Vote: Bring ID and expect other surprises

[Kitsune]

To all the people who stood in line for four hours to vote early: suckers! Took me under one hour to vote this morning.

...and, of course, my vote dissapeared into some mysterious machine that has no power backup should the power fail. Or, perhaps my vote ended up on the mysterious digital card I was told to put into the cardboard box when I was done? I have no idea.

Bring back paper ballots.

Well, typical of me! I'm getting ready to go down and vote and can't find my driver's license. GRRRRRR! My Colorado sample ballot states that a recent utilities bill in my name will serve as ID, however. We'll see, I guess.

[glatt]

I showed up half an hour after the polls opened here in Arlington, VA. I got in line at 6:30 and walled out the door and was on my way at 7:40. The line stretched out of the elementary school gym, down the hall, out the door, along the sidewalk by the school parking lot, and out onto the sidewalk along the street.

I sat on a jury a couple years ago when a man was accused of bringing a firearm onto school property when it was actually in a gym bag, locked in his car's trunk. The police pulled him over for a traffic violation shortly after he left the school parking lot. They found the gun in the trunk after he consented to a car search and informed them of the gun. We didn't get to deliberate because during the trial, his stupid attorney realized that all evidence and his client's own testimony indicated that he was guilty. So he struck a deal with the DA. Good thing too, because the law was very clear. The defendant was very likeable, but he did violate the law by driving his car into the school parking lot while a gun was locked in the trunk.

Showing up at an elementary school polling place with a gun to protect your right to vote isn't a good idea. I hope NBN's polling place is in a firing range or or something.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by marichiko

Well, typical of me! I'm getting ready to go down and vote and can't find my driver's license. GRRRRRR! My Colorado sample ballot states that a recent utilities bill in my name will serve as ID, however. We'll see, I guess.

Yeah, but how do you intend to get there ...

Breaking the law to exercise your civic responsibility.

tsk tsk.

Originally Posted by wolf

Yeah, but how do you intend to get there ...

Breaking the law to exercise your civic responsibility.

tsk tsk.

Well, I think we're talking technicalities, here. I AM a legally licensed driver in Colorado's DMV big brother computer banks. Anyhow, whether I got there legally or not, I did go down and vote. They were being very easy going about ID - the woman in front of me used her Sam's Club card plus her business card. However, because I'd sent in my change of address at the last minute, I didn't show up on the loal precinct voter registration list. They told me the Clerk and Recorder's office had been swamped, and was behind updating the voter's registration lists! They didn't stop me from voting, however. They gave me a provisional, PAPER ballot which I filled out and gave back to them and I guess my vote will be certified. The cool thing is that I got my very own vote tracking number and a phone number that I can call to find out if my vote got counted or not. I taped the numbers to my computer screen so I won't loose them, and you can be sure I'll be checking, especially if the Colorado election is tight.

I also voted "yes" on the state's proposed amendment to split electoral college votes by percentages given each candidate. It's a great first step toward electoral college reform, and I hope that it passes in Colorado and other states pick up on the idea, as well.

[redsonia]

[/quote]I also voted "yes" on the state's proposed amendment to split electoral college votes by percentages given each candidate. It's a great first step toward electoral college reform, and I hope that it passes in Colorado and other states pick up on the idea, as well.[/quote]

I voted yes on this issue as well. I think it really sucks that a candidate can win the popular vote, but still lose the race. This amendment would help with that, I believe.

I voted this morning and had no problems. Of course, I live in a town with about 8000 or so people, in the middle of the mountains. Paper ballots were used, as they have been in the past. It's interesting to hear about the new electronic voting machines, though.