I've Just Been Disenfranchised! Grrr!

The BBQ Pit
1

As many of y’all know, I’m a Texas native currently persuing an education in Washington, DC. I’m very active in following politics and such, and hope to be a politician one day myself.

Anyhoop, I sent away for my absentee ballot a few months back, about the middle of September. For an election in early November, this would, presumably, be plenty of time to get me my ballot on time. But they didn’t. Unfortunately, I don’t even know who made the mistake, so I’ll just complain about whoever could be responsible.

Guess what? It’s the night before the election, and my ballot isn’t here yet! Even my brother, living in Minnesota, got his a few weeks back! What’s the deal? I checked, double-checked, and re-checked again all the little entries on the form they made me fill out. I got something mailed to me from them (the application), so I know that they know my address!

Bexar county clerk! I am filled with righteous indignation! scoff

Otherwise, it was the postal system who lost my mail. It hasn’t been working too well recently for my family.

United States Postal Service! You make me want to eat jelly donuts…AND I DON’T LIKE JELLY DONUTS! Augh!

Alternately, it was the inept Mail Service at my University. Here’s a hint about what it is. It starts with “g” and rhymes with “Eorge Washington University.” Apparently, they mis-mailed my birthday present to my sister, as well as her gift to me.

Student Mail Services! May your eyes be filled with contact lens disinfectant!

Sheesh. I can’t even vote.

Texas dopers, if you would do a favor, don’t vote for Tony Sanchez! Please! I don’t want to know that my lack of voting let this guy into the governorship. Same goes for Rick Perry.

Oh, and I’m sorry, minty green, those sweeet candidates that you endorse at every opportunity looked like good options.

Drat!

:mad: :mad: :mad:

2

Never underestimate the power of Univerisity mail systems. One of my best friends once discovered that his financial aid check had been sent to the wrong address…

In Brazil.

No foolin’. I think it headed there for Carnival.

3

They moved my polling place. Now it’s located on a road that is under construction. Yes, it’s not finished. It’s dirt right now, and to even get TO the dirt you have to cross over a perilously unlevel ground of dirt that will bottom out any vehicle except a HUM-V. So I get to spend god knows how long tomorrow searching desperately for some back route to the polling place.

So while I may eventually be able to vote this year, alot of people in my district will be turned off by the inaccessibility of the voting place.

So f*ck those dirty disenfranchising bastards.

4

Of course, in Texas, voting has always been screwed up. We’ve had dead folks voting dogs into office before, IIRC.

Still, I’m 19, and this was going to be the first election that I could vote in! My first chance to participate in the democratic process. Gone. Bye-bye.

Oh, you know the old adage, that if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain when things don’t go well? How would that apply to my situation?

Still spewing steam out my ears, though.

>-:mad:-<

5

soup-
saw this as i was about to post a rant of my own (mine aimed only slighly closer to self.)

but it’s actually a conspiracy- yes, colleges EVERYWHERE have it in for us. they know for a fact that most people in the 18-24 age bracket don’t vote anyway (allowing for crappy things like budget cuts to SMACK higher ed., especially in VA, depressing.) but they take it a step further, absolutely prohibiting any cooperation of registrar’s offices, post offices and/or xerox machines to allow a college student to vote.

my soph. and jr. years i had various and sundry ordeals, once it came, like yours, obscenely late…postmarked of course weeks beforehand, MWC mail somehow manages “misplace it” for a month. coincidence? i think not. the next year i believe it came incomplete, another strike on the voting count. last year, i flipping drove almost 5 hours home (i had other stuff to get, but i got a grim satisfaction knowing that i could not be foiled again if i showed, registration card in hand…)

anyhoo- the point was supposed to be that this year, i, wearing my asshat, just plain forgot. i was busy moving and then i was busy unpacking, and in the whole ordeal, the two brain cells that remain to me could not generate the necessary friction to jump start the idea-

“does she live under a rock?” you might ask, trying to find a way to excuse her…nope- she reads roll call every stinking morning…

prostrates herself on ground and waits for wet noodle bearer

argh, and now i’ve relinquished my right to most if not all political bitching for awhile…

6

There’s still time to catch an airplane to San Antonio. No excuses, now! The last time I missed voting in a major election (1994–I was in Russia at the time), George W. his own dumb self managed to get elected governor. :eek:

7

I had to walk by a polling place this morning before work to get to my car. Could I pop in and vote? Nope. My address puts me in another polling place, miles away, with no parking.

Why, in this age of computers, does this sort of thing have to happen? Why does voting still involve half-blind volunteers scratching my name off a list with a blunt pencil as if this were 1953?

8

Thankfully, Wisconsin has same-day registration (I’ve voted in previous elections, but as the ever-mobile student, they were from different addresses). So I walked on over to my polling place (the UW fieldhouse) with a photo ID and utility bill in hand, and did my duty.

I don’t vote absentee, because in addition to going to school here, I’m also from Madison.

9

That reminds me of something bizarre that happened to someone I once worked with in the summer housing project at UNH. One of the other students working on the crew was understandably upset that he didn’t get his pay check when the rest of us did, so he called and asked if it had been sent out. They told him yes, they sent it to his on-campus address at Imaginary Hall. Which suprised him for two reasons: 1. he lived off campus. 2. there is no Imaginary Hall on the UNH campus. He told us this, and of course we thought he was full of it. Finally, he was able to track it down to the mail center, which had gotten it back and was holding it to send back to payroll. When the poor guy finally got his check he showed it to us, and it was indeed addressed to “imaginary hall”! I don’t know if he pissed off someone in payroll or what :eek:

10

You should have just gone to your local polling place and gotten a provisional ballot.

I live in CA, and I didn’t get my absentee ballot, nor did my change-of-address-and-voter-thingee go through (although my husband’s did, go figure). So I went down to the polling place anyway and explained the situation. The very helpful staff had me fill out a form and then cast my votes.

Provisional ballots go to a central county voting office, where they check to make sure you didn’t vote twice or aren’t dead or anything. If everything’s cool, your vote is counted.