficulties of Americans with disabilities voting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K62JCFj7B88

The Democratic party should really go after polling places that may be supressing this vote.

Edited October 28, 2016 by atomationage
clause intro

[fastiller]

On 10/20/2016 at 3:48 PM, partofme said:

I live in New York, my only option is in person on 11/8.  I will be there bright and early in the morning before work.

 

On 10/20/2016 at 3:56 PM, Moose135 said:

Been there, done that! I'm a Long Island refugee, hit the polls on the way to work many times.

 

On 10/20/2016 at 8:41 PM, partofme said:

Same.   My district in NYC never has a line in the morning, the longest I ever waited was in '08 and that was probably 10 minutes.  

 

On 10/21/2016 at 11:29 AM, partofme said:

No voting is different all over the country.  My mom lives in NJ and their voting is computerized.   In NY since 2008 our voting is by scantron, before that we had machines with levers that you pull, I preferred that to the scantron which we put into the machine in public and have no privacy.

Fellow-NYCer here.  I have rarely seen a line in my old polling station (I've moved since 2012); not sure whether my new polling station will have a line when I open the place up at 6am on 11.08.2016.  @partofme - I also preferred the old lever machines.  Aside from the privacy thing, there was something so satisfying about pulling the lever and seeing your bit of democracy in action.

Any other NYSers/NYCers here want to answer this one: have you ever been offered one of those "I VOTED" lapel stickers?  I never have and really want one.  I wanted one for 2008 so I could commemorate voting for the first African American President and want one this go-around for similar reasons (not telling you who I'm voting for, though).  Perhaps that's down to the polling station?

On 10/25/2016 at 6:40 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

And on postage...there's a notice that says, "Due to the size of the ballot for this Election [no idea why they capitalized "Election"], USE AT LEAST 2 FIRST CLASS STAMPS."

At least two?  Is three stamps even in contention?  Why can't they just say "use X stamps"?  (I weighed it on my cheap kitchen scale, and it's right at one ounce, so maybe it's two stamps.  But it's nowhere near two ounces, and actually, it's not two first class stamps--it's one first class stamp and one stamp I assume for the extra ounce (the size of the envelope doesn't trigger extra postage). 

And the size of the ballot for this election?  I've voted this way for over 10 years, and the ballot is always the same size--one big sheet.  We don't have voter initiatives and stuff like that, so it's never a bunch of pages. 

God, I hate this kind of lack of clarity.

I can't for the life of my (well, I can: $$$$) imagine that they'd have you pay the postage.  Having said that: you're 100% right: just come right out and say "use X stamps".  

[partofme]

5 hours ago, fastiller said:

 

 

Any other NYSers/NYCers here want to answer this one: have you ever been offered one of those "I VOTED" lapel stickers?  I never have and really want one.  I wanted one for 2008 so I could commemorate voting for the first African American President and want one this go-around for similar reasons (not telling you who I'm voting for, though).  Perhaps that's down to the polling station?

 

The only time I've ever gotten an "I voted" sticker was in the September 2015 primary when I went to vote a 7:30 PM.  Otherwise, no never, and i've always been disappointed.  I've never had an exit poll either.

Edited October 28, 2016 by partofme

[Silver Raven]

The Tea Party Secretary of Nevada is refusing to set up polling places on Indian reservations.

[Silver Raven]

On 10/27/2016 at 10:51 AM, ClareWalks said:

I am stunned that there are states where you cannot vote for whoever you want (via write-in). STUNNED. That's kind of what the foundation of democracy is. I guess this is what happens when we leave voting methods up to individual states. Maybe this should be standardized across the whole country.

In California, they won't count write in votes because they got tired of the junk votes for Mickey Mouse.  Now they will only count a write in vote if it's for a candidate who has filed with the Secretary of State as an official write in candidate.

[Silver Raven]

On 10/27/2016 at 4:30 AM, BW Manilowe said:

Have you Googled to see if you can? Or tried calling your local election board to ask if you can? I'd try those things. It may only be possible if you're not voting on Election Day though.

You're right, California has it by county, I just checked and they got my ballot.  Yay.

[GHScorpiosRule]

And I voted less than an hour ago. Took less than five minutes. 15 if I count the time in line. About 30, if I count the time it took to walk from my car, line, vote, go back to my car. I wonder what the lines were like in the morning and yesterday.

I walked past at least 10 people leaving as I walked toward the EOB. 

[scriggle]

This is the first year there's been early voting in MA. I voted this morning. No lines but there was a steady stream of people.

[maraleia]

I walked into one of Chicago Park District buildings to vote this afternoon and it took an hour door to door. The driving distance was 3 miles total. In IL you don't need an excuse to early vote and starting this past Monday there were over 50 polling places open for early voting. This is the way it should be.

I did stare at my first review page that had Clinton/Kaine, Duckworth, Davis et.al.  (we vote electronically with a paper ballot that prints out after we review our choices during the early voting period) for about 2 minutes before I hit the button to submit my ballot. It was nerve racking to say the least but I'm glad I decided to vote early. Now I can work on getting others to vote early and on election day.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I figured out how to resize on my phone...

But it's still huge! Sorry about that. ? 

 

 

[MrsDixon2U]

I voted on Monday in a central location in downtown Chicago. Although not crowded, there was a steady stream of people coming in. I did not have to show id. It took me about 10 minutes (too many gosh darn judges)

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 10/26/2016 at 1:57 AM, BW Manilowe said:

I'm in Indiana. We have Early Voting by Mail (aka Absentee Ballot, which my parents & I are all eligible for, & are taking advantage of, because of age, permanent disability, &/or other illness),

I should add that in Texas, where I was saying you have to be out of the county for the entire voting period to get an absentee ballot, they do have exceptions for people with a disability or who are over 65.  They can sign up to have all ballots for a year mailed to them.  Those of us who are out of the county or in jail have to sign up for a mailed ballot for every election (separate one for primary and general election).

You have to indicate a party if you're voting in a primary, but otherwise, you don't have to register as a member of a party.

One wrinkle in Texas is the Escapees organization, which runs a mail service in Polk County.  People who travel a lot in their RVs use an Escapees address as their mailing address, and when they want to receive their mail, they call Escapees and have it forwarded to wherever they are right then.  It's used by people who truly don't have a physical address; people who do have a physical address somewhere but travel a lot and prefer using Escapees' mailing service because they have it down to a science; and "snowbirds," people who live in one place during the summer and a different place (Arizona, Texas, Florida) in the winter.

In the story linked to below, it said there were 12,000 such "residents" in 2008.  I'm sure there are way more than that now.  There are similar operations in South Dakota and Florida, but they don't have anywhere near these numbers, and those states have more than one such service, so it's not as concentrated.

As you can imagine, it's a sticky situation.  The vast majority of people with this lifestyle are over 65, and they are overwhelmingly conservative.  That has affected the local politics in Polk County, and produced some animosity, including lawsuits.  The court held that they're entitled to vote there, even if they never go there. 

https://www.texasobserver.org/2860-the-winnebago-vote-how-12000-rvers-tilt-east-texas-elections/

[atomationage]

18 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

There are similar operations in South Dakota and Florida

The "Escapees" IMO should vote in the same manner as Americans overseas, and have no influence on the local elections in places where they don't actually live.   I wonder if these people vote in more than one state. 

[NewDigs]

Florida voter here and we've had those "I Voted" stickers for years. I once purged about 8 of them but have since stuck 3-4 more on the bathroom mirror.

Talked to a guy who was wearing one on a Friday before early voting. I asked him about it and he said it came with his mail-in ballot.

I'd feel robbed if I didn't get one!

[AuntiePam]

In Iowa, we're not required to give a reason for voting by mail.  I downloaded the request form, which asked for very basic information.  The only "secure" info was the last four digits of the SSN.  I mailed the request to the county auditor and a few days later the ballot came in the mail.  There were simple instructions -- very clear -- a secrecy envelope -- which fit in the return envelope.  The return envelope already had a stamp, and it had a preprinted label with my name, address, and a bar code.  The info emphasized the importance of the return postmark -- it has to be postmarked no later than November 14. 

It's mind-boggling to me that any state asks for a reason for absentee voting. 

[Kitty Redstone]

21 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

The Tea Party Secretary of Nevada is refusing to set up polling places on Indian reservations.

Surely American Indians will be able to count on the US court system to help.

 

 

Yes, that was sarcasm.

[StatisticalOutlier]

24 minutes ago, atomationage said:

The "Escapees" IMO should vote in the same manner as Americans overseas, and have no influence on the local elections in places where they don't actually live.   I wonder if these people vote in more than one state. 

You must have missed the part where I noted they were overwhelmingly conservative, which means they do not participate in voter fraud. :-)

Escapees does encourage people not to vote in local elections, but there's nothing stopping people from doing it.

 

9 minutes ago, AuntiePam said:

The info emphasized the importance of the return postmark -- it has to be postmarked no later than November 14. 

A typo?  Texas requires that the ballot be received by 7:00 p.m. on election day; postmark doesn't matter.  If you mail it from out of the country, it has to be received by the 5th day after election day. 

BTW, your mention of Iowa reminded me of caucuses, and how that vote is in public, and I remembered an interesting interview with Jill Lepore about the advent of the secret ballot in the U.S.  It wasn't until 1896 that the secret ballot was the preponderant mode of voting, and the first time there was an election where nobody died. 

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/11/466405233/polling-is-ubiquitous-but-is-it-bad-for-democracy

The secret ballot discussion starts at about 11:50.  There's also a transcript; do a search for

So everybody paid

and that's where the discussion begins.  The secret ballot was actually a method of disenfranchising former slaves and immigrants because it required them to be able to read.  Fascinating stuff.

[atomationage]

I've often thought that if we didn't have a secret ballot, Reagan would never have been President, because no one admitted to voting for him at the time.

[BW Manilowe]

2 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I should add that in Texas, where I was saying you have to be out of the county for the entire voting period to get an absentee ballot, they do have exceptions for people with a disability or who are over 65.  They can sign up to have all ballots for a year mailed to them.  Those of us who are out of the county or in jail have to sign up for a mailed ballot for every election (separate one for primary and general election).

You have to indicate a party if you're voting in a primary, but otherwise, you don't have to register as a member of a party.

One wrinkle in Texas is the Escapees organization, which runs a mail service in Polk County.  People who travel a lot in their RVs use an Escapees address as their mailing address, and when they want to receive their mail, they call Escapees and have it forwarded to wherever they are right then.  It's used by people who truly don't have a physical address; people who do have a physical address somewhere but travel a lot and prefer using Escapees' mailing service because they have it down to a science; and "snowbirds," people who live in one place during the summer and a different place (Arizona, Texas, Florida) in the winter.

In the story linked to below, it said there were 12,000 such "residents" in 2008.  I'm sure there are way more than that now.  There are similar operations in South Dakota and Florida, but they don't have anywhere near these numbers, and those states have more than one such service, so it's not as concentrated.

As you can imagine, it's a sticky situation.  The vast majority of people with this lifestyle are over 65, and they are overwhelmingly conservative.  That has affected the local politics in Polk County, and produced some animosity, including lawsuits.  The court held that they're entitled to vote there, even if they never go there. 

https://www.texasobserver.org/2860-the-winnebago-vote-how-12000-rvers-tilt-east-texas-elections/

In Indiana, we have to apply/re-apply for a mail-in absentee ballot for every election in which we wanna use that voting option. I get that people's circumstances may change & that may not be a permanent thing for some, but I also wish--assuming they keep records of who's applying for mail-in ballots--after you apply for a certain number of mail-in ballots in a row they'd just come to realize your situation is obviously permanent & they'd automatically send you a ballot without having to go through the application rigamarole every time; especially since they never seem to dispute a request for a mail-in ballot to start with.

You have to declare a party in the Primaries here too. Since I consider myself an "issues" voter over a "party" voter, & will sometimes vote for Republicans though I consider myself more aligned with the Democrats since I began voting, I usually skip that election & just vote during the Presidential-related General Election when nobody asks, or cares about, which party you align yourself with most.

[BW Manilowe]

2 hours ago, NewDigs said:

Florida voter here and we've had those "I Voted" stickers for years. I once purged about 8 of them but have since stuck 3-4 more on the bathroom mirror.

Talked to a guy who was wearing one on a Friday before early voting. I asked him about it and he said it came with his mail-in ballot.

I'd feel robbed if I didn't get one!

I don't think I've ever gotten an "I Voted" sticker. I know I've never gotten 1 with my absentee voting materials, or after they've gotten my ballot back. I don't think I got 1 the first time I voted, when I did it in person, either.

[BW Manilowe]

I don't know whose list I ended up on, or why, but yesterday & the day before (I don't know about today yet), I got mail from some organization I don't remember the name of saying my voting record over a certain period they cite doesn't match the rest of my state's--mostly because I choose to only vote in the Presidential elections. I get they're just trying to encourage me to vote more, so I guess it's "reverse intimidation" if any intimidation at all, & I'm basically ignoring it because I'll vote whenever I wanna vote, thank you very much!

[NewDigs]

The first time I voted in Florida, in the '70s, we were given a little instrument that looked like a bent paperclip. It was a punchcard/ballot tool. Came in a nifty little manilla envelope about the size of a credit card. And we got to keep them!

The pollworkers used to line the outside edges of the ballot boxes with those "I Voted" things and you grabbed one after depositing your ballot. I can't remember where they affix them now but they're always there.

[Bastet]

I've always declined the "I Voted" sticker as just a waste of paper, but since this year I've decided to take up ideas discussed in another thread and wear white (for the suffragists) and/or a pantsuit (for Hillary), I'm going to take one and add it to my outfit.

[MulletorHater]

I voted on this beautiful fall day at the Chevy Chase Community Center in Washington, D.C.  It was very organized and took me all of 35 minutes!  You walk into the community center, and receive a number.  When your number is called (barely 5-10 minutes after sitting down), you go to a table where several poll workers are seated.  Even if you don't have your ID, they will ask for your first and last name, which they check on these IPad-like devices.  You provide your address and the ward you live in.  Once all of that checks out, you electronically sign in and then get in one of two lines with a printed ticket.  The printed ticket contains the voter's name, address, ward and the name of the location he or she would typically vote on November 8.

Once my turn came, I gave my printed ticket to a poll worker.  I voted electronically, but I was able to double check my entries, which I did several times.  Once I approved everything, my ballot was printed.  I took my printed ballot to another line, where another poll worker scanned it into the machine, after which I received a message that my ballot was counted.  I then received my "I Voted Early" sticker and walked my happy tail several blocks home (2.1 miles) with a Starbucks break in between. 

[atomationage]

43 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

I'm basically ignoring it because I'll vote whenever I wanna vote, thank you very much!

I ran into trouble when I voted in the primary this year because I didn't vote in the next previous election, and my name fell off the voter roll somehow.  Years ago, I registered to vote at the local library, and I put down the street where I lived as River Rd.  When I went to vote, it was a problem, and I had to vote by affidavit, because the actual name of the street was Des Plaines River Rd, and I had no idea, because no one ever calls it that. 

[BW Manilowe]

My ballot has been received. I mailed it Thursday; on the Indiana Voters site where we can track our absentee ballots, it's listed as having been received by my county election board as of yesterday (Saturday).

[photo fox]

On 10/22/2016 at 11:52 AM, rcc said:

I've always hated going to the polls and getting bombarded by candidates wanting to shake your hand and giving you pins, stickers, etc.

Wow, I didn't know that was a thing! Where I live, it's illegal to do any electioneering in or in front of a polling place. That sounds incredibly awkward.

 

On 10/29/2016 at 11:25 AM, StatisticalOutlier said:

It's used by people who truly don't have a physical address; people who do have a physical address somewhere but travel a lot and prefer using Escapees' mailing service because they have it down to a science; and "snowbirds," people who live in one place during the summer and a different place (Arizona, Texas, Florida) in the winter.

Huh, this is interesting. Here in Illinois, I know you're supposed to vote where you live, not where you get your mail,* but I don't know what they'd do if you actually don't have a permanent physical address.

*This actually caused trouble for me when I first registered when I was 18. My parents and I had a temporary home, while they were in the process of building a house. Rather than change their mail, and then change it again, they just put a mailbox at the build site. Well. we registered to vote where we lived, but when they mailed our cards to that address, USPS bounced them, and the county clerk canceled the registrations. My mom, who has served as an election judge forever, went round and round with them to get it sorted.

I moved to a different county this year, and I didn't get my registration switched in time, so I have to do "grace period" voting at the courthouse. I'm disappointed, in part because my cousin in now the county clerk and I can already him rolling his eyes at me for missing the deadline. But mostly because I really miss voting in person, on the day. There's just something so awesomely, purely, democratic about it, and it makes me feel so connected to my fellow Americans. (At least until the results start coming in!)

As for overall procedures, etc. here... we almost never have lines, but I get the feeling I'm in a much more rural area than most of you. Early voting and the aforementioned grace period voting can only be done at the courthouse, but there's a pretty long time period for it, and we're used to having to drive into "town" for everything. You don't need a reason for early or absentee voting, but with early voting so accessible, absentee voters are mostly just people who are homebound.

We have scan ballots, and have since 2000. Before that we had the butterfly punch "chad" ballots that were apparently so difficult? I have to laugh at that a bit, because I didn't think they were difficult at all, but whatever. I do remember signs in the booths specifically telling us to check our ballots for hanging chads, although they called them something different.

The bad thing about the scanners is that they're crazy expensive. So when the state mandated them, the county clerks had to close a lot of polling places. Generally speaking each rural township, which is 6 miles x 6 miles, has one polling place. But in the city, or maybe where there are two small towns in one township, there would be multiple precincts. When faced with paying for all those scanners, they just couldn't keep them all open anymore. So a lot of people before could walk to vote suddenly had to drive. Now, like I said, having a car or knowing someone who does is a way of life here, but it was still unfortunate. (And a prime example of how our statehouse forgets that a huge part of Illinois is rural and sparsely populated, and what works just fine in Chicago isn't always a good fit everywhere, but I digress.)

I find our election process somewhat fascinating, and I've been a judge of election several times. So I could go on and on, but this is already getting long! I love hearing how it's done in other parts of the country.

[AuntiePam]

On 10/29/2016 at 0:38 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

A typo?  Texas requires that the ballot be received by 7:00 p.m. on election day; postmark doesn't matter.  If you mail it from out of the country, it has to be received by the 5th day after election day. 

 

I just checked the Secretary of State website and yeah, the November 14 postmark is either a typo on my part or it was a typo on the instruction form.  Damn.  I hope it was my typo.

[ebk57]

It's done!