# Fox: 102 year old woman had to wait in line 3 hours to vote, "What's the big deal?" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 15, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380 "2013-02-15T14:15:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/1 "2013-02-15T14:15:13Z")
[Because 102 year olds don’t have diminished strength or stamina or anything.](http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/02/13/fox-mocks-102-year-olds-long-wait-to-vote/192658) > [@](#): > > Discussing Victor, MacCallum wondered, “What’s the big deal?” and said, “This is such a non-issue. Ridiculous.” Hemmer added that at the State of the Union, “They held her up as a victim. What was she a victim of?” Fox News: the Asshole Channel. For when merely being ideologically off the deep end just isn’t enough. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/2 "2013-02-15T14:19:53Z")
I would like to be the first to congratulate you on taking the bold stand of pitting Fox news on the SDMB. Your bravery is an inspiration to us all. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/3 "2013-02-15T15:04:31Z")
I agree that I’m not see what she’s a victim of. Florida allows voting by mail. [Link.](http://election.dos.state.fl.us/voting/absentee.shtml) > [@](#): > > What is Absentee Voting? > > Absentee voting refers to voting on a ballot received by mail or picked up by or for a person who is unable or cannot go to the polls to vote during early voting or Election Day. A person does not have to be absent from his or her county of residence or have another reason to vote absentee. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/4 "2013-02-15T15:23:28Z")
Yeah. It’s not like anyone in Florida should be worried that their mail in vote won’t get counted. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/5 "2013-02-15T15:25:15Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > I would like to be the first to congratulate you on taking the bold stand of pitting Fox news on the SDMB. Your bravery is an inspiration to us all. Maybe if some of you conservatives Pitted Fox News from time to time, we libruls would start to find you a bit more credible. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/6 "2013-02-15T15:25:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yeah. It’s not like anyone in Florida should be worried that their mail in vote won’t get counted. What I was going to say. Florida has been doing such a bang-up job with this whole elections idea lately. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/7 "2013-02-15T15:30:30Z")
If you’re a black person living in a state where the executive has made a very public push to disenfranchise you, you might think twice about voting absentee… even if you weren’t concerned about whether your absentee ballot would be counted in the first place. ETA: ninja’d. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/8 "2013-02-15T15:30:37Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yeah. It’s not like anyone in Florida should be worried that their mail in vote won’t get counted. Better than voting on a butterfly ballot. 😉 I’ve been voting by mail (in CA, that is) for over 20 years. It’s a breeze. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/9 "2013-02-15T15:31:01Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I agree that I’m not see what she’s a victim of. Florida allows voting by mail. [Link.](http://election.dos.state.fl.us/voting/absentee.shtml) If she knows in advance that it’s going to take hours in line to vote, sure. But let’s assume she goes to the polls expecting to be able to vote in a more reasonable amount of time. When she realizes she’s wrong, what are her options? Can she mail her ballot in that day? Can she _get_ a mail-in ballot that day? If so, presumably she could fill it out on the spot, put it in the envelope, and hand it back to the clerk who gave her the ballot. But if it works like that, wouldn’t there be another long line there, since if it’s generally known that this is possible, a lot of other people would be using the same workaround? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/10 "2013-02-15T15:34:21Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > If she knows in advance that it’s going to take hours in line to vote, sure. But let’s assume she goes to the polls expecting to be able to vote in a more reasonable amount of time. > > When she realizes she’s wrong, what are her options? Can she mail her ballot in that day? Can she _get_ a mail-in ballot that day? If so, presumably she could fill it out on the spot, put it in the envelope, and hand it back to the clerk who gave her the ballot. > > But if it works like that, wouldn’t there be another long line there, since if it’s generally known that this is possible, a lot of other people would be using the same workaround? Well, if she assumed that, her assumption was either reasonable, or not reasonable. Let’s say it was reasonable – that in the past, there were no long lines. But then why would the state have any culpability here either? If her assumption was reasonable, so, too, must the state officals’ assumption that there would be no long lines ALSO be reasonable - yes? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/11 "2013-02-15T15:36:01Z")
Not it the state officials were the ones who cut early voting days. > [@](#): > > Prior to the 2012 election, as The Huffington Post explained, “Florida’s GOP-led legislature cut the number of early voting days down from 14 to eight last year, eliminating the traditionally heavy Sunday before Election Day but keeping the number of maximum hours the same. The move was signed into law by Scott and approved by federal courts.” Governor Rick Scott refused to extend early voting hours even when asked by county election supervisors – and Detzner, his secretary of state, rationalized this refusal by arguing that he was only allowed to extend early voting hours during a state of emergency, and “[f]ortunately, no such situation currently exists in the State of Florida.” However, past Republican governors found that prohibitively long voting lines met this standard and subsequently extended early voting hours. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/12 "2013-02-15T15:37:46Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > If she knows in advance that it’s going to take hours in line to vote, sure. But let’s assume she goes to the polls expecting to be able to vote in a more reasonable amount of time. > > When she realizes she’s wrong, what are her options? Can she mail her ballot in that day? Can she _get_ a mail-in ballot that day? If so, presumably she could fill it out on the spot, put it in the envelope, and hand it back to the clerk who gave her the ballot. > > But if it works like that, wouldn’t there be another long line there, since if it’s generally known that this is possible, a lot of other people would be using the same workaround? If I’m 100 years old, I’m not going to any polling station, no matter what I think the lines will be like. In fact, I am half that age (plus some), and I’m not going to any goddam polling station. If I’m 100 years old, I have some experience with bad voting efforts. If not, then one bad year out of 100 ain’t so bad afterall. Having said all that, I will note that I’m not in favor of mocking old ladies on the radio. But I’m not in favor of creating fake victims, either. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/13 "2013-02-15T15:40:26Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > If I’m 100 years old, I’m not going to any polling station, no matter what I think the lines will be like. In fact, I am half that age (plus some), and I’m not going to any goddam polling station. If I’m 100 years old, I have some experience with bad voting efforts. If not, then one bad year out of 100 ain’t so bad afterall. > > Having said all that, I will note that I’m not in favor of mocking old ladies on the radio. But I’m not in favor of creating fake victims, either. You do know you’re mocking and belittling her on the internet, right? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/14 "2013-02-15T15:43:09Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Not it the state officials were the ones who cut early voting days. But extending voting hours on Election Day because of long lines would have not helped this woman one bit. And hearing that past governors have found that long lines were enough to declare a state of emergency makes me even more certain that long lines were not a new phenomenon this time around, making her expectation of short lines even less reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/15 "2013-02-15T15:50:54Z")
Just to clarify, **John** , I don’t think you’re trying to be malicious here, but I think you’re “why doesn’t a 100-year-old black lady who lived through Jim Crow act exactly like I would” is not thoroughly thought out. It could be that with very good justification she believes that if she casts her ballot in person there is less chance of it being lost or “lost” or not counted for some reason. She did live through the 1930s, 40s, and 50s in very prejudiced times and may have had many ballots cast but not counted or been denied the ability to cast it in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/16 "2013-02-15T15:51:07Z")
> [@wevets](#): > > You do know you’re mocking and belittling her on the internet, right? No, I’m not. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/17 "2013-02-15T15:53:56Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I agree that I’m not see what she’s a victim of. Florida allows voting by mail. [Link.](http://election.dos.state.fl.us/voting/absentee.shtml) Your own quoted material states that absentee voting is for people who cannot go, or are unable to go, to cast a ballot at their polling place. It does not apply to the voter in this case. Why are you bringing it up? ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/18 "2013-02-15T15:55:45Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > If I’m 100 years old, I’m not going to any polling station, no matter what I think the lines will be like. In fact, I am half that age (plus some), and I’m not going to any goddam polling station. If I’m 100 years old, I have some experience with bad voting efforts. If not, then one bad year out of 100 ain’t so bad afterall. Subtext spelled out for you: **This person from a very different era and with a different life experience should do exactly like I do and trust the system in exactly the way I do, and if they didn’t they have only themselves to blame.** Where’s your empathy/sympathy for people who are different from you? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/19 "2013-02-15T15:57:36Z")
> [@wevets](#): > > It could be that with very good justification she believes that if she casts her ballot in person there is less chance of it being lost or “lost” or not counted for some reason. Why would it be less likely that they toss out her ballot (somehow) if she votes in person vs. absentee? If she votes in person, they can see she’s black. If she votes absentee, they can’t. So if they are gonna discard her vote because she’s black, absentee is the way to go. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/20 "2013-02-15T15:59:02Z")
The problem here is that FOX misrepresented that she was being pesented as a vicitim during the State of the Union. She wasn’t. She was held up as a hero for standing her ground against a deliberate and politically motivated effort to make voting more difficult in the state of Florida than is reasonably necessary. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380.md?page=2)