Election Day!

[skhill]

So thankful that the ads are coming to an end!

I had no line. Probably had something to do with the polling place being moved since 2008, and no sign was posted at the old place directing people to the new place. New location is hard to get to on foot, in a precinct where many voters don't drive. No bike rack either, and they wouldn't let me bring my bike in with me. Seriously. They were prepared to refuse to let me vote because I came by bike and was not willing to leave my wheels leaned up unlocked and unguarded outside. Stood up for myself and they ended up letting me vote with my bike present.

While out walking my dog very early this morning, I had the honor of being able to help 6 of my fellow citizens find their new polling locations (a lot of local precincts have been moved over the last 4 years). That's an election day mitzvah...

My brother who is now in Columbus OH had an interesting day. He was expecting to have problems, as he hasn't gotten an Ohio driver's license yet. So he put on his best suit and brought printouts of Ohio voting law with him, and did his best imitation of a lawyer. He managed to vote despite being challenged, and helped 2 other voters who were about to be turned away.

So, how was your election day? Hopefully less exciting than what my family faced!

[TrekDianna]

I voted by mail a couple of weeks ago.

[Jolt]

No long lines at my polling location when I went...right after the pre-work rush since I work evenings and had the day off anyway. SO glad to be done with the darn political ads (and hearing about politics constantly)!! Is it just me, or were the ads worse this year?

[Blueberry]

No long lines at my polling location when I went...right after the pre-work rush since I work evenings and had the day off anyway. SO glad to be done with the darn political ads (and hearing about politics constantly)!! Is it just me, or were the ads worse this year?

They were terrible, and I'm not in the worst of the battleground states. Between the ads and the calls, I've been going nuts!! We voted this afternoon prior to the after work rush - no line, no wait at all.

[OakLeaf]

For some reason we put it off until today and I didn't get home until almost 4, and since we walked to the polling place (about 2.7 miles) people were starting to get off work and there was a bit of a line. Not too bad though, we're in a rural location, so we were back home before full dark (thank goodness, I'm not much on being out on rural roads after dark).

[ny biker]

My neighbor waited for 2.5 hours this morning. Many others in Arlington county waited that long.

I got there around noon and waited just about an hour. The woman in front of me was wearing too much perfume so I had to hang back to keep from sneezing.

[Irulan]

I agree about the likely socio-economic status of the majority of TE members.

I didn't know long lines were limited to low income areas--I'm not surprised that low income areas would have long lines and other voting difficulties, I thought other places were having these problems too.

Did Florida get their votes counted yet? What is up down there?

Long lines were not limited to low income areas. It was not a precinct by precinct phenomena. It has to do with how a particular state has voting procedures set up, whethere there is early voting, and how many people show up. The whole states of Virginia and florida are low income? I don't think so.

[zoom-zoom]

At least in areas near us that had 3-4 hour lines the issue was due to much higher than expected voter turnout (and these were in solidly "WASP" precincts/areas). Several precincts ran out of ballots. I'm not sure what they did, then, print more...?

[Selkie]

Longer lines might have been a result of some States limiting early voting.... IMHO the attempts to limit the electorate's access backfired, thank God. What about the new voter ID requirements? This sort of thing can make people more determined not to be denied their right to vote.

Oak, you are right on.

Longer lines might have been due to people realizing that this election was very important. Particularly if you are a woman and/or you believe in everyone having the same opportunities/rights.

[tulip]

My neighborhood is low-income and 85% black. I bet many people on these forums would not want to ride bikes here, although its an awesome and quiet community where people look out for one another. The cops say it's one of the quietest neighborhoods in the whole city. There were lines early when alot of people went to vote at the same time before going to work. Only interior lines in the gym when I went at 9:30 am. I heard about long lines in other parts of the city (some very white) and some issues with power outages, wrong information being asked by poll workers (which party, for example), and long, long lines at the end of the day when people who didn't vote earlier showed up to vote before the closing. I'm in Virginia, by the way.

I don't think there was some big conspiracy by "Them." If there was, apparently it didn't work because "Them" didn't win.

[NbyNW]

Washington State makes it really easy for expats to vote. They rolled out the mail-in ballots a few years ago, and I believe the state has now gone exclusively to that system, or at least King County has. When we moved to Canada in 2009, I was able to sign up to have my ballot sent to me electronically. This involves filling out an online form, and then sending back a printout with signature via email, fax or snail mail. And there's a website where you can go to track whether your ballot has been received and signature verified. I've been really impressed with this system, compared to other places where I've voted.

[OakLeaf]

I don't think there was some big conspiracy by "Them." If there was, apparently it didn't work because "Them" didn't win.

Well, I don't remember using the word "Them." The people I'm referring to have names, mostly with the word "Defendant" after them in a whole lot of successful voting rights lawsuits. Jon Husted, Ohio Secretary of State, is one of them. There are others in Ohio, in Florida, and in other states as well.

Husted, for one, was not up for reelection this year, so his actions can't have been on his own behalf. What do you call it when someone does something illegal in concert with other people? That's the legal definition of conspiracy.

As far as whether "they" won or lost, I'm as glad as anyone and more surprised than many that the presidential election was over on election night, but there are still many important races that hinge on the outcome of provisional ballots and suppressed votes. Many of those races have implications for the conduct of the next presidential election ... and far more implications for the lives of everyday Americans than the presidential race.

I WILL let this rest now, but I can't let it go without pointing out that dismissing the existence of voter suppression is not an effective way of keeping it from happening.

[tulip]

Hey, I'm with you. But I prefer to keep TE somewhat bike-related (or cat-or dog-related, as the case may be). I just think there are more appropriate forums to discuss such issues.

[Crankin]

I have a friend who worked at the polls in one of the most affluent counties in Va. He was there for 17 hours.
No early voting here. For such a "progressive" state, we don't like certain kinds of change.

[Irulan]

I have a friend who worked at the polls in one of the most affluent counties in Va. He was there for 17 hours.
No early voting here. For such a "progressive" state, we don't like certain kinds of change.

Uh, yeah.... it was a problem statewide in many areas.