# I voted today! Midterms 2022 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 26, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834 "2022-10-26T18:51:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/41 "2022-10-27T18:08:07Z")
I see your point about sending post cards to all the registered Democrats (like me) remind us about absentee ballots. But them checking to see if I had returned it? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/42 "2022-10-27T18:09:59Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Why are you reading any of that stuff _at the polling place_? > [@Procrustus](#): > > I assumed **DesertDog** lived in a vote by mail state. If so, everything is done at home. > [@DesertDog](#): > > I filled out the ballot on Sunday then tried to drop it off at city hall the next afternoon but it was inside and they’d closed about ten minutes before I got there. Any questions? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/43 "2022-10-27T19:24:03Z")
Some of us (i.e. me) failed to read for comprehension. Sorry to have accused you of doing something silly and being unprepared. I more easily assumed your state’s government made getting advance materials difficult than that you yourself had approached this lackadaisically. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/44 "2022-10-27T19:56:33Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@TheCuse](#): > > > > Curious how they would even have the right or ability to check my absentee ballot status. Besides that, it’s not even election day yet. > > Maybe they send those postcards to everyone they think is a Democrat. No harm if you’ve already voted, but a good reminder if you need one. Just as an aside, they don’t have to guess as to who the Democrats are. Your party of registration, as well as whether or not you cast a ballot in any given election, is a matter of public record in most (if not all) jurisdictions and I’m sure lists of registered Democrats ( or Republicans or unaffiliated voters ) are easy to come by. I think in most states there are laws that allow for some people, such as judges and victims of domestic violence, to apply for an exception that keeps their name and address out of these public records. In the wake of the “voter fraud” bs that permeated the country in the wake of the 2020 election, at least one jurisdiction put a measure that allowed these exceptions on hold, because some people were suspicious that it was a cover for voter fraud. Some people suck. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/45 "2022-10-27T20:14:56Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Why are you reading any of that stuff _at the polling place_? His next paragraph started: > [@DesertDog](#): > > I filled out the ballot on Sunday then tried to drop it off at city hall the next afternoon but it was inside and they’d closed about ten minutes before I got there. Tuesday bright and early I drove a bit further to the Mesa Justice Court drop off which was outside and accessible 24 hours. Long day? I voted the same way, at my desk while researching the issues then dropped it off at our un-Watched ballot box too. I was kinda hoping someone would have been there, Hubs is a Trumpy but I am _his_ wife and his honor requires that he defend my right to vote a liberal ticket. It would have been amusing to watch his head asplode from the dissonance. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/46 "2022-10-27T20:18:16Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Just as an aside, they don’t have to guess as to who the Democrats are. Your party of registration, as well as whether or not you cast a ballot in any given election, is a matter of public record in most (if not all) jurisdictions and I’m sure lists of registered Democrats ( or Republicans or unaffiliated voters ) are easy to come by. > > I think in most states there are laws that allow for some people, such as judges and victims of domestic violence, to apply for an exception that keeps their name and address out of these public records. In the wake of the “voter fraud” bs that permeated the country in the wake of the 2020 election, at least one jurisdiction put a measure that allowed these exceptions on hold, because some people were suspicious that it was a cover for voter fraud. Some people suck. I realize that my party affiliation is public record. But whether I requested an absentee ballot or returned it shouldn’t be. They would have to have access to the county board of elections records. Oh, well. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/47 "2022-10-27T20:24:02Z")
Just dropped off my ballot. I used a campus drop box to avoid any potential vigilantes at the elections board. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/48 "2022-10-27T20:36:25Z")
> [@susan](#): > > I used a campus drop box to avoid any potential vigilantes at the elections board. I’d like to mess with them. Pull out a couple of banker boxes and look around nervously. See them, and hastily put the boxes back in my car and drive away quickly. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/49 "2022-10-27T20:59:43Z")
We voted today at our VFD - one of 3 locations in the county. It’s a pretty red county, so I wasn’t too surprised how many R were running unopposed. I did vote to legalize the Devil Weed in Merrylande. Not something I use, but I put it in the same category as alcohol - regulate it, tax it, and let people have their fun. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/50 "2022-10-27T21:40:43Z")
I did not know about Ballotopedia, and it did not appear towards the top when I went looking for information. I have now bookmarked it. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/51 "2022-10-28T00:46:24Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > I did not know about Ballotopedia, and it did not appear towards the top when I went looking for information. I have now bookmarked it. … Yeah, it has seemed to be a pretty solid site for the years I’ve been looking at it. In the olden days, before paywalls became so ubiquitous, I’d look at newspaper editorial page recommendations (with the leanings of that particular paper in mind). But for those of us with limited budgets, that’s no longer an option. So sites that work at providing non-partisan information are quite valuable. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/52 "2022-10-28T00:53:23Z")
Mailed off my ballot last week. Checked Tuesday and it had been received and tabulated. One more straight Dem voter. The propositions were a mixed bag. No on both the online gambling props. Yes on abortion rights, arts education and a couple of others. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/53 "2022-10-28T05:07:12Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I more easily assumed your state’s government made getting advance materials difficult than that you yourself had approached this lackadaisically. So far (cross fingers) there’ve been no signs of that but the Republican candidates for both Governor and Secretary of State are election deniers and made “election security” a big part of their campaigns. The Democratic candidates, on the other hand, were the Secretary of State and the Maricopa County Recorder for the 2020 elections. > [@Procrustus](#): > > I’d like to mess with them. Pull out a couple of banker boxes and look around nervously. See them, and hastily put the boxes back in my car and drive away quickly. Brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/54 "2022-10-28T08:45:51Z")
I received my text from the state that my vote had been received and counted. I voted straight Democratic. I amused myself by going through my voters guide with a pen and putting a circle around the word republican next to all such candidates and then writing NEVER across the bio. Then I threw away the guide. HAH. Showed them I did! ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/55 "2022-10-28T12:59:24Z")
I will be voting today at the same location where I’ll be working Monday and Tuesday. Will definitely vote yes on the weed measure. After casting my ballot, I’ll slip up the street to my county’s first retail sports betting site’s grand opening to place my first local legal bet on the weekend games. Maryland - we’re covering all the vices! ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/56 "2022-10-29T01:19:26Z")
When I showed up to the polling place, I kinda figured there’d be the usual passel of stuff to vote on, so I was kind of blown away to discover that the only thing on the ballot was for our House of Representatives race. No school board, no city council, no assistant sewer manager, no referenda, no nothing. It was kind of a drag, particularly since our House race isn’t considered especially competitive and we will be sending a right-wing crazy person back to Washington in all likelihood. The folks manning the Democratic candidate’s information tent said that having just one thing on the ballot like this only happens once every 48 years. Between having so few things to vote on and there being no line, I was in and out in a flash. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/57 "2022-10-29T03:48:19Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > No school board, no city council, no assistant sewer manager, no referenda, no nothing. The “Mid-Term” thing kinda spoilers it for most. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/58 "2022-11-02T22:48:38Z")
Voted yesterday, at the early-voting location I nearly always use. It’s a bit more upscale than my own neighborhood and, frankly, mostly (nearly all) white. As usual there was a black person sitting outside the entrance. Over the years I’ve assumed that these people are registered election monitors; they generally wear some kind of apron over their clothing (though I’ve never noticed a logo). They are uniformly friendly and I always thank them for their presence; not that this is a MAGA-type of neighborhood, so they may not need that kind of emotional support. Even so. No line to vote. Maybe a dozen people were already at the voting stations when I came in, and more people followed me in a fairly steady stream. (This was mid-afternoon on a nice day.) Offhand I’d say the workers were maybe a smidge more…tense? alert? than usual. But that could have been purely subjective. NO intimidators outside. But then they wouldn’t consider manning a ‘mostly white, up-scale-ish’ area important. If they’re active in this county, it would be in the black and Latino areas, I would assume. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/59 "2022-11-02T23:16:22Z")
We filled out our ballots and took them to the drop box at the fire station on Saturday. As I did last year, I said ‘Yay! We’re patriots’ when my wife put the envelopes into the slot. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834/60 "2022-11-02T23:36:51Z")
I got a mail in ballot this year. I took it to the drop box outside town hall last weekend, and checked yesterday. Yup, my ballot has been accepted. I’ve cast my ballot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-voted-today-midterms-2022/973834.md?page=4)