What problems should I be watching/prepared for when I go to vote on Tuesday...?

[election_2004]

I'm posting this here in the General Forum, because even though I'm in California, I want it to be read for the benefit of DUers in any other state that uses Diebold or other problematic forms of electronic voting.

Will be voting on Tuesday in Los Angeles County, where we use electronic machines (no thanks to our corrupt County Registrar-Recorder, the Diebold/ES&S-friendly Conny McCormack). I will be requesting a paper ballot, and not leaving the polling place until I have voted on a paper ballot and have a verifiable paper receipt for my vote.

Even though I was told by the County Clerk's office (when I phoned them to verify my registration) that I'm in their database (which I'm fully expecting to be "mysteriously" purged from at the last minute), I still plan on bringing with me:

My university ID
My Social Security Card
My birth certificate
My health care card
My lease agreement documentation

I don't have an actual CA State ID Card yet, since it takes 60 days to process. This way, assuming I'm still in their database, if I'm given any grief by a poll worker because I supposedly can't produce "valid ID," I'll have plenty of documents that I can pull out and show them to verify that I am indeed who I say I am (my picture matching my written identification with my name in their database). I have been residing in California since I transferred to my university in late-August, and I made sure to register online with the Secretary of State's office back in September - - well before the Oct. 23 registration deadline.

So, once I have my paper ballot (assuming I can get one), what should I watch out for? This is my first time voting in California...where do you insert your paper ballots? Do they return the voter a receipt to you immediately?...if I don't get some kind of paper receipt for my ballot (once I've inserted it through the machine), should I ask for one? Who should I complain to if the poll workers are clueless (or hesitant, or outright defiant) as to how they can help me? I fully plan on having my cell phone by my side, ready to dial 1-888-DEM-VOTE as well as the Debra Bowen campaign headquarters, to report any trouble/intimidation that anyone (or the technology itself) gives me when I go to legitimately complete the voting process.

Is there anything I'm forgetting? Any other problem areas that voters have been encountering during this entire voting process? Suspicious warning signs that I should be on the lookout for?

Is there usually a head supervisor at the polling place, who oversees any complaints or unexpected problems?

I know many of you have voted early, so I really want to be prepared based on other people's experiences (firsthand or secondhand).

BTW, a coworker of mine voted early (not sure which precinct, though). When I asked her if she'd asked for a paper ballot, she said, "No, I didn't know that was an option" (our corrupt Secretary of State Bruce McPherson - - who certified our faulty electronic machines - - was pretty much forced to publicly announce that paper ballots would be made available to anyone who requested one...but I doubt our lovely SoS office publicized this tidbit to California voters anymore than they had to).

Then I asked my coworker, "Did you use an electronic voting machine?" She responded, "Yes...and I didn't get a paper receipt back either..." at which point her eyes visibly registered with horror, and she sighed defeatedly, possibly realizing at that moment that her vote might not have actually counted (I suspect she had heard vaguely about problems with the electronic voting machines, but hadn't paid much attention to it up until this point).

At this point, I'm almost HOPING that some poll worker tries to get me to acquiesce to Diebold...because if they do, I plan to be prepared, and make a VERY, VERY big deal out of it!

Oh, and I plan to go really, really early in the morning.

[dubykc]

1. The same public announcement about paper ballots...

said voters would be supplied with absentee ballots IF enough ballots were available otherwise voters would have to vote on "provisional ballots" which are far easier to dispose of by their very nature. Be careful.

[election_2004]

2. What should I do...

...if they claim there aren't any actual paper ballots left, and they offer to give me a "provisional ballot"?

Is that when I know it's time to pull out my cell phone and make some calls?

[dubykc]

3. I'm honestly not sure.

It's not like the Registrar's office will be any help, nor will Bruce McPherson's, both are huge advocates of the Diebold machines.

[election_2004]

4. That's why I'll be calling 1-888-DEM-VOTE

I read that they will have someone dispatched to my polling place within minutes.

It also can't hurt to call the Bowen HQ, if only for them to record my complaint in the event that Bowen needs to challenge a questionable election outcome (or if, later on, there's a drive to recall McPherson after more evidence of corruption surfaces).

I'm not leaving until I get to cast my vote on an actual (not provisional) paper ballot. After all, the SoS claims every voter has the right to use a paper ballot, if they ask for one. And I'll be asking for one. And if they call the police to remove me, it will just result in more really bad publicity for McPherson's Diebold-friendly SoS Administration.

Hmmm, now that I think about it, I probably should have some media newsroom contacts on-hand too, just in case...

[Rainscents]

5. don't forget to bring camera!