# I'm Officially a Disenfranchised Voter. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 31, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510 "2008-10-31T23:21:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hobscrk777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a6a055/32.png) [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/1 "2008-10-31T23:21:13Z")
I still haven’t received my absentee ballot as of today, and it’s too late to be able to receive it and send it back at this point. I am absolutely _furious!_ It makes me just want to scream, “GOD DAMN MOTHERFUCKING HORSE SHIT!!!” I _want_ to vote, I earnestly _ **want** _ to. I’ve done everything in my power to try to vote in this election short of flying home to cast my ballot. Let me break down the timeline for you: September 16: I file a request with the Gwinnett County Elections and Voter Registration Office (GCEVRO). September 19: My absentee ballot is sent out (according to an online service available in Georgia whereby you can check the status of your absentee ballot, and also according to speaking to numerous people on the phone). September 26: I email the GCEVRO inquiring as to how long absentee ballots typically take to reach their recipients. September 29: I receive a reply from the GCEVRO informing me to contact them again at the end of the week if the ballot still hadn’t arrived. October 1: I send another email to the GCEVRO to let them know that I left a digit off of my street address. Admittedly, this was a serious error on my part. I include the corrected address in this email. October 7: I receive a reply from the GCEVRO informing me that the absentee ballot was returned by the Post Office this day, but that it was being immediately sent back out to the corrected address. October 21: I still have not received my absentee ballot. I send another email to the GCEVRO informing them of this. October 22: I call the GCEVRO and speak to someone on the phone, informing them of my problem. I am then told that their system shows that my ballot was issued on September 19 (which I already know, I’ve checked the database myself). I am asked for my name and number and then told that someone will get back to me in 24-48 hours. October 24: I have not heard back from the GCEVRO. I call them back to inquire as to the status of my absentee ballot. The person on the phone says that he sees that I called two days ago and tells me that someone is investigating the issue and that I should just wait to hear back from them. He says there is nothing more they can do for me. October 27: I call the GCEVRO office and ask again about the status of my absentee ballot. I am asked again for my name and number, as if I have fallen off the queue over the weekend. Again I am told the expect a response within 24-48 hours. October 29: I call the GCEVRO office and ask again about the status of my absentee ballot. I am asked again for my name and number, as if my name was never put down only two days ago. Again I am told the expect a response within 24-48 hours. October 30: I receive a phone call from the GCEVRO. The caller tells me that my ballot was returned by the Postal Service as undeliverable. As this seems unusual, I ask the caller to read the address listed on the envelope. It is indeed the correct address of my residence. The caller then says that the ballot will go out in tomorrow’s mail, rush delivery. October 31: I check the mail when I get back from work and find that there is no absentee ballot present. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! WHY the FUCK was the letter returned undeliverable a second time? I cannot exercise one of my most fundamental rights because _someone_ **somewhere** screwed up. I hope whoever it is chokes on donkey ejaculate. I literally cannot vote in this election because someone is incompetent. There is a vessel of vitriolic animosity inside me, and the pressure is building. I am livid. I have nothing but rancorous feelings towards the entire Postal Service and the GCEVRO. I’m going to carpet bomb the office of every politician in Georgia with letters expressing these feelings (but I will do so in a more civilized, articulate fashion so the letters don’t get tossed out for profanity and incoherence). My ONLY consolation is that McCain will probably win Georgia anyway. But I swear, if Obama loses Georgia by one vote, I will have a vendetta. I won’t harm anyone, physically at least, but someone will have to answer some very uncomfortable questions. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/2 "2008-10-31T23:25:37Z")
I just don’t get it. Why can you not show up with a few pieces of ID that prove you’re American and your residence, and vote? Why is it made so goddamned hard to vote down there? ---
**Author:** ![hobscrk777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a6a055/32.png) [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/3 "2008-10-31T23:34:32Z")
That’s a good question. I’m registered to vote in my home county, but I’m temporarily living about 600 miles away. In order to vote, I need to do it through my home county’s office (at least this is my understanding), which necessitates an absentee ballot. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/4 "2008-10-31T23:39:01Z")
Don’t be too surprised about the P.O. screwing up. I actually had a registered letter sent to me from the Wash. State Department of Natural Resorces that was returned to the DNR as undeliverable. It had the correct address of my residence where I had been living for over thirty years. I went up to the P.O. to bitch, and got a lot of soft soothing words. I think one of the main problems causing this is that with a LOT of the letter carriers here English is nowhere near close to being their primary language. This sort of thing had happened to me several times, but never before with registered mail. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/5 "2008-10-31T23:39:35Z")
> [@hobscrk777](#): > > That’s a good question. I’m registered to vote in my home county, but I’m temporarily living about 600 miles away. In order to vote, I need to do it through my home county’s office (at least this is my understanding), which necessitates an absentee ballot. You could have registered to vote wherever you’re living now, but of course it’s too late to do that now. That sucks. Disenfranchised by the postal service! I would write a strongly worded letter to your county’s supervisor of elections. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/6 "2008-10-31T23:40:22Z")
Sorry dude, I feel for you, but if you had put your own information on the request correctly to begin with, you wouldn’t be in this situation. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably be livid as well, but more at myself than anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/7 "2008-10-31T23:42:38Z")
It’s cool. I’ll just vote twice to make up the difference. ---
**Author:** ![hobscrk777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a6a055/32.png) [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/8 "2008-10-31T23:51:28Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > Sorry dude, I feel for you, but if you had put your own information on the request correctly to begin with, you wouldn’t be in this situation. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably be livid as well, but more at myself than anyone else. I am somewhat upset with myself, but on October 7 I was told that the ballot was being sent back out with my correct address. That was almost 1 month ago. For some reason it was returned by the Postal Service, and I received verbal confirmation just yesterday that the address on this envelope was correct. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/9 "2008-11-01T00:35:27Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I just don’t get it. Why can you not show up with a few pieces of ID that prove you’re American and your residence, and vote? Why is it made so goddamned hard to vote down there? You can in Minnesota, but we’re practically Canada anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/10 "2008-11-01T00:43:10Z")
Can you at least show up at a local polling place and ask to cast a [provisional ballot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_ballot)? ---
**Author:** ![kenner116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@kenner116](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenner116)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/11 "2008-11-01T00:52:07Z")
Are you sure it’s too late? If you get your ballot tomorrow, you can go to the post office and overnight it to GCEVRO. They will take ballots until 7 PM on Election Day. Don’t give up, even if you get your ballot on Monday. Check your mail as soon as possible tomorrow or Monday and send that ballot back post-haste. Don’t forget to overnight it, regular mail will not suffice! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/12 "2008-11-01T00:54:45Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I just don’t get it. Why can you not show up with a few pieces of ID that prove you’re American and your residence, and vote? Why is it made so goddamned hard to vote down there? I don’t get your post. Aren’t we Canadians at the mercy of Canada Post when we wish to mail in a ballot from another jurisdiction ? Say halfway across the country. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/13 "2008-11-01T00:54:53Z")
> [@kenner116](#): > > Are you sure it’s too late? If you get your ballot tomorrow, you can go to the post office and overnight it to GCEVRO. They will take ballots until 7 PM on Election Day. Don’t give up, even if you get your ballot on Monday. Check your mail as soon as possible tomorrow or Monday and send that ballot back post-haste. Don’t forget to overnight it, regular mail will not suffice! If he/she does this, they should go all the way and FedEx it – they seem to be more reliable than USPS for overnight. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/14 "2008-11-01T07:37:06Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > I don’t get your post. Aren’t we Canadians at the mercy of Canada Post when we wish to mail in a ballot from another jurisdiction ? Say halfway across the country. Not necessarily; you can vote by special ballot at any returning office in the country. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/15 "2008-11-01T08:38:35Z")
I’m posting from a pda or would check for you. go on line, get a write in ballot, fill it out and fax to your county clerk (details available on line). note - you also have to mail in your ballot. but you can vote today… as long as you’ve applied for the absentee ballot. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/16 "2008-11-01T12:50:39Z")
I’ll bet they had to put alot of their resources into weeding out illegal ballots by submitted by ACORN. That’s a damn shame! I think those worthless pieces of shit should be forever banned from being involved in voter registration efforts!! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/17 "2008-11-01T13:25:52Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > I don’t get your post. Aren’t we Canadians at the mercy of Canada Post when we wish to mail in a ballot from another jurisdiction ? Say halfway across the country. In this case, though, it didn’t even get that far. Read the papers. Voter registration is a huge hairy deal in more U.S. jurisdictions than you can count. It’s absolutely baffling, at least to me. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/18 "2008-11-01T13:40:53Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > Sorry dude, I feel for you, but if you had put your own information on the request correctly to begin with, you wouldn’t be in this situation. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably be livid as well, but more at myself than anyone else. Actually, the OP doesn’t say that _he_ (she?) put the wrong address down the first time. I think it’s entirely reasonable to assume that the GEVRO took care of that for him, given their utter cluelessness about returning calls etc. I _would_ raise hell with the Post Office - let the local PO know that they’re returning mail that is properly addressed to you. Somewhat related anecdote: Shortly after Typo and I were married, I started having problems with some recurring bills not getting delivered. Fortunately I had the payment address memorized (it was my car loan) and made the payments anyway. I finally called the bank, and they said the bills were getting returned as underiverable. I confirmed the address they were being sent to - correct. It turned out, the mailman saw my husband’s name on many of the bills, and he decided that anythying not addressed to the Knig family must be mis-addressed. My car loan, as it predated the marriage, was addressed to Zappa. The helpful mailman was RETURNING MY MAIL. The problem was solved when we taped “Zappa / Knig” on a piece of paper inside the mailbox. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/19 "2008-11-01T13:45:33Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > I’ll bet they had to put a lot of their resources into weeding out illegal ballots submitted by ACORN. > > That’s a damn shame! I think those worthless pieces of shit should be forever banned from being involved in voter registration efforts!! They didn’t have to weed them out, because ACORN flagged the damn things before delivering them. Am I being whooshed here? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510/20 "2008-11-01T14:04:57Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > I’ll bet they had to put alot of their resources into weeding out illegal ballots by submitted by ACORN. > > That’s a damn shame! I think those worthless pieces of shit should be forever banned from being involved in voter registration efforts!! Exactly. They should have broken the law like those practical Republicans are suggesting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-officially-a-disenfranchised-voter/470510.md?page=2)