The text I got from the Sec. of State says my ballot has been received and counted.
Yes.
But do you know whether the delay was in them taking notice of receiving it, or in counting it? If they only send one message when their entire process is complete you can’t tell anything about the breakdown of what steps happened when between the time you dropped it in their box until they finished with it and sent their text.
If (like in FL) they don’t start counting for several days after you dropped it in the box, that might account for much of the delay.
That was the point I was (too tersely) working towards. Sorry to be confusing / obtuse.
I think quite a few of us have bemoaned this issue over the last couple of elections. There was a time that I’d vote (R) for local or state positions where I was acknowledging the (R) candidate had the skills or experience to do the job, and the Democrat was a nicer person but would be in over their head. But Trump’s MAGA means that for most (R) to get past the primary, they have to spend all their time saying Trump has never done anything wrong, and in fact can do no wrong.
And that’s just a no-go. Not to mention, that IMHO because of that fact, now almost all the (R) on the ballot are the “no experience, in over their heads” candidates who are running entirely on their Trumpishness. So… double whammy.
That’s what Trump should have done in 2020. Say the USPS as an arm of the federal government cannot be used in state-run elections and thus cannot deliver blank ballots or completed ballots. Put the Postmaster General in charge of not delivering ballots in either direction.
That and
- Mail-in ballots
- ???
- Stolen election.
Here in purple battleground Nevada, everybody gets a vote-by-mail early ballot. The voter has 3 options: (a) return by mail, anytime between now and Election Day; (b) walk the completed ballot into a voting location, anytime between now and Election Day; (c) vote in person, either (c-1) early or (c-2) on Election Day.
Today is the 2nd day of early voting. My wife and I filled out our ballots yesterday and I drove up to our local library for option (b), and was stunned to see 100 people in line for (c-1). Holy crap.
Not sure what it means, but it’s remarkable.
Just FYI…California ballot drop-off locations are like mailboxes – near some public building (like City Hall) but unattended. Nevada drop-offs are inside voting locations, and you have to hand them to a poll worker, who stamps it and hands it back to you to drop in the box.
My town drop box is unattended. And actually, the town uses the same box to collect ballots as it uses if you want to drop off you tax payment (or any other payment to the town) in person. There’s a security camera. The box is physically very solid. I’m not at all worried about its security.
Interesting differences by state. I don’t get a notification of when my ballot is counted. Just “Received” and “Accepted”. i have no idea when they start counting, and don’t really care. Once it’s been accepted, i am confident it will be counted in due time.
Literally a minute ago I got a text that my ballot was received by the elections group. I love that feature.
Haven’t received a text yet — and not sure I will, since the fact that my last name contains an apostrophe tends to confuse computer systems — but I signed into votewa.gov and saw “Congratulations! Your ballot has been accepted and added to tabulation for the GENERAL 2024 election.” So one more for Kamala (and all the other Ds on the menu).
I received my ballot on Friday. I completed filling it out this morning. I will soon drop it in an official drop box.
All that’s left to do is decide whether I’ll make a 35-ish mile trip dedicated to accomplishing this one task, or if I have confidence I’ll remain alive and kicking to do it on Wednesday, when I already have other errands scheduled to run in town.
Pretty sure it can wait till Wednesday. 
Probably unnecessary for me to add I voted a straight (D) ticket.
I voted late this morning at an early voting site.
I drive by this place frequently, I was sort of hoping the lines would subside…but they seem consistently busy ( which is good) so I decided to go ahead and do it. I was in line for about forty minutes.
I also texted several friends and family members with children, Democrats that I’m pretty sure aren’t consistent voters, offering to babysit while they voted or to go with them them to vote.
I was somewhat surprised that they all took me up on the “go with me” offer. I’m such an independent person I think I sometimes forget that there are people that don’t like going places or waiting in line alone. Now I’m inspired to make the same offer to my friends without kids.
Today was Day 1 of early in-person voting in FL. By happenstance I drove past our library which is the early voting location nearest home.
At about noon on a nice day there were some people milling around outside but no sign of a line. From visits in prior elections I expect the space they use inside is large enough to contain a line of maybe 50 people, but no more. So I tentatively conclude the line, if any, was less than that.
I might stop by some time in the next few days to check it out.
This is my experience here in Colorado as well. These are Big, Heavy ballot boxes, in areas with good visibility, monitored by video. What’s interesting, is that in some counties, the public can access the video monitoring as well:
https://www.douglas.co.us/elections/ballot-drop-box-locations/
Ballot Drop Box Video Streaming
Video surveillance, lighting, and recording of ballot drop boxes is required by law during each election cycle. Douglas County Elections provides a 24/7 public live stream of each ballot drop box camera to further enhance transparency in the election process.
I voted today on the first day of broad early voting in my county (had to go to the county building before today, multiple voting locations opened today).
The parking lot was packed, and I waited in line a half-hour, then I got my ballot in about a minute. It was a but stuffy waiting (“lobby” of a public swimming pool not really meant for a waiting crowd), but I didn’t hear anyone complaining. I went after 4pm, and the line definitely skewed senior.
My best friend voted at West Regional Library in Broward yesterday on day 1. It was 45 minutes between her “I’m in line” message to her “Done” message. I don’t know how long she was in line before the first message.
Cuyahoga County only had one place open, but parking galore, very professionally run. Only canvassers outside (beyond the limit) were liberals/Dems. Must have been over 300 voters inside, delays minimal tho.
I just wanted to update the thread. For myself, as I mentioned previously, I dropped off mine and my wife’s ballots on Friday. I got a confirmation they had been received via text message on Monday. And I just got the notification again via text that my ballot had been counted a few minutes ago. I feel for others in states bound and determined to make voting difficult… But I would be happy to have more Colorado dopers if any of you want to move!
I voted in CT today. It was the longest line for early voting I’ve been in.
I went to early voting today and did my civic duty.
That’s exactly how I felt about it.
Plus, she isn’t the Dumpster.