# 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:** 2
**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, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/21 "2013-02-15T16:02:38Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > 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. Yes it does - she’s 102 years old. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/22 "2013-02-15T16:02:40Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > 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. So it’s her responsibility to make sure her vote gets counted, no matter what. Not the responsibility of the professionals running the election. ---
**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, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/23 "2013-02-15T16:03:07Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > 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. Many people react to a lack of power by attempting to exert control over the parts of the process they can exert control over. If she goes to her polling place and inserts the ballot herself into the box (which is what we do at my polling place, a few thousand miles away - I don’t know how it’s done in Florida,) that minimizes the other people who have power over her ballot before it gets into a ballot box. ---
**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, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/24 "2013-02-15T16:06:41Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > So it’s her responsibility to make sure her vote gets counted, no matter what. Not the responsibility of the professionals running the election. Her vote _was_ counted. If you are saying that state officials should ensure she could vote without waiting in line, she can vote absentee without any lines at all, so they did that too. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/25 "2013-02-15T16:07:42Z")
Count me as another middle-aged white guy who voted in suburbia and had no wait who doesn’t see what the big deal is. I mean, tons of inner-city predominantly minority people have to wait several hours to vote because they don’t get the same number of workers and number of voting machines per capita, and sure when she was a spring chicken of 50 white guys were actively harassing and threatening black voters in Florida, and there were pushes for even more laws to limit the ability to register to vote and to vote in minority areas last year. Whine whine whine. A 102 year old women had to put more effort into this one voting experience than I have in my whole lifetime of voting. Boo hoo. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/26 "2013-02-15T16:09:06Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > 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. Each sentence here is grossly incorrect. 1. For extended hours not to reduce queueing would require that _ **zero** _ voters choose to vote during the extra hours! Seems a rash assumption even for you, no? 2. Is it your contention that voters in a Republican-dominated state have a responsibility to research what particular suppression methods are in effect so they can circumvent them? Do you think a 102-year old woman is fully equipped to do that research? Do you ever consider the conclusions implied by your peculiar reasonings? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/27 "2013-02-15T16:24:22Z")
A three-hour line to vote is unacceptable, regardless of the age or race of the voter. If the public officials in charge of running elections can’t guarantee a reasonably quick and uncomplicated in-person voting experience, then they should not have in-person voting and should have absentee only. If polling places are open, you should be able to go to one and cast your vote on your lunch break from work. Having a three-hour line places an unreasonable burden on voters. And while absentee voting is certainly an option, so is voting at the polling place. When I drop my absentee ballot into the mail, I expect that it will be transmitted by the post office in a timely fashion and that it will be appropriately counted, and if it’s not, that’s a problem. If I show up at my polling place, I expect that I will be allowed to cast my vote in a timely fashion, and if I’m not, that’s a problem. If electronic voting machines cause backups and delays to this extent, then we can go back to casting paper ballots. I realize that they aren’t without their own set of problems, but at least you typically don’t have to stand in line for three hours waiting for a spot to open up so you can fill in a Scantron sheet with a No. 2 pencil. ---
**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, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/28 "2013-02-15T16:31:19Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > 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. No, but not cutting early voting hours in the first place _would_ have, and voters can hardly be expected to know what effect a change in policy will have on election day lines. > [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > 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. While the general policy is that absentee voting is offered for those who can’t go in person, there is no actual requirement that they can’t go. Every otherwise eligible voter is eligible to cast an absentee ballot. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/29 "2013-02-15T16:33:03Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Count me as another middle-aged white guy who voted in suburbia and had no wait who doesn’t see what the big deal is. I mean, tons of inner-city predominantly minority people have to wait several hours to vote because they don’t get the same number of workers and number of voting machines per capita, and sure when she was a spring chicken of 50 white guys were actively harassing and threatening black voters in Florida, and there were pushes for even more laws to limit the ability to register to vote and to vote in minority areas last year. > > Whine whine whine. A 102 year old women had to put more effort into this one voting experience than I have in my whole lifetime of voting. Boo hoo. I love this post. 🙂 > [@MsWhatsit](#): > > A three-hour line to vote is unacceptable, regardless of the age or race of the voter. Exactly right. I don’t even care if the inordinately long waits are accidental or malicious. They are unacceptable, and those responsible deserve to be called out. You’d like to think that everybody could agree that 3 hours is too long to have to wait to vote, but I guess even that is politically charged at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/30 "2013-02-15T16:37:59Z")
Okay, some more details on Desiline Victor: [http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/02/12/meet-desiline-victor-the-102-year-old-voter-attending-the-sotu/](http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/02/12/meet-desiline-victor-the-102-year-old-voter-attending-the-sotu/) It seems she just became a citizen in 2005, so I doubt she was around for the 1950’s. Even if she was, I think saying that she MUST vote in person because she fears for her vote is a bit of a stretch. Might as well say that she might be scared of mail and that’s why she didn’t vote absentee. It’s pure speculation. As far as the wait times go, the article linked in the op says > [@](#): > > 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. So it appears that there has been trouble in the past and the administration thought they’d make it worse. So I think it’s totally appropriate pin the blame for 3+ hour waits on the Republican leadership that thought they’d scale back voting times. That said, it’s unconscionable that a 102 yo woman had to wait 3 hours to vote. WTF other people in line. Can’t let the super old lady go in front of you? Nobody running the show that could move her to the front of the line? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/31 "2013-02-15T16:39:56Z")
I would think it would depend on nobody objecting. So all you need is a long line with no grumpy assholes in it. ---
**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, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/32 "2013-02-15T16:46:02Z")
> [@Sinaptics](#): > > Okay, some more details on Desiline Victor: [http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/02/12/meet-desiline-victor-the-102-year-old-voter-attending-the-sotu/](http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/02/12/meet-desiline-victor-the-102-year-old-voter-attending-the-sotu/) > > It seems she just became a citizen in 2005, so I doubt she was around for the 1950’s. Thanks for the details - just to be clear, she was **around** for the 1950s, but not voting in US elections. 😉 > [@](#): > > Even if she was, I think saying that she MUST vote in person because she fears for her vote is a bit of a stretch. Might as well say that she might be scared of mail and that’s why she didn’t vote absentee. It’s pure speculation. I think you misunderstand my point - I’m _not_ saying that she **did** vote in person because of those fears, I’m saying **there exist reasonable situations in which a rational person would vote in person rather than absentee.** Desiline’s motivations are not ours to judge, and she should not be judged by our voting standards because we don’t know her life, and it’s easy to judge someone for voting in person when the judger’s experience is easy absentee voting. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/33 "2013-02-15T16:50:00Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Each sentence here is grossly incorrect. > > 1. For extended hours not to reduce queueing would require that _ **zero** _ voters choose to vote during the extra hours! Seems a rash assumption even for you, no? Extending voting hours on Election Day is unlikely to help anybody already in line. Florida rules are, if you’re already in line at 7pm, you get to vote, no matter how long it takes. I think that’s true of most if not all states. ( That’s why it takes returns take so long to come in. They’re not done voting yet just because the polls close.) Say the extension comes in at 4pm. Few people who’ve been waiting more than an hour already are going to risk leaving and come back after 7 only to find the lines are still just as long, and then they’ll be waiting another 5 hours again except they’ll be done at midnight instead of 7pm. All the extension might do is ease the wait for people who get in line after the extension is announced. ---
**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, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/34 "2013-02-15T16:53:15Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Yes it does - she’s 102 years old. > > Regards, > Shodan So you’re saying she was unable to vote at a polling place? ---
**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, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/35 "2013-02-15T17:00:30Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > While the general policy is that absentee voting is offered for those who can’t go in person, there is no actual requirement that they can’t go. Every otherwise eligible voter is eligible to cast an absentee ballot. Please point to where in the quoted text, or even on the linked page, which is the official page of the Florida Division of Elections, where it says that a person who can, or is able to, vote at a polling place can nevertheless request an absentee ballot. How is a voter who has sought information about absentee voting and has navigated their way to the official state website to know that it is not true that this applies to “a person who is unable or cannot go to the polls to vote during early voting or Election Day”? ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/36 "2013-02-15T17:06:13Z")
3 hours to vote in any circumstances is way too long for any person of any age. Seems to me that in the great icon of democracy, someone would find enough money to allow it to happen in a competent and timely manner. We’ve had the occasional issue over here when polls closed at the predetermined time and there were voters who didn’t place their vote, however the polling station times were well listed, and so that really was their own fault, but this is really just shite. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/37 "2013-02-15T17:22:58Z")
I have waited in line 3 hours to vote at my (primarily white middle class) precinct. That was before they allowed early voting here, and in fact, that’s the problem that early voting was created to solve. The Republicans deliberately eviscerated early voting to cause long lines to discourage voting by minorities and Democratic voters, and they _should_ get all the blame for that. It’s not like they have not said, publicly and repeatedly, that they were doing everything possible to disenfranchise Democratic voters. They seemed to be quite proud of themselves for thinking of it. Which is why they are also deservedly getting shit for their “What’s the big deal? Who cares?” attitude now. It’s not that we think she’s a huge victim. It’s that they are huge assholes who have amply demonstrated their willingness to destroy this country in order to “win”. And some of you morons are still supporting, defending, and voting for them. \*Although I gotta agree with **Sinaptics**. Ain’t no way that tiny ancient LOL woulda stood 3 hours in line here unless she just wanted to. WTF people!?!! ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/38 "2013-02-15T17:27:42Z")
It half bewilders me and half pisses me off that this has somehow become a partisan issue. I want everyone to be able to vote! This is America, for crying out loud. We shouldn’t have little old ladies, longshoremen, company CEOs, or anyone else standing in line for hours in order to cast a vote. It’s ridiculous, and the problem needs to be fixed, like, yesterday. ---
**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, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/39 "2013-02-15T17:28:21Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > 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? Well sure, of course the individual voter should know just as much about potential voting problems as the folks running the election machinery, whose livelihood is to understand these things, do. ---
**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, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-102-year-old-woman-had-to-wait-in-line-3-hours-to-vote-whats-the-big-deal/650380/40 "2013-02-15T17:30:27Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > It half bewilders me and half pisses me off that this has somehow become a partisan issue. I want everyone to be able to vote! This is America, for crying out loud. We shouldn’t have little old ladies, longshoremen, company CEOs, or anyone else standing in line for hours in order to cast a vote. It’s ridiculous, and the problem needs to be fixed, like, yesterday. But you certainly know that it is a partisan issue because it was a partisan creation! As Rachel Maddow noted, the fact that an old black woman had to wait an inexcusably long time to vote was a feature of their model, not a bug. [Previous 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=1) [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=3)