Be prepared for long, slow lines election day.

[Virginian]

I expect not only long lines, but slow moving lines on election day.

In my precinct, we will not only be voting on the candidates, but also on four (4) bond issues and on two (2) proposed state amendments. It is going to take some time for each voter to get through this ballot.

This may be a Republican ploy to discourage voting. Don't let them rob you of your vote. Come to the polls prepared to stay a while.

If you are in line at the time the polls close, you still get to vote. In Virginia, the polls are open from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm. Any one in line at 7:00 gets to vote.
(Do not expect to sneak in line at 7:30. There may still be a line at that time, but we have to have limits.)

In Virginia:
Poll workers (election officers) are people just like you, with jobs. They have probably taken a vacation day from their regular job to make sure you get to vote. You can be one of them. Each polling place needs to have election officers from both parties. The Chief is generally of the same party as the Governor.
The election officers work from 5:00 am until the votes are counted and called into the electoral board. That is a very long day. It goes faster with more workers. If you are not working for the candidates, then work for a fair election. Contact your local electoral board to see if you can sign up to work.

[MazeRat7]

1. I plan to do the early voting thing

At least here in Texas. That too has long lines but I suspect they will not be as long as on election day.

MZr7

[cheezus]

2. what can we do for the line waiters?

my wife teaches college labs, and when there's downtime she busts out the box of trivial pursuit cards. what can legally be done to eliviate boredom at the polling places?

[Bandit]

3. Oregon doesn't have to worry and America shouldn't either

if we were smart. Why don't we have vote by mail. You would never have to stand in line or worry about parking or intimidation. turnout would climb as it would be so much more convenient. People are now voting in at least a half dozen states so to avoid this very problem. It will, I'm certain, have a tendency to keep some registered voters at home. Why are we so stupid as to keep this system in effect?

[cmf]

4. If you can, vote early

and preferably by absentee ballot.

[Virginian]

7. We usually have a line waiting when the doors open.

Unfortunately, in one previous election, we had two voters go through the line and then run out of time after they had checked in.

If this happens to you, let the poll worker know you can't stay. We have ways to handle this so that you can vote later. Also, it throws off our count if you leave after checking in.

The line eases up around 9:00 in the morning and again around 2:00 in the afternoon. If you have a flexible schedule, these may be your best times to come in.

[IIgnoreNobody]

5. Vote early, you can see here if you can in your state.

http://www.democrats.org/evc

Cast your vote now and get it out of the way. Think about trying to take the day off and volunteering with your local Democratic committee for get out the vote efforts.

[deutsey]

6. We were warned about this during training to be an Election Judge

The person from the Elections Office said that she had never seen such a surge in voter registration as she has with this election.

She told us that we'll probably be very busy all day long.

[LuminousX]

8. If Poll Workers are taking a vacation day, maybe we should too

so the polls aren't crowded before and after work. Everyone who can take the day off, should.

[Eurobabe]

9. I'm gonna be a poll worker in VA!

4:30-7pm, it will give me someplace to focus my nervous energy...