Stunning Ignorance at the Polling Place

[kysrsoze]

I just finished voting, and I'm pretty ticked off by my experience. I get to the voting room and the girl in charge of handing out ballots says, "I need to see your I.D." I said, "I don't need an I.D. to vote." She then repeats that I need an I.D or I'll have to do a provisional ballot, and I double down in my original statement. Dude on the other side of the room takes a second away from chomping on the pizza provided for poll workers and says, "You have to have an I.D. to vote." I respond to him very angrily, "NO, YOU DON'T." Finally, the third person sitting there pipes up and says, "He's right. You don't need an I.D." They finally allowed me to give my information and vote.

It was already saddening, but here's the kicker... all three poll workers were black. I was completely blown away. I felt like tearing into the other two and asking them if they had any idea how important it is to not have to show I.D., and specifically WHY it is so important. They obviously have no idea how many minority and elderly people have lost their chance to vote this year, specifically because of voter I.D. laws. You would think the people running the operations would have told them in no uncertain terms, you do not need a photo I.D. to vote,. although they should have been paying attention enough to know the rules. Why must the average citizen tell poll workers about voting requirements?

Obviously, this type of thing is going on in LOTS of places, and a lot more forcefully than in the city of Chicago. I want to clarify here too, I'm not calling the poll workers out for being black. I'm calling them out for being in an often marginalized group and not educating themselves enough about the criticality of their responsibilities. I wonder how many thousands of people will be wrongly turned away from the polls or given provisional ballots due to poll worker ignorance, whether they are black, white, Hispanic, Asian, etc.

[Politicalboi]

1. There's got to be someone you can call

This is wrong, and there's still most of the day to correct it.

[kysrsoze]

3. Yeah, I did - should have mentioned that. Thanks. There were 2 rooms, 1 for each area of the ward..

I went to the other room and told the poll worker there what had just happened. She had all the rules hanging prominently, said she was very big on voting rights, and would ensure they were made aware of the actual rules.

[csziggy]

2. The Supervisor of Elections for that county needs to be called out

For not educating the poll workers. My Mom and my sister have been poll workers in the past and every year they had to go to training classes ahead of time where they were taught the procedures. This year is the first time in decades my sister will not be a poll worker - they didn't let her know far enough in advance when the classes would be so she could fit them into her schedule.

If the Supervisor (or equivalent) in your county is not training the poll workers properly the supervisor is the one at fault, not the poll workers. I'd call the elections office RIGHT NOW and let them know what happened and ask them to let the poll workers know the rules about ID.

[kysrsoze]

11. Done. Thanks.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. In Arkansas we have an insane law. Poll workers are required to ask for

an id, but nobody has to show them one unless they're a first-time voter.

[JEB]

6. We avoid some of this bullshit here in Oregon

with our vote by mail process.

[llmart]

19. I wish every voter could vote by mail.....

I'm old enough to do an absentee ballot and it's so much more convenient. You can sit at your kitchen table and take your time and not have to stand in line.

[SomethingFishy]

35. It also gives you time to look things up if you are unsure..

I know there was a couple of votes that were worded oddly and I'm glad I looked them up or I would have voted wrong...

[kerry-is-my-prez]

63. In my district in FL, they threw out a bunch of absentee ballots because it didn't match.....

The signatures on their Driver Licenses. Since I live in a Repub area, I was just thinking "good, fewer votes for Rick Scott.

[delete_bush]

67. I wondered about that. My 'official' signature

(driver's license, passport, etc) is much different than the one I changed to a number of years ago. Good to know.

[bullwinkle428]

7. A caller on the Stephanie Miller show this morning said that he

had to provide an ID (as per legal requirement) in Indiana this morning, and offered them his passport as proof of identification.

THEY REFUSED TO ACCEPT THE PASSPORT as a valid form of ID.

[uppityperson]

14. I jas that happen several yrs back when writing a check at a store. Now with more people

having passports, they seem more acceptable. But still,wtf

[Ms. Toad]

57. See post 56. n/t

[SomethingFishy]

36. A passport is the most valid form of ID all over the world..

and I hate to say it but many Americans have great pride in having never left their country, and barely know what a passport is..

[Ms. Toad]

58. See post 56. n/t

[aggiesal]

39. And the Passport is issued by ...

the State Department and is the property of the State Department.
You are to hand it back over at any time at their request.
And when it expires, you're suppose to turn it back in.

Yes the Passport has higher importance as an ID then any other form of ID in the US.

But you know the GOP, the po' folks don't get passports, so why mention it
as a legal form of ID?

[Ms. Toad]

56. In Ohio, it isn't.

Valid voter ID in Ohio has to have an address - and a passport does not include an address. A utility bill is fine - but a passport isn't.

[gvstn]

8. My state's rules seem ambiguous.

It technically doesn't require ID but they started asking for it about 8 years ago.

Do I have to show ID to vote?

No, but, poll workers will ask you to show ID. If you do not show ID, you must fill out a form before you can vote.
Showing ID makes checking you in faster and reduces mistakes.

Do I have to show my Polling Place Card to vote?

No, but you will be asked to show ID.
Your Polling Place Card is an ID. If it is not current, poll workers will ask you for proof of address.

I've never taken my polling card to vote but it sounds like if I did and didn't take the most current one it could be challenged and then I would need to provide further proof of address. Whereas, if I didn't bring my license I would be given a form which I assume allows me to declare/swear that I do indeed live at my address.

I just bring my ID and they compare my name and address to their roster.

[49jim]

9. I voted in upstate New York.....

I found my registration table and waited for the person to my right to sign in.....that's all you need to do at my polling place....I've been voting there for 27 years........verbally say your name and sign in.....next to your signature.....it always matches.....hard to forge a signature...the man to my right takes out his wallet and says to the polling person....here is my ID.....he turns and looks at me and turns to his right to see if anyone is looking.....w/ a big smirk on his face....chewing gum...the polling person told him that's not required here...as he continued to keep his ID on the table....about 10 seconds pass and he realized that he didn't get a rise out of anyone he proceeded to vote......I stopped to talk with a friend I saw and the man walked past me.... we made eye contact....he had that big smirk on his face.....I thought his actions were kind of weird ....as I thought about it....he was being a wise ass......and probably a Faux viewer....

[C Moon]

32. Yep. Sounds like a Faux viewer to me. Always think they are so funny, and they aren't.

[Gothmog]

10. What state

Each state party have voter protection programs. I am running my county's program In Texas you call 1 844 TXVOTES

[Martin Eden]

12. I just voted in a Chicago suburb (Woodridge in DuPage County)

It's a mostly red district, and I wasn't asked for ID. I gave my name and had to sign the paper ballot.

In regards to the OP, there is absolutely no excuse for poll workers insisting on ID when it is not required. I'm very curious as to how that came about.

[wildeyed]

13. Report it to Election Protection.

http://www.866ourvote.org/support

1-866-ourvote

They are administered by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. You can get help, but also record the incident to see if it is part of a larger picture or just an isolated instance of volunteer ignorance.

[Baitball Blogger]

15. All election volunteers go through training.

They are only following procedure that they were taught from their county.

For the record, I live in a right-wing county and they have always checked I.D.s

[Little Star]

16. Sometimes I'm really glad to live in Massachusetts. n/t

[druidity33]

50. Hear, here!

I live in a little town that's ballot collection box is like an organ grinder (?) monkey show thing. It was first introduced in the 1930's and has been here ever since. It even makes a DING sound when the ballot drops into the box. I've asked if i can "video" the process and met with polite nos. Maybe i can go higher up in the chain and convince them it would be a positive portrayal of the system. More secure than a touchscreen too!

K&R

[frazzled]

17. Are you sure you were voting in the city of Chicago?

Because the protocol is very clear. You come in and give them your name. They look it up on the computer, and if you're registered they print out a voter label and affix it to the application for ballot. They then ask you to sign your name, and they compare the signature to that on the screen. If it doesn't match or there is another question about your identity, they're allowed to ask you for your DOB or SSN (last digits) to verify you are you. You take the application with the label on it to the ballot table, and are issued your ballot.

It's all in the clear training manuals, with pictures of what these voter labels and the ballot applications look like. See http://www.chicagoelections.com/dm/general/document_554.pdf

If you didn't get that sticker, you weren't in the City of Chicago. Or maybe your signature didn't look right to them. Or whatever. It worked fine for me, and for everyone I saw voting in my precinct this morning. And yes, some of the election workers were black, as if that mattered.

[kysrsoze]

26. Yes, 1st ward, Yates Elementary. I got my sticker after voting.

The protocol is not clear when no one correctly trains the workers and they don't bother to read the signs which are supposed to be posted on the wall re: voting rights (like they were in the other precinct room). This why I called the Board of Elections. There's another voter who reported this polling place being turned up online an hour late, forcing all those who tried to vote before 8am to cast provisional ballots.

And you completely missed my point about them being black. That doesn't matter. What matters is that they should have been made aware by SOMEONE how important it was to understand the rules around voter ID expectations (and educated on how many minority voters were being turned away in multiple states for not having ID), like the other black woman who kindly interjected and said yes, I could indeed vote.

[frazzled]

31. I'm not talking about an "I voted" sticker. It's a new system for checking registration

and assigning ballots according to your preference type, as stated in previous elections. That is to say, in the city of Chicago, you can choose to vote by optical scan paper ballot or computer. In my precinct, the apparent choice is paper, because there was only one computer available as opposed to about a dozen paper voting booths.

At any rate, it's a sticker generated when they look up your name in the computer: they print it out and attach it to a form you have to sign.

You should call your alderman if there was a problem. Or you should volunteer to be an election judge next cycle.

[kysrsoze]

33. OK, yeah. I did get that, and i signed on the line between the two black boxes. And I notified...

multiple people of the problem. Did more than my civic duty here.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

37. I'm in Cook Co burbs and that is how it worked for me.

They compared my signature for a match, pasted the sticker in the book, and I moved on to the ballot lady.

[lunasun]

60. The polls opened late due to false robo calls made to judges -it is possible the robo calls said to

"remember to ask for IDs" These calls were full of false info for the judges in Chicago

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10491416
Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesman Jim Allen said.

Allen said the board is seeking court authority to open six polling places for a longer period of time because of robocalls that led to thousands of election judges not showing up to work. However, those votes will be considered "provisional ballots," he said.

The calls indicated that the judges had to vote a certain way in order to work on election day and that additional training was required of them — which was not true.

Allen said he's never seen anything like what happened Tuesday. In one case, election authorities had to break down a door to open a polling place where no judges showed.
Pukes in my area were forcing the judges to look at their IDs even though no judge asked. Judges just quietly gave them back their IDs

Amend to stop moves toward Voter ID law was on IL ballot

[zeemike]

18. I wonder how many were turned away of given a provisional ballot

Before you got there...and how many after you leave.
Seems they can do it no matter what the law says if they want to and the person does not know the law...which would be most.

That is how "mistakes" influences elections.

[ctaylors6]

20. Many states require "ID"

but it's not photo ID and the voter registration card itself suffices. Some people may not realize that their state law calls the voter registration card "ID" because they infer "ID" means a stricter form of photo ID.

Make sure you know your state's rules before you go vote.

[lunasun]

61. Not Illinois - signature only

[golfguru]

62. Most banana republics in central America

require not only a picture ID, but also a voter registration card.

However in the largest democracy in the world, India, no ID is required.

[Curmudgeoness]

21. I remember the year that PA tried to enact photo ID's

and it was stopped (temporarily at the time) for the election at that time. Poll workers were trained to ask for an ID to get voters ready for that requirement in the future, but it was not required to vote in that election.

So the poll worker asks me for an ID, and I told them I didn't have to have one to vote. She said again that she needed an ID, and I told her that I didn't need one. At that time, the guy behind me said "oh, Jesus Christ, just show her your ID". I totally ignored him and said again that I did not need an ID, she said "well, you will have to have one for the next election, so you might as well get used to it". I told her that when I was required to show one, I would, but this was not that time. I did vote, but I also left there really pissed. They didn't have to play games with me, all they had to do was tell me that it would be required in the future and let it go.

[Fla Dem]

22. Florida...you must have an photo ID with your signature. Acceptable ID's include

Whether during early voting or on Election Day, you will be asked to provide at the polls a valid photo ID with signature. Any one of the following photo IDs will be accepted:

-Florida driver’s license
-Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
-United States passport
-Debit or credit card
-Military identification
-Student identification
-Retirement center identification
-Neighborhood association identification
-Public assistance identification

If your photo ID does not include your signature, you will be asked to provide another ID that has your signature.

If you do not bring proper ID, you can still vote a provisional ballot. As long as you are eligible and voted in the proper precinct, your provisional ballot will count provided the signature on your provisional ballot matches the signature in your registration record.

http://election.dos.state.fl.us/voting/voting-info.shtml

[RebelOne]

43. Same here in Georgia and it has been for as long as I can remember.

All that is needed is a photo ID with no signature necessary.

[truedelphi]

23. I was an election day judge one year, and what I experienced still disturbs

Me.

I am so glad you tried to educate the judges.

When I ws an election judge, someone came in and voted only for the President. When we were counting ballots later that day, two of the other judges wanted that person's ballot disqualified, as their contention was, "The voter is mentally impaired, or they would have voted for many others on the ballot." (They were both republicans - and what do you think the odds were that they would have denounced the ballot as illegit, if the person only voting for President had been voting for Reagan rather than Carter?)

Anyway, I protested and they had to count the ballot, but I got smirks from them the rest of the late evening.

[SoapBox]

24. whoa...of all the nerve.

[ashling]

25. what state are you in?

as everybody knows, down here in TX you unfortunately need an id

[kysrsoze]

29. Illinois, of all places

[gopiscrap]

27. I folks who live in initiative states should float initiatives that require

state to provide acceptable ID (financially for the cost) for folks in those states that require an ID.

[SHRED]

28. absentee ballot here in California

Mailed mine in last week.

[shenmue]

30. Glad you voted

[ieoeja]

34. I was really surprised when they asked me that in Chicago too.

I was moved into a different district this year. So this is only the second time I've voted there. At the old place I would have been able to tell you if it was the same workers. But I haven't gone enough to recognize the crew at my new place.

I had no idea if it was a new rule or not. I left it at, "since when?" I knew that couldn't be right. City, county and state are firmly controlled by Democrats right now, so it seemed really odd that we would change that rule.

Somebody is playing fucking games. Now, I'm pissed.

Thanks for ruining my day!

[jtuck004]

38. "not educating themselves enough" < That's what deadbeat corps say about workers who

they want to go into debt instead of paying the money they should for training. You are in good company.

When was the training? Did they go? Was there an evaluation they had to pass to get there? Is there monitoring. If not that is negligence on the part of the people who put them there.

I am thinking the ones that didn't "educate" themselves enough are the deadbeats that, following 6 years of the same behavior, decided that investing in people isn't as important as doing things on the cheap. And they got exactly what they created.

Btw - "It was already saddening, but here's the kicker... all three poll workers were black. I was completely blown away."

> I'm not calling the poll workers out for being black.

Yes you are. Just trying to do it in a backhanded way, else you wouldn't have been "completely blown away".

[kysrsoze]

40. You can think what you want, but I wasn't calling them out for that.

What I was completely blown away about was that they did not have any idea that their voting rights are under attack, and no one they knew had told them about the voting rights to which they were entitled, yet they still ended up working the polls. And yes, they owe it to themselves to educate themselves about their voting rights, regardless of whether they want to be poll workers. Obviously the message that the Republican Party is doing whatever it can to prevent minorities from voting is not getting to an awful lot of people. As a white person, I can say I was mistaken in my understanding of how widespread this knowledge is or isn't. Did I mention they were stupid? No. Did I mention there were other poll workers who knew the policy but failed to mention it beforehand? Yes.

Don't throw the white sheet over my head, and act like I'm somehow complicit in all this by comparison of statements. Do you expect people to be babied and spoon-fed their voting rights as citizens? They should have already known prior to any training AND, given they were poll workers, they could have actually read the provisioning ballot instructions and voter ID rules given to them by the Board of Elections and sitting in the room. The worker in the next room was fully aware of the requirements, so I guess she did, in fact, educate herself.

[KrazyinKS]

41. I just talked to an old gentleman yesterday-

to do his estate sale. He said he sold his car to the neighbor and gives him 50 dollars a month to take him where he wants to go. He says it is cheaper. So he no longer has a drivers license. But he was still very sharp, knew the issues and wanted Brownback OUT!

[maindawg]

42. Same thing here in Ohio

They asked me for ID and I said I do not need ID to vote. The two old ladies said I need ID. I hust showed them my DL while I told them they were wrong. Last time I voted I took out my DL and the lady waved her hand and said we arent allowed to ask for ID. So,ignorance here too.

[maced666]

44. I just give them my ID

Fight the fight when it isn't time to vote.
I can be a jerk about it but not at the polling place.

[mopinko]

48. r u kidding?

really, after the election is over, it is TOO LATE.

[IkeRepublican]

45. The lunatics are at the poll

You definitely were in the right - the geezers are crusin' for a bruisin'.

[Aerows]

46. Idiotic crap is happening at ALL polling places

Hell, I live in the most red place on earth and Mom got lectured on who to vote for while I was parking the car.

She told them she knew perfectly well how to vote and who she was going to vote for and that the lady should do the same. It all went down before I got there, but Mom was FUMING.

[Bluenorthwest]

47. This is why vote by mail is superior. I saw the 'Why I vote live' OP which claimed seeing the poll

workers was a charming an quaint highlight, one of the voting traditions that are so great. I thought sure if the poll workers are harassing you and citing false election rules to suppress the vote. Tradition!
Vote By Mail 4 Democracy

[noiretextatique]

53. I never got my vote by mail ballot

I changed my address over a month ago, and the ballot was not there as of today. I had to go to a pilling place and use a provisional ballot. And I am in California! I wonder how many people did not receive ballots!

[mopinko]

49. glad you schooled them up.

a big wtf from a sometime chicago election judge.

sometimes the folks willing and able to work those long hours for zilch money are not the sharpest knives in the drawer. pretty much every election i worked at least one judge who needed to be schooled/watched like a hawk. always tried to give them the job of pointing people to the ballot counter. probably they were to lazy to remember their alphabet, and hold your name in their head for the 30 seconds it should have taken them to look you up.

the state's attorney is who i would have called. they have lots of folks out on election day. and a visit from a lawyer might have made a slightly bigger impression than a lecture from a voter or another poll worker.
a call downtown never hurts, but i would also mention it to the committeeman of that ward. the judges are their job, and the boe tends to steer clear of judges sent by the committeeman.

[moondust]

51. Some GOP election boss may have told them that.

And who were they to challenge the boss if they didn't know otherwise for a fact?

I could see that potentially happening in a lot of places where anti-democratic Republicans are involved in running the precincts.

You should have asked them who told them an ID was necessary.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

52. Makes me wonder if a Republican leaning supervisor lied about it during their orientation.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

59. I wouldn't be surprised. Republicans are America's liars. nt

[redruddyred]

55. most people don't care enough at all.

I yelled at this one hispanic couple who were skipping out because they were (in their own words) "too apathetic".

okay I didn't yell. but I let them know how disappointed I was.

I'd say "they're only shooting themselves in the foot," but they're shooting us in the foot too.

[flying-skeleton]

64. Like I said

Too many Fuckin dumb idiots in this country !!

[turbinetree]

65. Its to late

The election judges should have had a big old meeting at the United Center and across this country ate every town meeting hall and make it mandatory for all of the poll workers, and if they could not make it that particular day schedule another one two weeks prior to the election to tell them what the sate law says, and then post that information at the god damn door in big letters and if you have any questions------- ask:

[riqster]

66. I wonder who trained them, and what the trainer's party was?