I didn’t even see a paper ballot this time. My precinct in VA went with electronic ballots. I just went to a touch screen, touched names of the candidates I was voting for and when I was done, confirmed them and voila. I’m in Arlington County.
Being a voter in a swing state (Ohio), I wasn’t taking any chances. I brought my voting instruction card that I received from the state, along with 4 pieces of official ID. So naturally, I didn’t have any problems at all. 
Since I work something approaching a third shift, I decided to be there when the polls opened at 6:30 AM, before heading off to bed. I received ballot #5 for my precinct, punched the ballot, checked the ballot for hanging chads (yup, it was that kind of ballot), made sure the numbers on the card matched the numbers on the voting sheets and was out in less than 10 minutes.
I wish everyone else the same ease of voting.
TwoTrouts, I think you should report this incident. The poll worker was way out of line, they should be reprimanded at the very least, and hopefully, not hired in subsequent years. It also seems odd to me that you should be asked for political affiliation. Yes, they have it on file so that you can vote in the proper primary election. But it should serve no purpose whatsoever during the Presidential election. Once you are in the voting booth, you can vote for whoever you want, anyway. So I don’t think that it could possibly serve any statistical purpose. During the primary, it makes sense because you are steered to the voting booth with the ballot for your party. During the Presidential election, all ballots should be the same (with minor differences from precinct to precint in order to rotate the order in which the candidates appear).
I had exactly the same problem as as the OP…the precinct boundaries were altered and there was no notification.
At least, I received no notification, and apparently I wasn’t alone…the polling place worker who was trying to find my name in the rolls commented, “Here’s another one! Why are we getting so many of these?”
Luckily, my “new” polling place was just a mie or so away, but WTF? The board of elections can’t notify voters when their polling place changes? I mean, they’ve got the rolls…and I haven’t moved in 12 years! I’ll grant you, they may have posted a general notice in the local newspaper (which I consider unfit for lining birdcages, and refuse to subscribe to until they hire proofreaders).
It was no great inconvenience to get to the correct polling place, but I say again, WTF?
On the upside, voter turnout seems to well above normal, at least around here…
Where I’m from each party gets a list of those in their party that have voted. That way they can badger the shit out of you if you haven’t voted by, say 7pm. Its annoying as hell.
Just checking in from poll watch duty in downtown Kenosha, WI. We were on the lookout for voter intimidation tactics, but there was really nothing out of the ordinary. However, three precincts did have problems in the morning when there were lines – people were told by others that they couldn’t vote if they weren’t registered. NOT true in Wisconsin, you can register at the polls. Kerry organization was telling all their precinct captains to get cameras and photograph any intimidation.
Turnout at our location was slow but steady – being in downtown Kenosha, what residential areas there are mostly had people at work. They’re expecting a big crowd after 5pm. Polls are open until 8:00.
The Milwaukee talk radio station was having fits about “busloads of people from Illinois” coming up to commit “voter fraud.” No, dipshit, we were all coming up to VOLUNTEER! Illinois is a pretty safe blue state, so many of us went to Wisconsin and Michigan to help out.
Besides, if it wasn’t for people from Illinois, you damn tourist economy would collapse. I supported the local economy by purchasing coffee, a cookie, and a sandwhich from the local coffee shop, as well a three bags of Jelly Bellys from their factory store!
We have bunch ballots. The card is inserted under the book. The booth holds the book high and flat so that I can’t look directly over to see how the selections should line up. I had to very carefully could the number of spaces down from the top and up form the bottom. There were 3 pages of judges, all single spaced, and it was not easy to vote correctly on them. The other offices were lined up so it was easy to tell whick one to punch.
I am bothered that they marked my signature card with the number of my ballot and left the number attached. That means there is no secret ballot because they can match up who you voted for with your name and address. That is new this year and it sucks mightily. I am complaining to every official channel and media source I can.
Dibs on poll-watching in Kenosha in 2008!
It’s troubling how many people were unclear about where they’re supposed to be. I wish someone could think of a solution that would make voting less of a hassle AND protect against voter fraud.
I live in a northern suburb of Cincinnati, OH and had no problems voting. Of course, I’ve lived in this district for ten years. I did get a card from the BoE telling me where my polling place was, which hasn’t changed.
One man, one vote. We can send a man to the moon but we can’t seem to get the basics down.
You’re quite right that a voter registration card isn’t necessary to vote so long as you have a picture ID.
As a registered voter, you have the right to vote if you do not have your voter registration card by showing your driver’s license, other photo ID, birth certificate, citizenship papers, passport, pre-printed checks, official government mail, or two other forms of identification including utilities bills. (Texas Election Code, Section 63.0101)(Found here ) Couldn’t they have had him provisionally vote if his name wasn’t on the list? It seems a little fishy that they’d send him off to find his voter registration card when it isn’t required to let you vote.
Jomo Mojo wrote
And after all that, CNN has Virginia squarely in the GWB column.
If it’s any consolation, my vote didn’t do much in California either.
Absentee ballot, baby. The only way to fly.
Where I vote in Ohio (Cleveland suburb) they didn’t, and never have asked for ID (or party affliation…I don’t have one of those anyhow). You tell them your name, they find it in the book, you sign the book (next to a copy of your signature from your registration) and they hand you a ballot, the number of which they write in the book by your name (don’t like that part, but that’s always done). The only ID’ing that’s done is every year, the one pollworker says, “oh, you sing in the choir!” and I say “yes, I do” and look at her strangely because I’ve never seen her except on election day…I’ve never seen her in church. I think she has me mixed up with someone else…I have an average face. But, hey! That’s as much ID as they need!
Voting was at my kid’s school, but the lines were long when I dropped him off this morning (& two teenage girls–NOT from his school, which is a grade school, were on the corner, I presume the specified distance from the polls, each carrying a sign. One said, “Honk for KERRY!” the other said “Honk for BUSH” and they were screaming, and everybody was honking). So I went to work. Got off at six, started my 45-minute drive, and got stopped by a cop! This was in an established speed trap and I should have known better.
I got my license out and said, “Can you make this fast? Otherwise I can’t vote!”
He gave me an absolutely straight face and said, “Who you voting for?”
(Say the secret word and you win a duck. Haha. Which way to go?)
I said, “Honestly? Well, I’m a Democrat.”
He said, “Slow down or you won’t make it at all. I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow.”
(I think tomorrow I will go a different way.)
Here in Minneapolis, there are 135 polling places, but they are all in 12 Legislative Districts. So they only need 12 different versions of the paper ballot. And so only 12 sets of ‘extras’ needed at City Hall to cover extra-large turnout.
Plus they know by noon or so what the trends are, and so they have time to get extra ballots laser printed & delivered to any polling places that are in danger of running out. I haven’t ever heard of this being a problem in the city.