# Is anyone here voting early, if your area offers it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 16, 2018, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067 "2018-10-16T23:05:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/81 "2018-10-30T22:57:24Z")
> [@Greathouse](#): > > My wife and I both voted for the first time in our lives this past Saturday. Cool!! ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/82 "2018-10-30T23:08:15Z")
I voted a few days ago. I could have mailed my ballot in, but I decided to use the drop box located at city hall. It’s pretty convenient to me. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/83 "2018-10-31T02:06:22Z")
> [@Greathouse](#): > > My wife and I both voted for the first time in our lives this past Saturday. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Cool!! Second that! Fantastic! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/84 "2018-10-31T03:22:19Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > I see your location is listed as Denver. Please tell me you live in Mike Coffman’s district. No, unfortunately. My location says Denver because that is most recognizable, but I’m actually in the 'burbs. Parker, Co to be exact. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/85 "2018-10-31T03:40:17Z")
I’m pretty sure the only way for me to vote early is to do a mail in ballot. I’m old fashioned, I like going into the booth on election day. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/86 "2018-10-31T05:25:24Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’m pretty sure the only way for me to vote early is to do a mail in ballot. I’m old fashioned, I like going into the booth on election day. I used to say the same thing, but I sure have grown fond of voting in the comfort of my home. The wife should be a citizen by the 2020 election, and we may vote in person then just so she can see it. (See it here, as she did use to vote in person in Thailand.) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/87 "2018-10-31T07:55:29Z")
Voted early on monday. No lines. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/88 "2018-10-31T09:26:11Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I used to say the same thing, but I sure have grown fond of voting in the comfort of my home. That’s a very common reaction here in Oregon. We’ve had vote-by-mail for 20 years now and there’s very few people who want to go back to polling places. If anyone really wants a community experience with vote-by-mail, drop off your ballot on Election Day, especially at the County Elections Office which has a drop-box (and usually workers manning it) right outside. Try going at the last minute; there’s lots of people who do this, so there may be a wait to get to that box. There’s your community experience, almost exactly the same as a polling place. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/89 "2018-11-01T04:22:20Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > My local town hall offers early voting (actually it’s just filling out an absentee ballot in front of the clerk), but today the clerk said she had been so overwhelmed by early voters that she couldn’t get any work done, so she locked the front door and put up a sign that said “appointment only.” When it was pointed out that some people had come to the door and, thinking she was merely out to lunch, planned to come back later, she altered the sign by _highlighting_ the “appointment only” line. Perhaps someone should tell her that processing early voters IS her work. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/90 "2018-11-01T12:37:06Z")
I’d gone through the County & State voter’s guide and talked to people about who’s local knowledge I trust about how they felt. I received my vote by mail ballot, filled it out and dropped it in the County ballot box Tuesday night. On the way home I rewarded myself by stopping at Del Taco for Taco Tuesday. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/91 "2018-11-01T12:48:25Z")
> [@Greathouse](#): > > My wife and I both voted for the first time in our lives this past Saturday. Well done! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/92 "2018-11-01T12:58:06Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > Perhaps someone should tell her that processing early voters IS her work. But it’s not the only work that she needs to do. Clearly that town/county needs to change their procedures for early voting so as to take up less of the clerk’s time. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/93 "2018-11-01T13:41:56Z")
I was thinking about early voting since I work across the street from an early voting place, right up until the news reports about early voting issues here in Texas. I know how the day-of voting works here and trust it (a paper scan-tron type ballot), but I believe there are some sort of electronic machines used for early voting, and I don’t know enough about them to trust them. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/94 "2018-11-01T16:52:22Z")
I voted yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/95 "2018-11-02T02:24:50Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > That’s a very common reaction here in Oregon. We’ve had vote-by-mail for 20 years now and there’s very few people who want to go back to polling places. > > If anyone really wants a community experience with vote-by-mail, drop off your ballot on Election Day, especially at the County Elections Office which has a drop-box (and usually workers manning it) right outside. Try going at the last minute; there’s lots of people who do this, so there may be a wait to get to that box. There’s your community experience, almost exactly the same as a polling place. I recently learned I could call in and ask to verify they received my ballot. So I did that this week. They have it. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/96 "2018-11-02T02:40:52Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I recently learned I could call in and ask to verify they received my ballot. So I did that this week. They have it. I didn’t realize you could do this in Colorado. “Your county accepted your ballot, and it will be counted” Sweet! Other Coloradans can 1. Go to [Colorado Secretary of State - Find My Voter Registration](https://www.sos.state.co.us/voter/pages/pub/olvr/findVoterReg.xhtml) 2. Fill out the form 3. Then click “Ballot Information” It’s that easy. I left URL that way instead of making a pretty link so you can see it goes to the Secretary of State site and not some scammer. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/97 "2018-11-02T02:42:27Z")
My brother posted today on Facebook that he voted absentee, mostly because he lives outside city limits and his voting place is 7 miles away as the crow flies, and about 15 as it doesn’t. He added that there were two local offices for whom NOBODY was running. :dubious: My BFF and I were chatting on Facebook last night, and he said that his oldest son, who attends college 3 hours away, didn’t get his absentee ballot in time and will come home primarily to vote. That’s dedication! (Plus, the family will be happy to see him, of course.) They live in Kansas, so being able to vote is VERY important to them, due to this whole Kobach debacle. His other son is registered in his own college town, because he lives off-campus. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/98 "2018-11-02T02:46:55Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I recently learned I could call in and ask to verify they received my ballot. So I did that this week. They have it. > [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > I didn’t realize you could do this in Colorado. > > “Your county accepted your ballot, and it will be counted” > > Sweet! > > Other Coloradans can > > 1. Go to [Colorado Secretary of State - Find My Voter Registration](https://www.sos.state.co.us/voter/pages/pub/olvr/findVoterReg.xhtml) > 2. Fill out the form > 3. Then click “Ballot Information” > > It’s that easy. I left URL that way instead of making a pretty link so you can see it goes to the Secretary of State site and not some scammer. Can’t track them online in Hawaii like I learned you can in some states. You have to call in and ask. But they will tell you. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/99 "2018-11-02T14:55:16Z")
We’ve both always voted with mail-in ballots 'cause we don’t like waiting at the polls, and it’s easier to to any research online when you’ve got the ballot in front of you. For example, the non-partisan Central Arizona Water Control Board\* was fifteen people running for five seats. I can’t imagine anybody making an informed vote on that while standing in a voting booth. We mailed them off on Tuesday, the same day the postman dropped off our sample ballots. \*They’re in charge of the water we get from Lake Mead. Since we’re making drought decisions, there’s a lot of interest for the policy wonks, if not the public. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067/100 "2018-11-02T21:25:59Z")
Voted today here in Washington State. Dropped my ballot in a box outside the library. Could’ve mailed it too at no cost but this way it will get to the County Elections Office sooner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-here-voting-early-if-your-area-offers-it/823067.md?page=6)