<p>I worked the polls yesterday. we have a super precinct with 10 precinct districts represented and no one was in line for more than 10 minutes. We also have paper trail voting so that they could vote on the floor if there were no booths available as it was a pretty long ballot.
But OMG we had so many poll watchers but the pollworker next to me wasn't registered, and kept making comments about how the ballots were going into the "shredder" and that nobodys vote mattered anyway. I felt like throwing him out. I can see why some areas maybe have pollworkers that arent old enough to vote, but how can we be so desperate to have an adult who doesn't care enough to register?</p>
<p>Searchingavalon wrote: "I happen to live in a state which was known in advance to be going Democratic (which meant, among other things, that I didn't see any campaigning here by either party) so my vote happened to be with the majority, but it also meant that my vote didn't count for anywhere near as much as it would have if the tally of the popular vote would determine the winner."
Yes, my brother and I were just talking about that this morning. Those of us not in swing states were certainly given the message that our electoral votes were foregone conclusions. It seems most people decided to vote anyway, given the turnouts, but that is a very disturbing message to send. And to once again have the election come down to one state . . . I agree something needs to change (though this time it seems Bush is winning the popular vote.)</p>
<p>I don't get it, even though the Presidential vote may be a foregone conclusion in some states there are other elections at stake. In our area, the county went with Kerry but the majority of the voters split their ticket to vote in a Republican Senator and Representative. Surely, those elections are important too. It's our legislative houses that make and repeal the laws.</p>
<p>our race for governorn is tied 48% for each. I hope that whomever wins addresses the deep divide that exists in our state about who is fit to lead it.</p>
<p>At the same time sales tax for education is being defeated although an inititiave to allow charter schools is also being defeated. We are split on many issues</p>
<p>emeraldkty, if only the presidential winner would address that divide too, instead of claiming some sort of "clear mandate" or whatever from the American people.</p>
<p>My D, attending college out of state in Ohio, reported that some of her dormmates who voted locally were in line for 9 hours. The college Pres. excused students from class to go vote. (My D voted absentee a few weeks ago)</p>
<p>I want to share a "chuckle" with you. H and I voted last night, though for us it was a "done deal". Our votes did not matter at all as our state and local situation is strongly commited already. But S1 moved to Ohio recently, and got one of those provisional ballots in the most hotly contested states. The official count on those won't be for a while and there is a very slim statistical chance that this could possibly reverse the results. As my H said, "Can't believe that the elections could possibly boil down to S1's vote.". and I had to laugh, as it is indeed a remote possibility!</p>
<p>Jamimom, hey, that's funny. Maybe he moved there for a reason. If it boils down to his vote, I hope it was for Kerry, lol. Did he end up taking that job he was offered upon graduating college? I recall him being around all summer, (not all of it pleasant) and his rethinking taking that reponsible job afterall. Is this move for that job? </p>
<p>Today on TV they interviewed a college student in Ohio who did wait 9 hours in line to vote. Until I read this thread and watched TV late late last night, I was not aware of waiting so long to vote as there are NO lines here ever. That girl mentioned this nine hour wait with only two voting booths. I live in a teeny town and we had like ten booths! Most were empty when I stopped by though the turnout was good. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>I worked at the polls in my suburban Philly town. We have two touch pad machines, which we've used for about eight years, with no problems whatsoever. There was a line that took about 20 minutes to get through for about an hour when the polls first opened, and then it was just steady for the rest of the day. About 80% turnout.</p>
<p>I didn't wait long to vote, but waiting for the results took a while. :)</p>
<p>Seriously, by yesterday, I had decided that who ever won I would get behind them and support them, even if I didn't agree with every decision they would make. I think this country is in for big trouble if we continue to be so divided. BOTH sides need to work towards conciliation and cooperation, and not continue looking for division. If we don't start LISTENING and trying to understand and -yes- tolerate each other's points of view, instead of automatically dismissing them as useless, we will go nowhere. Whatever happened to united we stand, divided we fall?</p>
<p>Please, let's keep political opinions in the Cafe or on some other forum where politics is the focus. Thanks.</p>
<p>Well, the whole post was kind of non-college. Maybe it should be moved to cafe?</p>
<p>Rolled in at 7 AM and had a 20-minute wait. Usually at that time the people running the show (who are old buddies by now; always the same ones) outnumber the voters. But judging from some photos I saw, our line was SHORT!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgDate=03-Nov-2004&prgId=2%5B/url%5D">http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgDate=03-Nov-2004&prgId=2</a>
Scroll to the bottom of the page for the story. "Longest line in the country."</p>
<p>Email today from the Kenyon President:</p>
<p>The enthusiastic and dedicated response of Kenyon students to yesterdays presidential election has captured the attention of the national news media. Like many voting locations in the key swing state of Ohio, Gambier was overwhelmed by the huge student turnout, which led to a wait of up to nine hours to vote at the Gambier Community Center. In indomitable Kenyon fashion, students and other hopeful voters remained in line, community members brought chairs and refreshments, faculty members advised students on voting rights, and, as of 3:55 a.m., every ballot was cast. Nationally, this has been a story about election involvement and participation, and Kenyon has been portrayed as a campus of informed and committed students. </p>
<p>I am extremely proud of the entire Kenyon community and of our students, who comported themselves with intelligence and conviction as they showed how much it meant to them to vote. Last night, Kenyon served as a national model of participation in the electoral process by young people, and it is my hope that this voting experience will lead our students to become lifelong committed voters. Throughout this election season, Kenyon has spoken with a strong voice for the importance of exercising the right to vote. Today, that voice has been heard literally around the world. </p>
<p>Stories about the Ohio election process mentioning Kenyon have appeared in media outlets across the country. Excerpts from many of these stories will be available online at <a href="http://www.kenyon.edu%5B/url%5D">www.kenyon.edu</a> <a href="http://www.kenyon.edu">http://www.kenyon.edu</a> . We also anticipate continuing coverage on tonight's "All Things Considered" on National Public Radio and expect to add to our website a streaming video excerpt from NBC's Today show by early tomorrow.</p>
<p>Kenyon seems to be an exception (well done!). I was disheartened to read that only 17% of people aged 18 to 29 actually voted. No matter whom they support now or in the future, it does not bode well for the future of electoral democracy that the new generation is so disengaged from the process of choosing its political leaders.</p>
<p>I zipped in at 10 AM, no lines, voted in a minute or two. I'd feel better if I had been asked for conclusive proof of who I was, though. From what I can tell, there's no mandate either to prove one's identity or verify that one actually lives at the residence in question. Scary. It takes junk mailers about 48 hours to figure out that someone moved, but the government fails to use even the most basic technology to purge its lists. There's no cross-referencing between states, either, so it would be trivial for a voter who moved to just request an absentee ballot from his old address.</p>
<p>I've been a diligent voter after an experience some years ago. I had been a regular voter, but one year I got busy at the office, skipped lunch, and suddenly realized it was too late to get to the polling place by closing time. I didn't worry about it until they started counting votes. In our US Congressional race, on the first count the candidate I would have voted for was behind by one vote. (Subsequent recounts bounced the margin around a bit.) I've voted early in the day ever since...</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Maybe it should be moved to cafe?</p> </blockquote>
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<p>In the absence of a Parents Cafe, we've allowed a bit of latitude here for posts that may veer off topic. If we get clogged up with "what color is your cat?" type threads, we may have to rethink that; so far, it hasn't been much of a problem.</p>
<p>Voters are not required to prove who they are after their first registration.
They provide proof when they register, after that they have to show up in the precinct poll book. Some voters may have to provide ID if they have been sent things that have come back, some voters may also have to update addresses.
If they are not in the precinct book and don't have their registration card, they are still allowed to vote but must fill a provisional ballot which will be verified before it is tallied.
Of course this is just in my county, I don't know what it was like with precincts that use touch screens, I don't like the lack of a paper trail.</p>