# Can you walk to where you vote? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 1, 2007, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887 "2007-11-01T16:18:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/21 "2007-11-01T18:19:39Z")
It’s about a block and a half for me. It takes me maybe 10 minutes to get there. Yes, I have to cross a couple of streets. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/22 "2007-11-01T18:24:24Z")
My polling place used to be 3 blocks away, until some asshole complained that it was in a synagogue. Now it’s in the lobby of some condos a mile away. Gaudere is probably behind it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/23 "2007-11-01T18:30:09Z")
Yes, it’s about 3 blocks away. I’m going to miss going to the polls next year when it’s all mail in. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/24 "2007-11-01T18:32:54Z")
Yes, it is right across the street. I usually drive 'cause I usually combine it with Saturday errands for the elections we have on Saturday. I’ll probably stop there on the way home for tuesday as I don’t expect a crowd. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/25 "2007-11-01T18:38:39Z")
Mine used to be a half-block away on the same side of the street. Now it’s a block-and-a-half away on the other side of the street. Easy-peasy either way. ---
**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/26 "2007-11-01T18:39:08Z")
I could, it’s at the elementary school about a mile away and on the other side of the highway so I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/27 "2007-11-01T18:53:51Z")
Well, I _could_, but it would take me quite a few months to walk from Panama to Washington DC. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/28 "2007-11-01T18:58:36Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] Well, I _could_, but it would take me quite a few months to walk from Panama to Washington DC. [/QUOTE] Why do you hate America? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/29 "2007-11-01T19:01:25Z")
[QUOTE=sciurophobic] When I lived in CA and DC I could, but my polling place in VA is over a mile away. [/QUOTE] _Over a mile?_ Good lord, surely nobody has ever walked such a vast distance! :dubious: I used to regularly walk home from the pub three miles away. I’d happily walk that far to exercise my prerogative. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/30 "2007-11-01T19:22:24Z")
My polling place used to be in a funeral home about 4 blocks away, then in an adult education center over a mile away, then in a church about a block and a half away. I have no idea why it keeps moving around, and I’ve gotten no notice of where it’s going to be for this election. I’ve voted in three different places in four years, though. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/31 "2007-11-01T19:23:59Z")
Mine’s a few blocks away generally. It hasn’t been in the same place the last three years. One could stand in one spot on a street corner and see the last three places all at once. I’m not sure where it is this year. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/32 "2007-11-01T19:24:12Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] _Over a mile?_ Good lord, surely nobody has ever walked such a vast distance! :dubious: I used to regularly walk home from the pub three miles away. I’d happily walk that far to exercise my prerogative. [/QUOTE] It’s only far when compared to my pre-Virginia voting experiences, where the polling places were so close you could crawl there. If I grew up here I would think it normal and wonder about states that let their lazy voters vote across the street. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/33 "2007-11-01T19:31:09Z")
I’ve always been able to walk, except when I was in college in Atlanta. It was quite a ways there. Now it’s not even five minutes to walk. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/34 "2007-11-01T19:35:47Z")
[QUOTE=sciurophobic] When I lived in CA and DC I could, but my polling place in VA is over a mile away. Is Virginia in the minority for making it inconvenient to vote by making it difficult to people without cars? [/QUOTE] I guess the more relevant question is, are you in an urban or rural area? DC is all urban. and CA heavily so for most of its residents. I’ve always been within walking distance of a polling place, but 1. I’ve always lived in a city, so it’s to be expected that polls will be in close proximity, and 2. I’m in Canada, and my understanding is that our elections are a lot better run. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/35 "2007-11-01T20:57:58Z")
No, I am in a fairly rural area. It is several miles to where I vote. ---
**Author:** ![NoLAFIN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9bcb4/32.png) [@NoLAFIN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoLAFIN)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/36 "2007-11-01T21:04:52Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] Well, I _could_, but it would take me quite a few months to walk from Panama to Washington DC. [/QUOTE] Dang! You have me beat! All I have to do is to drive from New Orleans to Houston. That’s where the closest Finnish Embassy is. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/37 "2007-11-01T21:06:02Z")
Our polling place was 5 or 6 miles away, but there was some sort of reorganization, and now it’s maybe half a mile away. But we’ll drive anyway, since most of that way is along a very busy road that has no sidewalk. Heck, I’ll probably just stop on my way home rather than take a special trip. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/38 "2007-11-01T21:09:00Z")
Yes. My polling place is just across the street from where I work. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/39 "2007-11-01T21:09:57Z")
It used to be about 2 blocks away, right around the corner, and I did, in fact, walk there to vote, because it was easy to get up a little bit early, vote, and get back home with plenty of time to get to work by 8:00. It’s now moved to a little over a mile away, and while I _could_ walk there, it would take far too much time to do so before work in the mornings, so now I just stop on my way home in the evenings, instead. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887/40 "2007-11-01T21:13:39Z")
I can’t vote (because I’ve lived outside Australia too long). The last time I voted was about 8 years ago, and I voted at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC. That’s a bit far too walk to from Ohio. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-to-where-you-vote/424887.md?page=3)