Where do you vote?

[maillotpois]

Not WHO, but WHERE? Where do you go to vote?

I ask because I read an article about schools possibly closing on Tuesday because of security concerns, and I have never had a school as a polling place.

(No politics please. This is SO benign. Let's prove we can stay away from substantive political discourse.)

[Mr. Bloom]

Schools are the predominant venue here.

[mary9761]

Over the years I've gone to community centers, apartment complexes, I believe schools, fire departments and today my husband and I went downtown to go ahead and vote since I didn't know if I'd get a chance Tuesday because of my son and daughter in law's work schedules.

[Eden]

It's mostly schools and churches around here at the moment, but I believe Washington state will be switching to all mail in ballots soon.

[emily_in_nc]

I answered "Other" -- we vote at the county library. Actually, that's only because we early vote. If we waited til election day and voted at our actual precinct, it would be at a church, but I haven't done it that way for years, now that early voting is so much easier!

[VeloVT]

My polling place is an elementary school. However, I voted early via absentee ballot this year.



Let's prove we can stay away from substantive political discourse. Just what we need in this country -- more people staying away from substantive political discourse... :D (Hey, I'm not trying to start anything here, OK?).

[maillotpois]

I should have added "home" as an option for you absentee folks, but even for you I am interested in where you are directed to vote if you don't vote by mail. :)

[shootingstar]

I just came back tonight from voting --provincial by-election.

Last few years, a community centre. Other times, it was literally in my building where lived (different from where I live now), schools and ..community centres.

[carpaltunnel]

Over the years I've voted in a city hall, a fire station, churches, schools, and this year by mail. :D

[Fredwina]

I vote at a Mailbox.(perhaps my desk at home is more appropriate):cool: (I'm a permanent absentee) I wouldn't go back to voting in person

[MomOnBike]

Usually, we just walk across the street to the elementary school. This year, however, because the school is being remodeled, we are going to a church. I actually preferred the Town Hall when we lived in the middle of nowhere. It just felt like we were participating in the life of the community. Everybody took their kids along, too. (And a lot of people were voting for their cousins)

I don't think I'd like voting by mail. I like the act of going to the polling place and physically casting my vote. That may just be me.

[Tuckervill]

At the Community Center, and at a church or two. When I lived in Memphis lots of schools served as polling places. There are plenty of other options here, considering the needed number of polling places.

I remember there being voting in my high school lobby when I was in high school, too, back in the '70s.

Karen

[Irulan]

Absentee here

[snapdragen]

I vote permanent absentee. :)

[makbike]

I vote at the extension office which is much better than the bus garage.

[jobob]

Our local polling place has been a neighbor's garage, but we just switched to permanent absentee/vote-by-mail.

[badgercat]

I've voted in...
-a university dining hall
-a church
-City Hall (only one time when I did early voting)
-another church (though I might yet still vote early, in which case I'd be in a student union).

And I've only been a voter for four years! :eek:

But I voted for "church" since my two most recent "regular" polling places have been churches. :)

[michelem]

In AZ I remember voting at the public library. In the Bay Area, years ago, it was the local elementary school. Ever since moving back to Northern CA I've voted by absentee ballot. So, I tried to vote in the poll as "Other," but got the message that I had already voted in this poll, which I had not. Oh well! Hopefully real voting will go better -- I want my votes counted in this election!!!

[NbyNW]

We can vote by mail in WA state. That way I don't have to miss work. And I can take my time filling out my ballot.

My polling place, if I went to it, is the community center a couple blocks away.

[SadieKate]

Nothing but mail in Oregon.

[jesvetmed]

Washington absentee here, also. Used to go to the church down the road. I kind of miss seeing the ladies there... they were always so sweet!

[uk elephant]

In Norway, my regular polling place was a school although now I vote early at the library when I happen to be home near election time. As for US elections, I voted by mail this year from over the pond. When I last lived in the us, my polling place was at a retirement home.

[lph]

I vote at our local school. It's the only time I really feel part of our local community and I really like the feeling of belonging/responsibility/equality that comes with seeing everybody, men, women and often several children all out walking on that same evening and standing patiently in line.

[crazycanuck]

For the last NZ election, we voted at the Mt Albert RSL(returned service league, Canadians call it The Legion) i think...

For the previous Canadian election, it was couriered to Wellington

This NZ election, it'll be by postal ballot(that's if i get me rego in on time!!!..)

[Crankin]

I said community center, but it's really a gym that has recreational programs for kids and several fitness programs for adults. It used to be a school, probably in the early 1900s.
I voted at town hall in my previous town; only about 6,000 people there. When my older son went to vote for the first time, everyone clapped!
Before that, I voted in schools in both Florida and AZ.

[Tuckervill]

In the states that it is all by mail...is that the ONLY way to vote? WA and OR? You vote by mail???? And does that mean you have to vote early to get your vote in by election day? What if you haven't made up your mind by election day? What if something game-changing happens on the day before the election and you want to switch your vote?

The rest of the country has the option to change their vote at the very last second. I'm so curious about this. I think if I were required to vote by mail, days ahead of time, that I'd be mighty ticked off about it.

Karen

[bmccasland]

I don't think I'd like voting by mail. I like the act of going to the polling place and physically casting my vote. That may just be me.

Nope, MOB, you're not the only one that feels that way. I find some satisfaction of going to the polling booth, that I just don't get when I've voted absentee. I'd rather ride my bike over to the school than drive to the Parish Gov't complex to vote.

[OakLeaf]

Wow, I'm the only one so far whose polling place is a firehouse? That's weird.

I vote early at the Board of Elections though so that I can have a paper ballot. Am I allowed to say that here? :rolleyes:

[Fredwina]

In the states that it is all by mail...is that the ONLY way to vote? WA and OR? You vote by mail???? And does that mean you have to vote early to get your vote in by election day? What if you haven't made up your mind by election day? What if something game-changing happens on the day before the election and you want to switch your vote?

The rest of the country has the option to change their vote at the very last second. I'm so curious about this. I think if I were required to vote by mail, days ahead of time, that I'd be mighty ticked off about it.

Karen
In CA you can do either. I Think OR is only vote by mail.
we had a two page ballot - it helped to sit down and think through all the initiatives(about 10-15)
The oddest polling place - A Chevrolet Dealership
i've also voted at disabled advocay agency, my apartments's business office, and a masonic temple,

[tulip]

It's always been in a school for me, but now I've moved (again) and so it's in a community center--it's a city parks and rec facility, I think.

[SouthernBelle]

I've never voted in a church, but have in all those other places, including firehouse. My current precinct is a community center. But my office is across the street from the election commission, so I always go vote there in early voting. I voted on the 15th.

[Pax]

Since we bought the house and moved to a new precinct, we're voting someplace new. This year it's at a Quakers Friends Meeting House, I don't know much about Quakers but I think it's their church. It's a neat little building, I'm looking forward to seeing the inside.

[Trek420]

Community Center, it's a senior community across the street from me. I'd vote absentee but they are closer than the mailbox or local USPO.

See, neutral. I even took off my socks! :D

[Aggie_Ama]

I voted OTHER. Currently I can vote at the School Administration Building ( a non-descript strip center) or the Over the Hill Senior Community Club.

When I voted last it was a College Station community center but you could also vote at the Texas A&M Campus. Here they also use grocery stores, churches, schools, performing arts centers (big assembly halls), my Nanny's home is having voting for those registered. They had early voting at the hospital next door to my office.

[DebW]

The two polling places in my town are the Town Building and the Middle School. I vote at the Town Building. Since I will be one of many people standing at the polling place with signs supporting certain candidates, I hope most people vote in person. At least they will know who is on the ballot for what offices and how much support the candidates have before they walk into the voting booth.

[Veronica]

If you vote at a school in the early morning - please don't park in the employee parking spots. :eek:

I must remember to ride my bike to work next Tuesday.

Veronica

[maillotpois]

Wow - good point about parking, V!

I also like to go to the physical place to vote. (A city hall for me - used to be a church til we moved across town.) I like experiencing it - and getting the "I voted" sticker! :D

[sfa]

I've always voted in a school, and our public schools have always (at least in my life) been closed for election day. Until recently I didn't know that some school systems, maybe most of them, stay open on election day. That must make it difficult for the teachers and students, having to rearrange their schedule to stay away from the areas being used for polling. Normally we use either the gym or the cafeteria for voting, and one school I used to go to was used by two different districts for voting, so one district used the gym and the other used the cafeteria. I can't imagine trying to keep a school open with that kind of traffic coming into the school all day!

Sarah

[dachshund]

In my area the voting booths are set up in the garages of people's homes. It was the same when I lived in San Francisco.

Now I use the mail-in ballot.

[Veronica]

Our school library gets used. If you have library that day, you either miss it or go some other time during the week.

Veronica

[Possegal]

My father owned a moving company and for many years he would bid on, and always get, the contract for moving the voting machines in and out of Pittsburgh (Allegheny county to be exact). We always knew not to bother Daddy when it was 'voting machine time'. :) Wish he were still alive, I bet he would have a long list of various voting stations.

I like to go to the polls on election day. It was always a big thing in my family, to go with my father when he voted (Mum was an alien and couldn't vote). All of my sibs and I have a memory of at some point asking him who he voted for and then him spending the rest of the walk/ride home explaining to us how people have died for us to have the right to a secret ballot and that you owe your vote to no one and it was something between you and your God. :) I have such a sadness that he died before I could vote in my first big election, I would have loved to have gone and actually voted with him.

I've voted mostly in schools since I left Pittsburgh, and my Catholic grade school was a polling place when I was growing up. At home though, we voted at the Presbyterian church one block down the street.

Memories....... :)

[OakLeaf]

and getting the "I voted" sticker! :D

I usually put those on a trash can or toilet seat after I get home...

[Aggie_Ama]

I like experiencing it - and getting the "I voted" sticker! :D

My Pawpaw must have as well, they were on his jewelry chest and filing cabinets. I was so sad the first year I voted after he passed they didn't have them! :(

[sgtiger]

The first time I voted, it was in a gathering hall in a mobile home park(before Oregon went all mail-in). I kinda thought I had the address wrong or something at the time. When we lived in Washington, I voted absentee for the convenience factor. Well.... when I voted.:o I think I only voted once the whole time we lived in Washington.:rolleyes:

[snapdragen]

Wow - good point about parking, V!

I also like to go to the physical place to vote. (A city hall for me - used to be a church til we moved across town.) I like experiencing it - and getting the "I voted" sticker! :D

This year they included an "I voted" sticker with my mail in ballot. :D

[Trek420]

This year they included an "I voted" sticker with my mail in ballot. :D

That way you get pie :D Emil Villa's Hickory Pit will give you a slice of pie when you show up with an "I voted" sticker. I think they still do that.

[singletrackmind]

My polling place is a firehouse.

Unfortunately, my son's school is also a polling place. The school district close to ours have canceled classes for the 4th as have a few other area districts. My son's is remaining open. The teachers will be locking their doors but will have to leave their rooms as a group for specials and for kidvote.

My son will not be going to his kindergarten class that day. Between the traffic and people I simply don't feel it's safe enough for my comfort. The place is a madhouse on the small issue voting days, I can't fathom what it'll be like during a presidential election. The kids should not have to go to school on Tuesday, though I suppose it could cause some difficulty with parents who don't stay at home or can't bring their kids to work. Still.....

[Fredwina]

This year they included an "I voted" sticker with my mail in ballot. :D
i'm jealouus - San Berdoo county doesn't do that.

[bikerz]

I love going to vote in person! I like talking to the folks who hand out the ballots, I like seeing my neighbors, I like everything about it. I've been voting in the same church social room for years now.

Several few years ago for 3 years or so we lost our physical voting locale and had to vote absentee and I hated it. Then, inexplicably, we got to vote in person again, and I was so happy.

[SadieKate]

This year they included an "I voted" sticker with my mail in ballot. :DThe only reason I liked voting in person was to get the most excellent helmet decorations.

[colby]

I answered "other" - in my county we ONLY vote by mail. Maybe there's some kind of backup option? A way to pick up a ballot or vote in person?

We can drop our ballots off at certain locations, though, including libraries, post offices, and other local places up until election day.

We used to vote at the local sewer & water district building before they switched us to only voting by mail, so I guess that still counts as "other" ;)