# The "I've Voted" Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 1, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352 "2016-10-01T13:16:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/1 "2016-10-01T13:16:09Z")
I figured it was about time to start one, since people are starting to get their ballots or be able to go to their early voting stations. So come in, tell us who/what you’ve voted for and why (if you want), discuss what it was like to vote, or anything else. No poll, since it wouldn’t keep track of when you voted. I haven’t vote yet, since I, uh, don’t have a pencil. :smack: But I know what I’m gonna vote. But I’ll make that a new post. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/2 "2016-10-01T13:35:46Z")
So here’s who I’m voting for: [ul] [li] **Clinton/Kaine** , for reasons stated all over the board. [/li][li]\*\*Eldridge \*\*and **Isaacson** –because the incumbents voted for that stupid 9/11 bill. And because, while they won’t win, I want to do what I can to aid in reducing or reversing the Republican majority in both houses. [/li][li]A whole bunch of local offices, which are all running unopposed this year, oddly. And, unlike last time, not a Green Party candidate in site. All Republicans, save one Democrat–the coroner.[/li][/ul]And now the propositions: [ol] [li] **YES** to changing term limits to four years, and no quitting early. Would make it easier to vote for them.[/li][li] **YES** to letting the governor remain in power when he leaves the state, to avoid that weird situation when they are two different parties.[/li][li] **YES** to removing the 5% GOP bond cap, to allow a bit more flexibility for a difficult financial situation in the state.[/li][li] **NO** to restricting medical torts. I’d prefer something better than punitive damages, but, until we have them, we need to be able to have the reward be hard enough to hurt. Throwing in monetary restrictions on retirement homes is not enough to overcome this problem. [/li][li] **NO** to the casino bill. I’m not anti-casino, but it bakes in both the locations and the companies. And there are other ways to add gambling to the state.[/li][li]and 7. **YES**. I prefer 7, which has provisions for Medicaid stuff and growing your own if you can’t get to a supplier, but but I want to vote for both medical marijuana initiatives, so that either one may win. A big worry is that splitting them might make neither win. (If both win, the one with the most votes will be enacted.)[/li][/ol] And I freaking love being able to vote absentee. Here in Arkansas, just saying you will be “unavoidably absent” is enough, so anyone can do it. And that means I got to go use Ballotpedia to figure things out. All the time in the world, and no waiting. The downside is that, if you get it by mail, you have to return it that way, and you have to pay the return postage. So I have actually go get stamps, which I never use. Well, unless they have a machine there–it’s been so long since I’ve seen the post office, I don’t know. Also, I love that I can register online. The PDF comes in, I fill it out, and use the signature I have saved, and then email it to my county clerk. Finally, an annoyance: why is the ballot always pre-folded in half, but the envelope requires it to be folded into thirds? Anyone else’s ballots like that? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/3 "2016-10-01T13:42:19Z")
I mailed in my ballot (and my wife’s) last Tuesday (Sept. 27). As an ex-resident of IL I get to choose only federal offices. I voted for Clinton/Kaine, Tammy Duckworth, and some random Dem I’ve never heard of for HR. I assume my wife did the same. The reasons are blatantly obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Yersenia\_Pestis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e495f1/32.png) [@Yersenia\_Pestis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yersenia_Pestis)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/4 "2016-10-01T21:35:23Z")
+2 Florida (absentee) votes for the dems ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/5 "2016-10-01T22:38:34Z")
So, for curiosity’s sake, are your ballots folded weird? The envelope for the ballot is always too small for the ballot the way it’s normally folded (in half) for me. (Also, the “they” in Issue 2 is the governor and lieutenant governor. There was a situation in 2013. The Democratic governor left, and the Republican LG passed through a law. Now even the Republican LG supports to this initiative.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/6 "2016-10-01T22:55:57Z")
The thread reminded my to print out and fill in my ballot, so I’ll mail it on Monday. \*Clinton - Kamala Harris for CA senator The Dem. (vs. Repub.) for congressman. Since I’m permanently abroad, I don’t vote for state-level offices or below, even though California allows it. Not really sporting, since it doesn’t affect me. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/7 "2016-10-02T00:21:27Z")
I haven’t received my ballot yet, but I seem to recall that, in general, they come folded in half, and they just barely fit that way back in the return envelope. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/8 "2016-10-04T03:18:32Z")
2 straight Democratic tickets mailed today in central Indiana. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/9 "2016-10-04T06:03:17Z")
I won’t be voting. I’ve finally gotten off the California Franchise Tax Board’s mailing list and I want to keep it that way. Anyway, California is so pinko already I couldn’t help much — aren’t _both_ the Senate candidates Democratic? Perhaps I should try to register in a swing state — I was once a resident of Nevada — but I wouldn’t want to go through the bother (and risk of imprisonment?) unless I could vote at least 20 or 30 times, as some say we Democrats used to do in the olden days! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/10 "2016-10-04T09:51:10Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I won’t be voting. I’ve finally gotten off the California Franchise Tax Board’s mailing list and I want to keep it that way. Anyway, California is so pinko already I couldn’t help much — aren’t _both_ the Senate candidates Democratic? > > Perhaps I should try to register in a swing state — I was once a resident of Nevada — but I wouldn’t want to go through the bother (and risk of imprisonment?) unless I could vote at least 20 or 30 times, as some say we Democrats used to do in the olden days! 😛 Obviously I can’t control the thread, but I would prefer that people who are not voting would not bother posting here. I don’t want it getting into an argument about whether people should vote. Even right now I’m having to [del]bite my tongue[/del]tie up my fingers not to say something. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/11 "2016-10-04T13:43:36Z")
I filled in my absentee ballot over the weekend and it’s going out in tomorrow’s mail. I voted enthusiastically for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine. ---
**Author:** ![Novalyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@Novalyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novalyne)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/12 "2016-10-05T01:53:44Z")
I just received my overseas ballot and will be mailing it from Costa Rica tomorrow. Straight democrat, easy-peasy. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/13 "2016-10-05T14:25:42Z")
Since I cannot vote before November 8 and work at the polls, I’ll put my response in now. Sometime between 6 AM and 12 noon that day, I will vote. Line A, all the way. ---
**Author:** ![Crybaby\_Boobie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crybaby_boobie/32/545_2.png) [@Crybaby\_Boobie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crybaby_Boobie)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/14 "2016-10-05T15:33:14Z")
I voted in NJ Clinton Gottheimer for rep Pro legalized gambling outside AC pro raising gas tax ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/15 "2016-10-10T22:39:45Z")
Wife and I voted (in Virginia) on Saturday. Early voting (called “in-person absentee voting” here, for folks who work outside the county) is a godsend – we live a ten minute walk from the county government building and it couldn’t be easier. It should be like that for everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/16 "2016-10-11T06:19:27Z")
I voted 17 days ago. Straight DFL (Democratic) except for a few incumbent Judges who were appointed by a Republican Governor. Here in Minnesota, the number of people requesting absentee ballots this year is 3 times that of 2012. And they are being returned – so far, those returned = 90% of the total from 2012, with almost a month more before election day. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/17 "2016-10-11T06:51:07Z")
Mailed it in a week ago, absentee ballot from Australia. Florida election, straight D after checking for loons. (24AUD to mail it, to get tracking!) ---
**Author:** ![Annoying\_Buzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Annoying\_Buzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoying_Buzz)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/18 "2016-10-11T09:32:25Z")
Voted from Japan. MA is probably a guaranteed lock for Clinton, but there’s no way I was going to sit this one out. President: Clinton Senate: None up for election in MA House of Representatives: My district’s incumbent is unopposed Ballot measures Voted YES on legalization of marijuana. Voted NO on all others. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/19 "2016-10-11T11:37:10Z")
Put my ballot in the outgoing mail an hour ago; voted for every democrat who is running for any office. Also voted in favor of legalizing medical marijuana. ---
**Author:** ![Anduinel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Anduinel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduinel)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352/20 "2016-10-11T17:43:53Z")
Just got back from voting. Dem down the ticket (though, really, there wasn’t much other option once you were past the Senate choices). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ive-voted-thread/767352.md?page=2)