Why I Vote in Person at My Polling Place

[MineralMan]

This year was the first election in Minnesota that allowed absentee voting in person or by mail without stating a reason for not being able to vote on Election day. A lot of Minnesotans have taken advantage of that to vote early, and that can't be a bad thing. For myself, I voted this morning at my local precinct's polling place, as I have done in every election since my first vote was cast in 1966. I was the 116th voter today. My wife was #118. Someone else snuck in between us at the ballot scanner.

Here are my reasons for continuing to vote in person:

Tradition - That's how I've always done it and I like the process.
Neighbors - I recognized half of the poll workers from the neighborhood. One even lives just down the street and walks her dog every day past my house. I also saw a couple of voters who I recognized from my door-knocking and canvassing. They both said, "Hi."
Election Returns - Where I am, in-person votes are the first to be tabulated on election day. We use optical scanners and paper ballots, and the scanners at every polling place upload their data once the polls are closed. That means I get to see the results from in-person voting right away. I like that.
Stubbornness - I'm an old fart, and set in my ways. I like voting in person and will keep doing it as long as that is possible. That's not a good reason, but it's one of my reasons. I just like the act of filling out the ballot and watching it get sucked into the scanner. I like saying hello to the poll workers. I like sticking the "I Voted" sticker on my shirt. I just like the whole thing.

Voting is our right. It is our responsibility. It is our primary way of helping to choose our own government. It is essential that people vote. If they do not, we will no longer be the power behind our government, from local to federal.

If you haven't already, please go and vote.

[whatchamacallit]

1. Don't we know everything about you yet?

Haha sorry, I'm not a morning person.

[MineralMan]

5. By no means. There's still much left to tell.

[whatchamacallit]

6. NOoooooooo....

[MineralMan]

7. I'm parsing it out, little by little.

Sorta like Chinese water torture.

[HipChick]

12. Ok...going to have to ask...

Are there some threads I missed?

[MineralMan]

15. I'm sure I'll repeat myself, so it probably

doesn't matter. I'm old, so I tend to tell the same stories over and over again. It's the codger privilege.

[riqster]

73. "Codger privilege" FTW!

[ChisolmTrailDem]

9. MM is one of the few people I come across regularly on the Internet and

feel that I know almost personally. He has a nick but doesn't hide behind it. I think that's a good thing, though, despite the fact that I don't always agree with him and he often annoys the shit out of me. Pretty much like any friend I can name. Many times I do agree with him and I like this particular OP.

[MineralMan]

17. I'm pretty sure that whatchamacallit meant that as a

friendly tease. As my father once told me, "Son, if you don't laugh at yourself, others will do it for you." He's a wise man, or maybe just a wise guy.

[whatchamacallit]

18. Yup

[ChisolmTrailDem]

21. Oh, I knew that. Just wanted to chime in. nt

[MineralMan]

23. Thanks for doing that!

I appreciate your comment very much.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

26. You're welcome, MM. nt

[Skidmore]

2. We pretty much do the same thing

and for the same reasons. We're going as soon as my husband gets off work this afternoon.

[JaneyVee]

3. Me and my whole office goes every election at 1:45pm.

It's become tradition.

[cyberswede]

8. Fun!

I hope you don't invite your Republican coworkers.

[MineralMan]

22. That's a great tradition!

[Jim Beard]

4. From another old codger

who feels the same way. I will be voting in about one hour. Know all the people working there.

[HipChick]

10. I'm a huge techie

haven't a clue about Founding Fathers..but love the process, so I go in person

[Bandit]

11. How would you feel if you had to stand in line for many hours to cast your ballot?

Some people have a hard time finding a place to park, or just don't want to run into that special person they have been avoiding for some time. I am a very firm believer in "Vote By Mail". Every state that has initiated it has seen a significant increase in "turn-out". In fact those states that do have "Vote By Mail" have some of the best "turn-out" in the nation.

[MineralMan]

19. If I had to do that, I'm sure I'd meet some interesting people.

Both in California, where I used to live, and in Minnesota, where I've lived since 2004, precincts were small, so that never happened. Here the population of my precinct is just over 2000 people, many of whom are too young to vote.

I have no problem with voting by mail, and I realize that it has increased turnout in many states. I hope that opportunity continues to grow, but I'll still vote in person at my local polling place, as long as that option is available.

[cyberswede]

13. I like to vote that way, too

This morning, my husband and I got to the polling place a couple minutes after they opened at 7:00 am. We knew most of the poll workers, and several of the other voters. It was fun.

He was voter 6, and I was voter 9 (I took longer to vote for some of the non-partisan judges on the back of the ballot).

We were home by 7:15, ready to take the kiddos to school & head off to work.

[bigwillq]

14. I always vote in person.

Just my choice. I like going to the polls. My polling place is never really too busy, and I am still of sound body to where I am physically able to go to the polls, so I do.

[Tikki]

16. Voting is our right...That is why we vote by mail. We all get together, it has become a tradition.

Have a bite to eat. Bring out all the information. Mark our ballots. Then, usually our oldest son drops them off
at the post office on his way home.

In less than a week we can look online at the County site and make sure they have received and processed our votes.

Love, love this way of voting.

The Tikki family.

[MineralMan]

20. Sounds like you've started your own new tradition.

I like it!

[Tikki]

55. Not so new...we have been doing this for over 15 years...

Our county has had absentee voting for many years...Now almost everyone
I know votes absentee. We have been on permanent absentee like, forever.


Tikki

[logosoco]

24. I agree with the old traditional way of doing it!

There is something about coming together as a community to make a difference. Plus, it was a good physical thing to see for my grandsons.
I am lucky that I can go in the middle of the day when it's not as busy, so that helps. No waiting in line.
I made a big ceremony out of sticking the sheet in the scanner, and the poll worker said "You just changed the world!". I think that was a good thing for my grandsons to get the meaning, whereas if I had a mailed ballot, it is not as exciting.

And who doesn't love stickers?

[MineralMan]

25. Stickers Rule!

It's nice that you took your grandkids with you. I also love the poll worker's comment. It does change the world, or can anyhow.

[sarge43]

27. My great grandmother was a suffragist

I enjoy voting in person because I like to think she's standing next to me. This one's for you, Grandma Shaw.

Also, for all MM's reasons

[MineralMan]

33. That's a great reason!

[sarge43]

45. Thanks

We're not voting just for ourselves. We vote for all those who came before us, who couldn't vote, who struggle to vote. We also vote for all those who will come after us. This is something new in history. Not that long ago most of us did not have that right.

[William769]

28. I like to vote in person also.

[B Calm]

29. Republicans closed down 1/2 of the rural voting places in my county, so now

I vote early at the county courthouse.

[hedgehog]

48. Good for you for not being discouraged!

[ecstatic]

30. I voted three weeks ago. Waiting til election day is far too risky for me

I've missed several off year elections/primaries that way.

[SunSeeker]

37. I agree with you. Shit happens. Vote early/by mail if you can. nt

[Zorra]

111. +1. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the woods". nt

[Jamastiene]

31. I was number 80 to vote this morning.

A special thank you to the Republican Party of my county for giving me a list of, as they said, "the most conservative candidates to vote for including the nonpartisan conservatives." Those are always the tricky ones here in NC, but I already did my research and knew who I was going to vote for, but their list helped me to double check my list to be sure no conservatives conservative enough to satisfy the Republican Party accidentally got on my list. My research was sound. None matched. So, really, they gave me a list of people to be sure NOT to vote for. How convenient.

There was barely any Democratic Party presence there at all, but if I had gone in unprepared, that list would have come in handy. If I had not done my research weeks ago and already had my list ready, I might have actually needed their list to compare and contrast. The last two weeks have been super hectic and I have been with my baby boy in and out of the hospital a lot. Thankfully, I had done my homework a long time ago and knew who I was voting for already and my baby boy should be ok now. Plus, the new guitar case for the Jackson has a second sticker since I got it earlier this year. This one said I voted today. The last one said My vote counted.

Voted and know I voted for the right people and not the people on the list handed to me. Check.

Baby boy home and not hurting any more. Check.

Guitar case has some more decorations. Check.

It's been a good morning.

[Jenoch]

39. "There was barely any Democratic Party presence there at all..."

At the polling place?

In Minnesota, there are both Republican and Democrat election judges. don't know if there are independent or Independence Party judges.

[CreekDog]

61. "Democrat" judges

puts many of your other posts some context I guess.

[Jenoch]

66. Huh?

There are Republicans and Democrats sitting at the tables working at the polls where I vote. Is it different where you vote?

[riqster]

67. Should be "democratic".

"Democrat" as you used it was re-created as a pejorative by The Rove. Made ads where the "democ" was smaller than "rat", and so on.

Using it that way reinforces the GOPee meme of "rat".

[Jenoch]

71. I am unaware of that.

Where I come from, a group of people who generally vote for the more liberal candidats who have a (D) after their name are called and self-identify as Democrats, although in Minnesota we are known as DFLers (Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party).

[riqster]

79. It's more complicated, grammar is involved.

One would say "I am a Democrat", but not I belong to the "Democrat Party": in the second case, we would say "Democratic Party". Similarly, we would say "Democratic judge" and so on.

A few links:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat_Party_(epithet)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/2010/03/since_when_did_it_become_the_d.html

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/democrat-is-a-noun/

[Jenoch]

80. I don't often refer to the Democratic Party

because in Minneasota we have the DFL Party.

[riqster]

83. Fair enough. Just explaining why someone corrected you on usage.

[Jamastiene]

100. I was talking about the people outside that you have to walk through,

on the way inside to vote, the ones handing out cards, pencils, and other campaign stuff.

[Jenoch]

114. That does not hapoen in Minnesota.

It is against the law to hand out camoaign materials within 100 feet of the polling place. Campaign buttons, t-shirts, any campaign material cannot be visible inside or eithin 100 feet.

[Jamastiene]

118. I'm not sure of the feet, but they have to stay back some from the actual entrance.

At my polling place, where you have to park and walk to get to the entrance, you still have to walk through them to get to the door. It has always been that way even when I had different polling places when I lived in other areas and before they closed down that last polling place and moved it to a church.

[Jenoch]

119. I can't ever remember

seeing any activists anywhere near a polling place in Minnesota.

[Jamastiene]

122. In my county, they are always there, a few feet back, but there. n/t

[riqster]

65. I voted by mail-my commute and work hours preclude in- person voting.

No stickers for any of my cases, although my P-Bass and Tele both have old ones on their headstocks.

[Jamastiene]

123. Aww, I was really happy to have some I voted stickers for my Jackson.

I finally got a Jackson! I can't believe they made some cheaper Jackson guitars. They are still great playing guitars and sound amazing. This one is stock and sounds great! I love it when guitars come already sounding great and don't have to be tweaked or modified.

[riqster]

124. Jackson makes some very good axes.

I use cheapies like Squiers for gigs and keep the fancy ones mostly at home. Had too many vintage basses stolen, back in the day.

I will say that both Squire axes played well out of the box and have been reliable, comfy tools since day one. Wish politicos could say the same!

[RebelOne]

32. I am not a glutton for punishment and hate standing in lines.

I vote early whenever possible, either by mail or early voting.

[Jenoch]

41. I have posted this several times now.

But Paul Wellstone's last campaign taught me to vote in person on election day. Actually, I only voted absentee one time when I was in college.

[DinahMoeHum]

34. Just came back from my polling place.

I prefer to wait until the morning rush is over, then go over there.
Fewer people, fewer hassles.

[leftieNanner]

35. Wish I could vote

in person. We moved up to Oregon from California 5 years ago. Oregon is all vote-by-mail. I miss being at the polls. Worked as a poll inspector for a number of years. It was a really looooooong day - but such an important part of our democracy. Thanks for the post MM. I'm only a half a step behind you in the codger department.

[MineralMan]

36. Thanks for voting, no matter how you do it!

[FrodosPet]

38. You cannot get a cool "I Voted!" sticker by mail, can you?

AND I got to say hello to an old friend who is working the polls.

[MineralMan]

40. Nice. Ours are red with I Voted in white.

[Jenoch]

42. I'll vote after work.

I have never needed to wait more than ten minutes. I like to vote in person, at the polls. It's sort of a ritual.

[MineralMan]

44. We're counting on your vote!

[Jenoch]

58. I have never missed voting in an election.

Well, I may have missed a local election back when they were held in the spring.

I remember getting my licensed changed (after a move) just in time to vote in a presidential referendum. It's the only time I voted for a republican. I just wanted to be able to say I voted for Harold Stassen for President. He was Minnesota's 'Boy Governor'. By today's standards, he would be a Democrat.


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Stassen

After Japan surrendured and the POW camps were abandoned, the first American Pappy Boyington saw wading ashore was Stassen, who was on Halsey's staff.

[CanonRay]

43. Speaking of old farts

I was trying to explain to my older brother about how great our vote by mail system is here in Oregon. He said "I vote at the polling place on election day. That's when you're supposed to vote". Put me in my place.

[MineralMan]

46. Well, I don't care when anyone votes, or where.

As long as they vote, especially if they're Democrats. Republicans? I suggest they vote tomorrow.

[CreekDog]

63. No he didn't put you in your place, he was wrong

It's a place and time to vote, it's not the only time and place to vote.

Voting early is a legitimate option and his being old fashioned doesn't give him a pass to be wrong and think he's right.

[lark]

47. I generally vote in person on election day myself

However, this year I took advantage of early voting. The early voting place is across the street from my regular polling place, so it still has that neighborhood feel, I still get the I voted sticker, put my ballot into the machine, all of that. The reason I did this is because I almost didn't get to vote in the last election. My pollilng place is a small Presbyterian church with limited parking. Last time their lot was full, the parking at the school across the street was full and I had to drive several blocks to find a place to park. By the time I got there, there was a long line outside the building. They locked the door 3 people behind me. I came that close to not being able to vote and would not risk that again. My neighborhood has gotten darker and during this process the voting place was moved from one where there was lots of parking to one where it was very limited. Hmm, voter suppression maybe? Anyway, I was not about to take the chance that I might not get to vote if I went there today so early voting it was.

Hope the shenanigans are kept to a minimum today, but I'm sure there will be many efforts to block Dems from voting. Hope we show up in such volume that it doesn't matter and we win anyway!

[meow2u3]

49. I vote in person on Election day because...

1. There is no early voting in Pennsylvania.

2. Absentee ballots are available only for people who can't make it to the polls on Election Day, either because they have to out of town, in the military, they're laid up, or disabled.

[MineralMan]

51. That's how it was in Minnesota until this year.

They dropped all the requirements, so many people took advantage of the opportunity and voted early.

[PasadenaTrudy]

50. I don't like to be around people

unless I have to. I mail mine in #introvert #antisocial

[MineralMan]

53. That's a good reason. I'm just glad you voted.

[JayhawkSD]

52. I, too, am an ancient traditionalist.

California has been voting early and by mail for years, but I go to the poll in person and on election day.


Tradition - Yes, me too. I like the sense of participation in the process.

Neighbors - Yes. Pretty much never do I go to the poll that I do not greet a friend and/or neighbor in the process.

Election Returns - I don't care about the earliness of seeing my return counted, the time of count is meaningless and only the final count matters. I tend to wish the idiots on television would keep their yaps shut until all of the returns, including mail in balllots, have been counted.

Stubbornness - I'm old, but I don't buy into the "that's the way I've always don it" nonsense. I use computers fur business and entertainment, and the new ways of doing things have enriched my life in a whole lot of ways. I do, however, like sticking the "I Voted" sticker on my shirt.

[Jackpine Radical]

54. Funny--I was thinking pretty much the same thoughts as I went to vote

this morning. In WI we've had the early voting option for some years & sometimes I've done it that way, but I do like to get out & see what's happening at the Town Hall on Election Day. I was #501 at about 9:15 am. They were very efficient & organized, & doing a beautiful job of handling the amazingly large turnout.

[MineralMan]

56. I'm glad to hear about the large turnout in your state.

I hope that portends a good result for Democrats. Thanks for the reply.

[upaloopa]

57. If everyone could vote by mail or on line

the voter ID laws would be useless.
Voting at polls lets repukes steal the election.
You should go register by proving who you are and then your ballot comes in the mail. You fill it out and mail it back. No voter I'd required.

[MineralMan]

59. Voting by mail can still be manipulated, sadly.

There are many opportunities for votes to be "lost," before being counted. Depending on where you are and what party is in control of handling mailed-in ballots, there is always a chance that your ballot could disappear and never be counted.

One of the things I like about paper ballots and optical scanners is that the count can be checked manually. In Minnesota, that happened both in 2008 and 2010, across the entire state. Those manual recounts verified that the scanner counted ballots were accurately tallied. The only issues arose from absentee ballots, and that almost cost Al Franken his election.

I'd like to think that mail-in ballots would be handled correctly, but I'm not entirely certain that will be true in every county in the United States, frankly.

[upaloopa]

60. My guess is voter ID laws reduce our chances at

winning an election than mail ballots ever would.

[MineralMan]

62. The Republicans tried to enact voter ID in Minnesota

in 2011. They created a constitutional amendment. Fortunately, the voters voted that down in 2012 and voted out the Republican legislative majority at the same time.

Voter ID sucks.

[CreekDog]

64. You check to make sure your ballot is received and if not, vote in person

My county posts if my ballot was received, it's as secure as voting in person (same kind of ballot too).

And for those who drop it off in person, I don't think there is any more security in doing a hand ballot on the spot versus a mail in ballot.

[MineralMan]

70. OK. That sounds relatively foolproof,

but you live in California, which has had safe, honest elections for decades, pretty much. I lived there for 40 years.

Every state does things its own way, though. The people who run the elections in many states are the county clerks in individual counties. There have been many instances of issues in those county clerk offices during elections in some states. Wisconsin is an excellent example, where one county clerk appeared to have made many votes disappear in a recent election.

There is no completely safe system of voting. Only observation by citizens can prevent shenanigans in some places.

California has a good election system. So does Minnesota. That's not true in some states, however, as we've seen.

[frazzled]

87. But if your ballot is spoiled, it's kaput

When voting in person, if you mismark a ballot, you are immediately informed when you put the paper ballot into the reader. It will spit it out, and you will have a chance to get a new ballot and fill it out again. Same for a computer screen, which tells you when you've made a misstep.

I'm an experienced voter (have voted every local, state, and federal election since 1972), and it happened to me once about 6 or 8 years ago. I screwed up on the hundreds of judicial retention yes/no questions (must've filled in the "no"s first and then accidentally added a yes for a candidate when I filled in the rest.

When you mail in your ballot, if it's spoiled it's spoiled. And this affects less educated or experienced voters. Indeed, one could say it's a form of voter suppression. Just a cautionary note. No system is perfect--and that includes mail-in. There's tons of room for error or mishandling.

[3catwoman3]

68. I miss the old voting booths with the curtain and the big metal handle.

I liked the feel and clicking sound of pulling down all the litttle levers, and the sense of completion and accomplishment that came with the satifying metallic "thunk" the handle made when you opened the curtain to register your vote.

[MineralMan]

74. I've never been in a place that had those old voting machines.

I know they were common in many places, though.

[3catwoman3]

84. It looks as if I am not the only one...

...with a case of vintage voting machine nostalgia.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018685437#post15

[CreekDog]

69. there is nothing wrong with voting in person

but I sense some here on DU think we should vote in person for the same reason they think we should all write in cursive.

[MineralMan]

75. There's nothing inherently wrong with any voting method.

My OP was about my own personal preference for voting. That's all. It's not an argument for anything.

I don't think that everyone should vote in person. I'm just describing my own preference. There is a huge difference.

I haven't written in cursive for thirty years, BTW. While in the USAF, I often had to write down stuff very quickly in Russian, and it screwed up my English writing badly, since I got used to writing constantly in a different alphabet. So, I switched to lettering my English, using the old architectural drawing lettering style I learned in my drafting classes. It's almost as fast to write, and is perfectly legible.

[OnlinePoker]

72. There's a reason I vote on election day here in BC

I don't know what the laws are in the U.S., but in BC, absentee ballots aren't counted on election night. They are included in the final results tabulation 2 weeks after the election. In the 2013 election for instance, 170,000 of the 1.8 million votes were cast early. This means when the results came out that night, about 10% of the votes cast weren't counted. When the final results were released 2 weeks later, at least one riding that I know of switched from one party to the other. In really close elections, this could leave the governing of the province up in the air for a couple of weeks. Numbers of absentee ballots have gone up every election since they were first allowed, and I can't see this changing anytime soon.

[MineralMan]

77. Well, I wouldn't like that method much at all.

Votes should all be counted on election day, regardless of how they were cast. That's my opinion, of course.

[stopwastingmymoney]

76. We like to go in person

We have our tradition too. We are permanent absentee in California because my husband is blind. I don't know how he would navigate in the booth alone.

We sit down this afternoon and fill out our ballots, which we've already decided on the big stuff. Then we wait for the school traffic to clear out and we'll head over to the high school to drop off our ballots. We love to see all the lovely ladies volunteering.

We always see neighbors too and then we'll wear our stickers proudly while grocery shopping.

I think I'll buy a bottle of champagne, for luck

[MineralMan]

78. Good luck with the results.

California looks to be safely Blue, though. Have a toast for me.

[stopwastingmymoney]

81. Yes, California is safely Blue

My county votes about 70% Democratic, that's why I don't mind that my absentee may not be counted until later.

Of course, as a good DUer, I'm very interested in Senate and House races across the country. I'll be refreshing DU and watching Rachel all night on the edge of my seat!

on edit, we do have some really interesting ballot measures to watch too.

[charliea]

82. I identify with the old fart rationale...

But I live in Oregon, and I no longer have a polling place to go to. Instead I drop my ballot off, on election day, at the nearest drop box. We have easy access, plenty of time to study the issues, voters pamphlets with clear explanations, arguments for or against any initiative that anyone wants to make, and I still feel like I should be pulling a lever or punching a button in the same place as other members of my community. Damn hard to remove early programming.

[MineralMan]

90. On the other hand, Oregon has excellent turnout numbers.

That's worth a lot.

[charliea]

103. Yeah, it's consoling ;-)

I think Oregon came in 3rd nationwide, in 2010. Shooting for #1 this time!

[MineralMan]

104. We do pretty well in Minnesota, too.

It's a good competition to have. Every state should be trying to be #1 in voter turnout.

[charliea]

112. Well Damn!

Just looked it up and Minnesota is the reigning champ for percentage of voter turn out. Number 1 for 2012 and 2008. Good stuff indeed!

And sadly Oregon was not as good as I'd been led to believe:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/03/12/the-states-with-the-highest-and-lowest-turnout-in-2012-in-2-charts/

[MineralMan]

113. Minnesotans vote. We do.

[Curmudgeoness]

85. I'm another old fart who likes the tradition.

I have always voted in person, and will continue to do so as long as I can. But speaking of tradition, I still wish we had those big old voting machines with the levers instead of those new-fangled touch screen machines. I loved pulling the curtain closed and flipping those levers!

[MineralMan]

91. You're not the only one who misses those old voting machines.

I wish I'd had a chance to try them.

[Reter]

86. I despise early voting

Unless you will be out of town, it should not be allowed.

[dballance]

88. Think That's Great

I'm glad you voted in person. There is something about going to a polling place that I miss with our all vote-by-mail system here in Oregon. However, vote-by-mail makes it so easy to vote. Sitting down at my desk with my ballot I can do research on the measures and candidates on my computer while I make up my mind.

I'd push for vote-by-mail everywhere. It does at least a couple of things. It makes it easy to vote. It provides a paper ballot that can be manually recounted if need be.

[MineralMan]

92. All in all, I agree that voting by mail should be

available to everyone, even if it meant that people were required to vote that way. The turnout numbers in Oregon make a very good argument for that voting method.

[eggplant]

89. Already did.

And really enjoyed writing in "Teachout/Wu" for governor.

I got a GOTV call from the Sean Eldridge campaign last night, and told them that we were definitely voting, voting "D" except for the write-in thing. The caller said that he had heard a lot of people saying the same thing, and that he agreed that Cuomo just doesn't represent us.

Warmed my heart. I hope enough people do it that it at least gets a mention in the returns.

[MineralMan]

93. It will be interesting to see how many wrote that in.

It's far from me, but I'll keep an eye out for those results.

[geomon666]

94. I'm a disabled man with chronic back pain.

And my ass stands in line to vote. One year I didn't and I felt like a total failure (the year Rick Scott was elected). NEVER AGAIN!

[MineralMan]

95. Well, as long as your ass brings the rest of you with it...

[geomon666]

96. It's the best part of me so I just let it do what it wants.

Have to be careful where they put the sticker though.

[MineralMan]

97. LOL!

[glowing]

98. I used to go to the precinct and live vote, but

Getting my husband to participate like it was a national holiday was problematic. (BTW, today really should be a national holiday for voting). Back when he was a Republican and liable to vote for Bush, I didn't care if he made it, but in 2008, he changed party affiliation to Democrat at the same time I voted in the primaries. In 2010, I was working GOTV efforts, and had to take time from coordinating efforts to pick my husband up and head to the polls. So, that year, I went ahead and signed up for mail in ballot for FL... That way it all came to the house and you couldn't get any lazier than that. I mailed mine out, but he waited too long and dropped his in a box yesterday...

Plus, I have to say, living in a red part of my county, it's been easier to send in my ballot than deal with idiot poll workers who see a Democrat and try and challenge my vote nearly every time I came through during the national elections. They would either try to challenge my photo ID because I was blonde in that picture and now wear it brown to dark brown, or they would try to challenge my signature and say it didn't look right... Nearly every time I felt I was going to have to throw down with the lady checking me in on the paperwork... Here I am standing there with an ID, vote every time, a wallet full of other documents, and my husband signing in, and some Republican poll worker is trying to say they don't think I'm who I am and I may need to vote on a provisional ballot... Thankfully, there are always more than one worker at these places and enough with brain. Seriously, why try and hassle a young voter by insisting that you aren't you. So, after the 2010 debacle, we checked the box for mail in ballot. And in the privacy of our home, we can fill out the ballot together while researching issues and non-partisan candidates. (They also had a problem with me trying to "help" my husband fill in those items... I'd have to send him in with a cheat sheet because we "couldn't talk"; which is also wrong on their part).

I'm just glad to be showing our son that voting is a normal thing and that he should always do so. The only regret I havenin not showing up in person to vote now is that he doesn't get to go in, fill out a kiddie ballot, and wear out a ton of "I voted" stickers... But he sees us filling them out at home and yesterday, his dad dropped his off, so he got a sticker. At the very least I'm passing on this tradition of being an American. And without being married to me, my husband wouldn't even be a registered voter, let alone actually vote. That wasn't taught by his parents very well. And even in my family, I'm the more likely to make sure to participate and vote or donate my time to campaign. My Mom was more active earlier on when she was on the school board in our small town, but being in VT isn't as necessary to show up for a Presidential vote because it's a state in the bag for the D. It wouldn't change unless the R's actually have policies and initiatives that work for poor, rural areas. Using race isn't reason enough to loose logic while voting.

[MineralMan]

99. Thanks for your story and for voting.

Everyone has different reasons for voting the way they do, and it was good to read yours.

[savalez]

101. I vote by mail because the

people at my new polling place are weird and unfriendly.

[MineralMan]

102. That would be a good reason.

I'd also talk to the people at the local County Clerk's office and complain about it. Polling place workers have just one job: facilitating voting. If they're not doing that, they shouldn't be there. I'd complain.

[savalez]

117. I should have done that.

Instead I just signed up for "vote by mail". Someone else may have complained because they moved it to new location (the Library). Just now I got curious and went over there to take a look and it looked okay. Everyone seemed friendly and happy. Maybe next time I'll vote that way. I do miss the "I Voted" sticker.

[PADemD]

105. I voted in person.

Turnout is heavier than the spring primary. I was 139 at noon and 99 at 4 p.m. in the primary.

As a kid, voting was a big deal in our neighborhood. People got dressed up (it was the 50's) and went to the polls. A car always showed up to take my great grandmother to vote. When my kids were little, I always took them to the polls with me to impress on them that voting is important.

[MineralMan]

106. Thanks for voting!

[justhanginon]

107. Number 58 in my small village in southern Illinois at 8 a.m..

It was raining but there seemed to be a lot of people starting to come in as I left.
I had considered early voting but that visceral feeling of voting in person at my regular polling place won out. Gotta have my "I Voted" sticker.
Started voting in the late 50s and still remember standing in line around 2 hours for the presidential election around 1960. It was bitter cold and snowing that morning in Ferguson Mo. where I used to live but a really good satisfied feeling as I left after having voted. Don't think I have missed any local or federal elections since. And still have no reason to vote for a republican!

[MineralMan]

108. Thanks for your reply!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

109. I like to vote in person also.

I'm self employed so I can make sure I'm in the neighborhood on Election Day.

Last week, my smarty pants boyfriend brings in the mail carrying a large envelope. I ask "what's that?" And he replies "that's my mail in ballot". Wtf? He didn't even vote when I met him. Now he gets all fancy and votes by mail. Hrumph.

[MineralMan]

115. Cool. It feels good to go somewhere to vote.

[Tarheel_Dem]

110. Did it! To my surprise, there were young folk there, and the worker who helped me said they had....

been turning up all day. He mentioned how unusual that was for a midterm. Let's hope that portends well for Kay Hagan.

[MineralMan]

116. Sounds Promising.

[Abq_Sarah]

120. I always vote in person

But I do it about a week before the election.

[tblue37]

121. I vote in person, too, because I want to be the one who puts my ballot into the scanner. I

have gotten so suspicious and cynical about Republican vote tampering that I no longer entirely trust that any ballot that I don't mark and put into the scanner right then and there will be counted.