I Voted

[JoeWras]

Ours was all touchscreen, then a paper ballot prints, which you take to a scanner and a volunteer shows you how to correctly slide the ballot in, and you see your vote being counted on the screen. We can all verify online as well, accepted and counted - good system IMO.

With the exception of touching stuff, it probably is better. In our county, what this means for early voting is that they have a huge lock box with ballots for every precinct. You register, and then go to the ballot table where they pull your ballot. This means there are a lot of ballots pre-printed.

The bubble-filling has issues too. You can screw up the ballot enough to get it rejected, and then an official has invalidate it and let you try again.

 

[Sue J]

Here in Ohio the absentee ballots are counted before election day and included in the count on election day.

There needs to be a process where once your ballot is accepted all your campaign ads in the mail are stopped and diverted to the recycling center before they are delivered.

 

[Midpack]

Here in Ohio the absentee ballots are counted before election day and included in the count on election day.

There needs to be a process where once your ballot is accepted all your campaign ads in the mail are stopped and diverted to the recycling center before they are delivered.

That would be wonderful, but it won't happen anytime soon. We don't get anything but junk in the snail mail anymore, but you can't stop it...and USPS needs the revenue no matter how small it may be to subsidize first class mail.

 

[Gumby]

When we vote on election day here, we show up at the polls, where they have tables for different groups of alphabetized street names. We step up to the correct table, say our street address and names, and show them our ID. No signatures required. The poll workers from each party check our ID. Then they cross our names off the roster of registered voters and hand us a ballot. We go to the little privacy tables and fill in the bubbles. Then we take the completed ballot and feed it into the scanner on the way out.

I really miss the old lever action mechanical voting machine with the curtain that slides open and shut as you move the lever. I feel that they were less vulnerable to hacking. It also brought home to you the seriousness of the task at hand. Sadly, they got rid of them after the 2000 election.

 

[vince]

I really miss the old lever action mechanical voting machine with the curtain that slides open and shut as you move the lever. I feel that they were less vulnerable to hacking. It also brought home to you the seriousness of the task at hand.

Me too.

 

[REWahoo]

Thought this info was interesting:

USPS says it has processed over 100 million ballots since Sept. 4. Justin Glass, USPS' election mail executive director, said this tally includes ballots heading to voters, and ballots being returned to election offices.

 

[Bestwifeever]

We decided to vote early in person. Forty minutes, after we got in line. A small room that had twenty people in it. At least four of the 14 poll workers were doing nothing but talking to each other (I admire people who volunteer to work or watch the polls, but in such a small room, it was already very difficult to maintain social distances).

Everyone wore masks and stayed six feet apart until we reached the actual building to vote in, where our entrance was controlled. This was easily the most crowded room we've been in since March 7. Sanitizing was nonexistent--we all used the same stylus tethered to the screen for our signature, not sanitized between uses. We were given a chipped card to sign into the voting machine; after I turned my card back in, I asked if it would be sanitized and although I was assured it would be, it was immediately handed over to the next person. We had single-use Qtips to tap our selections into the voting machine, but the machines were not sanitized between voters.

I'll never vote in person again.

 

[harllee]

The above post is why I decided to vote absentee, just did not want to take the risk of being in a crowded polling place with a bunch of people.

 

[gerntz]

WOW! I had to look up where you live: Ohio. Is this the norm for the state?

OH has early voting.

 

[NW-Bound]

Here in Ohio the absentee ballots are counted before election day and included in the count on election day.

There needs to be a process where once your ballot is accepted all your campaign ads in the mail are stopped and diverted to the recycling center before they are delivered.

Mail? I don't get that many pieces of mail, but my phone has been ringing off-the-hook. ARGHHHH!

Of course I use an answering machine for screening. They immediately hang up when the greeting message comes on, but the ringing still bothers the heck out of me. ARGHHH!

Thought about setting the option in Ooma to redirect all phone calls to the recorder except for calls from family members.

 

[gerntz]

No one was cleaning screens on the voting machines. We sanitize as soon as we get back in the car, same as always. Hey, at least masks were required!

We don't have to touch a machine. Just feed paper ballot into it.

 

[gerntz]

NC gives every voter a pen with a stylus, you use the stylus to make selections on screen, so you never touch anything but your personal stylus. Good setup. Briefly touching surfaces isn’t nearly as risky as airborne exposure anyway from what I read, especially with washing or hand san after.

Good points.

 

[gerntz]

The bubble-filling has issues too. You can screw up the ballot enough to get it rejected, and then an official has invalidate it and let you try again.

Yes, and those issues are all on you.

 

[gerntz]

Here in Ohio the absentee ballots are counted before election day and included in the count on election day.

There needs to be a process where once your ballot is accepted all your campaign ads in the mail are stopped and diverted to the recycling center before they are delivered.

I'd add that all TV ads end also.

 

[RunningBum]

Mail? I don't get that many pieces of mail, but my phone has been ringing off-the-hook. ARGHHHH!

Of course I use an answering machine for screening. They immediately hang up when the greeting message comes on, but the ringing still bothers the heck out of me. ARGHHH!

Thought about setting the option in Ooma to redirect all phone calls to the recorder except for calls from family members.

My BP used to go up when my phone rang, cuz I knew it was probably junk, but couldn't be sure. That's one reason I got rid of my land line. For one thing, it took a few years for the telemarketers to get my cell number. Then I set a ring tone for everyone in my Contacts list, and made my default ring tone a soft song that I like. So if someone I know calls me, I recognize that ring tone. If it's someone else, I just smile when I hear the "Dust in the Wind" intro and don't even go for the phone. If it's important, they'll leave a message.

 

[gerntz]

I really miss the old lever action mechanical voting machine with the curtain that slides open and shut as you move the lever. I feel that they were less vulnerable to hacking. It also brought home to you the seriousness of the task at hand. Sadly, they got rid of them after the 2000 election.

I liked those too, but....

Only one person could vote at a time per machine. They can hand out multiple paper ballots to be filled in & the only time machine is used is when the ballot is fed in. Net, much higher capacity.

The mechanical machines did not/do not have a paper trail, so no way to know if the "tape" removed at end of today accurately recorded votes or not.

 

[MRG]

Took our normal mail delivered ballots to the box outside the courthouse. Done.

 

[Koolau]

Interesting discussion today. I've been voting ON election day for 50 years - several poling places - different states - and never waited more than half an hour. Why is this year so different? Just sayin' so YMMV. Full disclosure: Just voted a few days ago by mail. It felt very strange and somehow unfulfilling. YMMV

 

[braumeister]

Took our normal mail delivered ballots to the box outside the courthouse. Done.

Same here. Very easy.

Just voted a few days ago by mail. It felt very strange and somehow unfulfilling.

It's just what you're used to.
For over 20 years in the military, voting by mail was my only option so it felt natural.
Since back in civilian life, our polling place has been nearby and very uncrowded so that got to feel natural.
This year it seemed to wiser to get the mail ballot, and I liked doing it.

 

[JDARNELL]

If there actually was a "None of the Above" option I suspect we'd be pushing 100% turnout.

I agree. The two party system has a stranglehold on more candidates. Sometimes though the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Game theory at its best.

 

[Calico]

This state is one of the few left that doesn’t do early in-person voting. Not for seniors, not for anybody. You can do mail-in or absentee; they are different in this state. If I remember correctly, to do absentee you need to meet one of five or six conditions, one of which is being 65+. Another is that you won’t be in the county on Election Day. This year, people with pre-existing conditions can also request absentee ballots. I didn’t meet any of the absentee conditions.

You can do mail-in voting but your ballot must be notarized. Finding a notary public isn’t always easy; I found that out when I moved here. It’s probably faster than standing in line, but it still concerns me. I just moved here and it took forever just to get registered so I didn’t think I’d have time to get the ballot mailed back in even if I wanted to. I just don’t trust the post office right now.

It’s ok. I’ll knock it out early on voting day. I live in an urban area so I fear that I will have long lines, but it’s also a well to do area so maybe it won’t be so bad. My company has issued a rule that nobody can schedule meetings that day so nobody will feel pressured to decide between waiting in line to vote or skipping the vote in order to get to the meeting.

Your profile says you live in Ohio. Ohio offers early, in-person voting. Here is a link to the Secretary of State's website with dates and times of early voting: https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/v...7-81b7-4db3-bea2-4f515a9d5821_en&_t_hit.pos=2

 

[harllee]

Interesting discussion today. I've been voting ON election day for 50 years - several poling places - different states - and never waited more than half an hour. Why is this year so different? Just sayin' so YMMV. Full disclosure: Just voted a few days ago by mail. It felt very strange and somehow unfulfilling. YMMV

On election day where I live (NC) long lines are pretty much the norm on election days in years past (after waiting in a long line for hours in the rain several years ago I said never again and have voted absentee since then). I think turn outs are higher this year because of interest in the election and I think absentee and early voting is up because of Covid.

 

[Eaglekeeper]

Very easy in Boise too. 15 minutes in and out. Everyone was courteous, masks on with social distancing.

 

[harllee]

I just read that a couple of astronauts on the space station voted electronically. Talk about "absentee!"

 

[Koolau]

On election day where I live (NC) long lines are pretty much the norm on election days in years past (after waiting in a long line for hours in the rain several years ago I said never again and have voted absentee since then). I think turn outs are higher this year because of interest in the election and I think absentee and early voting is up because of Covid.

Since we have unsolicited voting by mail here, there won't be lines at poling places (we also have early voting at specified locations if you don't want to mail in you ballot or if, for some reason, you don't receive your unsolicited ballot.) IF you have to stand in line to vote, most folks will be outside, properly distanced and masked. I don't see Covid as a significant risk for voting here - heck, we just opened up limited tourism. Of course, YMMV.