I Voted!: Share Your Voting Experience & Ask Voting ?s

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > I Voted!: Share Your Voting Experience & Ask Voting ?s

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Okan170: Nov 14, 2007; Torpedoes away!

Got a nice email notifying me that my ballot was accepted. Voting with inensity, even if in CA.

# ? Oct 13, 2020 23:57

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# ? May 5, 2024 18:29

7c Nickel: Apr 27, 2008

Voted early in GA today at a repurposed Video Warehouse. Majority black city, but line was relatively small and moved briskly. Heard one of the workers say that the first two days were much more intense. Here's hoping for a blue Georgia.

# ? Oct 14, 2020 20:51

Xombie: May 22, 2004; Soul Thrashing Black Sorcery

Finally got my correct ballot in Franklin County, +1 for Biden and hopefully flipping OH-12 blue.

# ? Oct 14, 2020 20:58

Mr. Fall Down Terror: Jan 24, 2018; by Fluffdaddy

7c Nickel posted:

Voted early in GA today at a repurposed Video Warehouse. Majority black city, but line was relatively small and moved briskly. Heard one of the workers say that the first two days were much more intense. Here's hoping for a blue Georgia.

how long did it take when it came time for the poll worker to check your ID and give you the smart card to put in the voting machine? when i voted, this step was the clear bottleneck that made the line move slowly. my hunch here is that the main source of long lines was delays in processing voter ID and registration with the state voter registry

when i was standing in line, some random people came by to distribute snacks and water which was nice

# ? Oct 14, 2020 21:36

7c Nickel: Apr 27, 2008

luxury handset posted:

how long did it take when it came time for the poll worker to check your ID and give you the smart card to put in the voting machine? when i voted, this step was the clear bottleneck that made the line move slowly. my hunch here is that the main source of long lines was delays in processing voter ID and registration with the state voter registry

when i was standing in line, some random people came by to distribute snacks and water which was nice

A few minutes or so, mostly because I still haven't gotten around to updating my voter residence so the address didn't match my drivers. That doesn't stop you from voting, but they wanted to confirm a few things and tell me to take a form on the way out. They had like 6 or 7 workers on that, so even disruptions like mine wouldn't slow things too bad. A minor bottleneck waiting for a worker to become available and get a card, and then a second minor bottleneck waiting for a machine to open up.

# ? Oct 14, 2020 22:56

Mr. Fall Down Terror: Jan 24, 2018; by Fluffdaddy

haha whelp looks like they had to call up dj khaled to get the ok to add the most powerful servers

https://www.ajc.com/politics/voter-check-in-system-to-blame-for-slow-moving-lines-in-georgia/Z6BVSDEIQBDHVHDPDJ5I3OPDRQ/

quote:

Voting slowed to a crawl across Georgia this week in large part because of check-in computers that couldn�t handle the load of record turnout at early voting locations.

The problem created a bottleneck as voters reached the front of the line, when poll workers had to deal with sluggish laptops to verify each voter. Some early voting sites reported checking in just 10 voters per hour at each computer.

The computer problem shows why poll workers struggled to clear long lines: They could only move as quickly as the technology would let them while managing 243,000 voters in the first two days of Georgia�s three-week period of early voting.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger initially attributed the lines to high turnout, which is part of the reason for delays. But it became clear from interviews with poll workers, election officials and voters this week that technical difficulties contributed to severe waits.

Raffensperger said Wednesday that he�s working with the state�s election software company to improve speeds and process voters more quickly.

Later in the day, his office said the state�s elections software vendor, New Orleans-based Civix, had increased bandwidth, resulting in immediate improvements reported by many counties. Wait times fell from over three hours to about one hour Wednesday afternoon at several early voting sites in metro Atlanta.

County election officials said the problem needed to be fixed quickly before early voting turnout rises even higher as Election Day approaches.

�We know that in the last week of early voting we can�t have this situation,� said Cynthia Willingham, elections supervisor in Rockdale County. �Our voters are going to come in numbers, so across Georgia we don�t want to have eight-hour lines. We need the system to work as it should.�

Checking in voters should take about a minute, not four or five minutes, Fulton County Elections Director Richard Barron said.

�If there isn�t a resolution before Week Three, it�s going to get really bad,� Barron said. �The voters see empty ballot-marking devices and they�re wondering why more people aren�t being processed.�

Raffensperger said turnout � about 35% higher than the start of early voting in 2016 � taxed election computers like never before in Georgia elections. When combined with absentee ballots, over 742,000 people had already voted through Tuesday.

�It�s just a lot of people running down that same road right now,� Raffensperger said at a Capitol press conference. �It�s like everyone jumping on 285 in the morning, and sometimes you have to stagger out the rush hour.�

The problem occurred on eNet, a computer system that maintains the voter registration and absentee ballot information for Georgia�s 7.4 million registered voters.

The online system is used by election workers across the state to look up voters' registration information, check them in at early voting locations and scan absentee ballots as they arrive at county election offices.

The eNet system was unable to efficiently process so many requests at once, causing delays.

Voters felt the consequences of the tech troubles, standing outside crowded polling places for hours before they reached the front of the line.

Christopher Stewart said he waited 15 minutes to be checked in Wednesday following a long wait at the Sandy Springs Library in Fulton County. He saw some people leave the line without voting.

�I think 2 1/2 hours for system issues is pretty difficult to deal with,� Stewart said after voting. �I understand when you vote in person you�re going to wait, but for system issues, that�s something I would expect (election officials) to address.�

Poll workers such as Dallas Thomas are also frustrated.

Since early voting started, poll workers have had trouble connecting to the state�s voter network to check in voters, Thomas said.

�Yesterday was almost to the point of a complete standstill because of the system crashing and it moving so slow,� Thomas said Wednesday at the library. �A lot of people understood. Most people are already aware of the issues, but a lot of people are not. They are agitated because they�ve waited in line for three or four hours.�

In Cobb County, where some voters said they waited 12 hours to vote on the first day of early voting Monday, voters still had to wait two or three hours at some polling places Wednesday afternoon.

�It�s critical� to correct the problem, Cobb Elections Director Janine Eveler said. �We saw some improvement this morning, but as soon as the other counties opened at 8 a.m., it slowed down.�

Poll workers see a spinning wheel on their screens as they look up voters' registrations, enter information to check them in and then push save, Richmond County Elections Director Lynn Bailey said. Each of those three steps took about a minute and half.

�We have more voters voting, and we have more advance voting sites open," Bailey said. "Those two things combined have frankly put a big strain on the system.�

In Bartow County, check-in times drastically improved Wednesday afternoon after the secretary of state�s office said it had increased bandwidth, Elections Supervisor Joseph Kirk said.

�When you put more users on a system, these kind of things happen,� Kirk said. �Once the state corrects the issues with the system, we should be able to process people about twice as fast.�

The eNet system accesses Georgia election databases but isn�t connected to the public internet. Once voters are checked in on eNet, poll workers then use a separate tablet called a Poll Pad to encode voter access cards, which voters insert into touchscreens to pull up their ballots.

The networked system is used during early voting to instantly update records so that voters can only cast one ballot, and they wouldn�t be able vote again at another voting site in their county.

On Election Day, voter information will be pre-loaded onto Poll Pads that are kept offline. Voters can only vote at their neighborhood polling place on Nov. 3.

�Whatever it takes. I�m ready to wait. If it takes two hours, three hours, I�m ready,� said Christiana Ugochukwu, who waited in a 130-person line at the Ward Recreation Center in Cobb County. �Even if I had to take an ambulance to go out and vote, I�d be ready to do that.�

# ? Oct 15, 2020 07:14

Kaal: May 22, 2002; through thousands of posts in D&D over a decade, I now believe I know what I'm talking about. if I post forcefully and confidently, I can convince others that is true. no one sees through my facade.

I voted by mail the other day and it was customarily easy-peasy.

For all these states that still vote in-person, is there any reason that they make people wait in line? Surely they could implement a batch appointment system like any popular event. Signing up in-person or online for a specific 15 minute time slot seems way more convenient than waiting for eight hours.

# ? Oct 15, 2020 09:38

Crumbskull: Sep 13, 2005; The worker and the soil

Kaal posted:

I voted by mail the other day and it was customarily easy-peasy.

For all these states that still vote in-person, is there any reason that they make people wait in line? Surely they could implement a batch appointment system like any popular event. Signing up in-person or online for a specific 15 minute time slot seems way more convenient than waiting for eight hours.

The people involved in orchestrating the election do not want voting to be convenient OP.

# ? Oct 15, 2020 09:40

Kaal: May 22, 2002; through thousands of posts in D&D over a decade, I now believe I know what I'm talking about. if I post forcefully and confidently, I can convince others that is true. no one sees through my facade.

Crumbskull posted:

The people involved in orchestrating the election do not want voting to be convenient OP.

If you go to https://voter.votewa.gov/ you can fill out an online ballot and print it off.

# ? Oct 15, 2020 10:11

Mr. Fall Down Terror: Jan 24, 2018; by Fluffdaddy

Kaal posted:

I voted by mail the other day and it was customarily easy-peasy.

For all these states that still vote in-person, is there any reason that they make people wait in line? Surely they could implement a batch appointment system like any popular event. Signing up in-person or online for a specific 15 minute time slot seems way more convenient than waiting for eight hours.

there's already problems with people who don't have reliable internet access having access to voter information, so this could easily be construed as voter suppression ("why does someone need to have internet access just to book an appointment to vote?")

# ? Oct 15, 2020 13:53

New Yorp New Yorp: Jul 18, 2003; Only in Kenya.; Pillbug

New Yorp New Yorp posted:

My wife and I dropped off our ballots at a local drop box in Somerset county, NJ on the 3rd. Still not showing up as received. I got concerned after a week passed with no update, so she gave the election board a call earlier today but hasn't heard back yet. I know other NJ folks haven't had any problems, so I'm wondering if it's a problem with that specific drop box or something at the county level.

Update: My ballot showed up in the system yesterday, with a received date of 10/10. So it seems like my county is just dealing with huge volume and it's taking some time to get caught up. I'm expecting it will flip from "Received" to "Accepted" at some point next week.

Not that it matters because NJ is such a blue state, but we also have a question on the ballot to about legalizing marijuana, so that's important.

# ? Oct 15, 2020 15:58

Kaal: May 22, 2002; through thousands of posts in D&D over a decade, I now believe I know what I'm talking about. if I post forcefully and confidently, I can convince others that is true. no one sees through my facade.

luxury handset posted:

there's already problems with people who don't have reliable internet access having access to voter information, so this could easily be construed as voter suppression ("why does someone need to have internet access just to book an appointment to vote?")

Well that would be a fair concern but you wouldn't need internet, as I suggested, since you could also just show up and book a slot. This is how it works in a lot of the popular theme parks, museums, and landmarks. But it may well be that once an election board starts thinking about how to make elections more convenient they quickly start offering enough vote by mail that lines are not an issue.

# ? Oct 15, 2020 16:03

Mr. Fall Down Terror: Jan 24, 2018; by Fluffdaddy

Kaal posted:

Well that would be a fair concern but you wouldn't need internet, as I suggested, since you could also just show up and book a slot. This is how it works in a lot of the popular theme parks, museums, and landmarks. But it may well be that once an election board starts thinking about how to make elections more convenient they quickly start offering enough vote by mail that lines are not an issue.

having to show up at the polling place twice doesn't sound convenient to me

a lot of the reason people are standing in line is because they don't trust vote by mail, given that has been a concern this year. and it can be an issue if people request a mail ballot and then show up in person anyway, since requesting the mail ballot counts as a pending vote

e: logistically, adding an appointment-booking system on top of everything else seems overly complicated, and what happens if the polling site can't honor the appointment because of backlog? people end up standing in line anyway

Mr. Fall Down Terror fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Oct 15, 2020

# ? Oct 15, 2020 16:06

Epinephrine: Nov 7, 2008

Ballot's ready for the mail. Where did I put my stamps?

# ? Oct 15, 2020 16:18

Kaal: May 22, 2002; through thousands of posts in D&D over a decade, I now believe I know what I'm talking about. if I post forcefully and confidently, I can convince others that is true. no one sees through my facade.

luxury handset posted:

having to show up at the polling place twice doesn't sound convenient to me

a lot of the reason people are standing in line is because they don't trust vote by mail, given that has been a concern this year. and it can be an issue if people request a mail ballot and then show up in person anyway, since requesting the mail ballot counts as a pending vote

e: logistically, adding an appointment-booking system on top of everything else seems overly complicated, and what happens if the polling site can't honor the appointment because of backlog? people end up standing in line anyway

If it just seems too complicated then fair enough. Another reason to implement universal mail-in voting I suppose.

# ? Oct 15, 2020 16:18

Mr. Fall Down Terror: Jan 24, 2018; by Fluffdaddy

for sure, it's really inexcusable that most states don't do universal mail voting given that there are so many working models of mail voting to copy

# ? Oct 15, 2020 16:21

Phoix: Jul 20, 2006

For NC goons Durham county put up this map that shows estimated wait times at polling locations. Lines in Raleigh were pretty bad when I drove past some places earlier so assuming this is accurate you'll probably want to use it.

http://durhamnc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=3ba5733d5de645debd6e6089e92c7f32

# ? Oct 15, 2020 16:41

Bird in a Blender: Nov 17, 2005; It's amazing what they can do with computers these days.

I'm in Chicago and I put my ballot in the mail Sunday. Since Monday was a no mail day, it really left on Tuesday. Last night I got an email saying it was accepted, so essentially my ballot took one day to get accepted at our election center. I should just vote by mail all the time.

I'm working as an election judge on election day. I doubt things will be crazy in Chicago, but maybe I'll post a recap the day after.

# ? Oct 15, 2020 17:07

Phelddagrif: Jan 28, 2009; Before I do anything, I think, well what hasn't been seen. Sometimes, that turns out to be something ghastly and not fit for society. And sometimes that inspiration becomes something that's really worthwhile.

Phoix posted:

For NC goons Durham county put up this map that shows estimated wait times at polling locations. Lines in Raleigh were pretty bad when I drove past some places earlier so assuming this is accurate you'll probably want to use it.

http://durhamnc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=3ba5733d5de645debd6e6089e92c7f32

My boss told me they've got workers at polling stations routing people to different early voting sites with shorter wait times. (He's volunteering for the DCDP)

I early voted today in Carrboro, what's usually a quick in-and-out thing took an hour and a half. No problems, just a lot of people voting, plus everything being wiped down after each use.

# ? Oct 16, 2020 19:42

PenguinKnight: Apr 6, 2009

Mail in ballots don�t include an i voted sticker and the fact that they don�t is bullshit

e:vvv oh what the hell (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

PenguinKnight fucked around with this message at 21:35 on Oct 16, 2020

# ? Oct 16, 2020 21:30

Seven Hundred Bee: Nov 1, 2006

PenguinKnight posted:

Mail in ballots don�t include an i voted sticker and the fact that they don�t is bullshit

This is wrong in some states. In VA they mail you a sticker

# ? Oct 16, 2020 21:32

Kaal: May 22, 2002; through thousands of posts in D&D over a decade, I now believe I know what I'm talking about. if I post forcefully and confidently, I can convince others that is true. no one sees through my facade.

PenguinKnight posted:

Mail in ballots don�t include an i voted sticker and the fact that they don�t is bullshit

I grew up without in-person voting and so I don't miss something I never had, but I bet the mods would support an "I voted" gangtag if there was interest in it. Particularly if there's a way of making them temporary.

# ? Oct 16, 2020 21:35

wilderthanmild: Jun 21, 2010; Posting shit; Grimey Drawer

PenguinKnight posted:

Mail in ballots don�t include an i voted sticker and the fact that they don�t is bullshit

e:vvv oh what the hell (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

I believe Ohio used to include them, but they don't now.

THE BASTARDS

# ? Oct 16, 2020 21:43

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

PenguinKnight posted:

Mail in ballots don�t include an i voted sticker and the fact that they don�t is bullshit

e:vvv oh what the hell (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

I proposed an I voted gang tag. We need a mod to approve it.

# ? Oct 17, 2020 07:06

Epinephrine: Nov 7, 2008

Ballot's in the mail!

# ? Oct 17, 2020 23:25

Lord Hydronium: Sep 25, 2007; Non, je ne regrette rien

Dropped my ballot off in a dropbox on Sunday, and just got the notification that it was accepted. Of course, since I'm in an extremely blue part of MA (Pressley's district) none of the candidate elections are really in question, but at least I got to vote for ranked choice voting.

Lord Hydronium fucked around with this message at 19:35 on Oct 20, 2020

# ? Oct 20, 2020 19:33

mistaya: Oct 18, 2006; Cat of Wealth and Taste

Early-voted in person in NC today. Were about 30-40 people in line at 2:30pm on a Friday (and stayed at about that, the line was very stable) Our state rep was there waving to people and not-shaking-hands.

Was really easy, everyone was nice and the setup seemed quite decent to protect the pollworkers (the booths were set up like bank teller windows so you just passed papers under them to the workers.) Had a few poll watchers there as well. We didn't get stickers but we did get pens that say "I voted in the NC election in 2020!" on them so that's some neat swag. 100% mask compliance that I saw too, and no noses sticking out. Was a lot of seniors given the time of day, but also some couples and younger folks.

Now to keep pestering all my friends and fam to get their asses out to the polls.

# ? Oct 24, 2020 06:00

Mischievous Mink: May 29, 2012

PenguinKnight posted:

Mail in ballots don�t include an i voted sticker and the fact that they don�t is bullshit

e:vvv oh what the hell (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

In Washington they always give me the stickers. They specifically say I VOTED BY MAIL, even.

# ? Oct 24, 2020 08:50

Mooseontheloose: May 13, 2003

My wife dropped off our ballots in our town in Massachusetts and reminder...

You have two questions this year on the back of the ballot, Right to Repair and Ranked Choice Voting. Please remember to check the back of your ballot.

# ? Oct 24, 2020 15:15

Mundrial Mantis: Aug 15, 2017

I voted early today in upstate NY with no issue besides time. There was a decent sized line at my polling place even when you factor in social distancing but things were moving at a good pace. Was going to do absentee but I really want that sticker dammit.

All hail the sticker

# ? Oct 24, 2020 19:16

OJ MIST 2 THE DICK: Sep 11, 2008; Anytime I need to see your face I just close my eyes
And I am taken to a place
Where your crystal minds and magenta feelings
Take up shelter in the base of my spine
Sweet like a chica cherry cola
-Cheap Trick; Nap Ghost

dropped my ballot off ago at the dropbox a week ago and got a bagel

# ? Oct 24, 2020 19:36

Meaty Ore: Dec 17, 2011; My God, it's full of cat pictures!

Indiana voter here. I voted on Monday morning just after the polls opened, with a wait time of about 30 minutes. People stayed socially distanced for the most part (there was one couple I saw who took up the same space in line), masks were enforced, and it was a pretty orderly affair all around. My wife voted yesterday afternoon, with an hour and a half wait, and she told me a number of people were skirting the mask mandate, in addition to several Karens complaining about how things were organized.

# ? Oct 24, 2020 19:58

Incelshok Na: Jul 2, 2020; by Hand Knit

Deleted.

I had too many tabs open and accidentally posted here. Not sure if apologies will do but apologies, I thought this was CSPAM.

Incelshok Na fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Oct 26, 2020

# ? Oct 26, 2020 04:53

ShakeZula: Jun 17, 2003; Nobody move and nobody gets hurt.

Meaty Ore posted:

Indiana voter here. I voted on Monday morning just after the polls opened, with a wait time of about 30 minutes. People stayed socially distanced for the most part (there was one couple I saw who took up the same space in line), masks were enforced, and it was a pretty orderly affair all around. My wife voted yesterday afternoon, with an hour and a half wait, and she told me a number of people were skirting the mask mandate, in addition to several Karens complaining about how things were organized.

What part of Indiana? I voted on Saturday in Marion County, arrived about 15 minutes after the site opened and had to wait 8 hours in line. I don't know what the total number of people voting was, but I know there were still about 500 people ahead of me in line at around Hour 6.

Thankfully I didn't see anyone at all who wasn't wearing a mask, even if the guy behind me was a Trump supporter who was literally wearing a mask that said "Worn by Force, Not by Fear" on it :rolleyes:

# ? Oct 26, 2020 05:16

Pick: Jul 19, 2009; Nap Ghost

Voted by mail (Dropbox) in Oregon. Confirmed received 2 days later.

# ? Oct 27, 2020 18:53

ReidRansom: Oct 25, 2004

Discendo Vox posted:

I proposed an I voted gang tag. We need a mod to approve it.

You don't really need approval. You can just upload it as an av during a custom title purchase, and then link that image url in the custom text when you rebuy your old av. But if you mean doing it for free, sure, be a rule follower.

e: if that still works. I assume it does

# ? Oct 27, 2020 18:56

Bicyclops: Aug 27, 2004

MA here. My wife and I dropped our ballots off at our town hall and we know they made it. If you're in MA and you're doing mail-in voting, you can check on your ballot's status pretty easily. Was most excited about the ranked choice ballot initiative we have in our state. We were on top of requesting the ballot early though, and I am hearing from some co-workers that they're still nervously awaiting the arrival of their ballots.

I'm taking election day and the day after off, something I've done every two years for awhile now that I'm fortunate enough to have a job in which I can do that. Normally, my wife and I vote in person and then have breakfast at a diner (we started the tradition nine years ago when we were still dating), but, you know, COVID and indoor dining don't seem like a good idea, so I'm going to try to make some diner-y breakfast food at home for all of us as well as I can, at which point I'll obsessively start updating my maps in between childcare, even though it'll probably be weeks before we have results in some of the more contentious Senate races.

One week left! :patriot:

# ? Oct 27, 2020 20:18

pandy fackler: Jun 2, 2020

CA - My ballot was mailed 10/5 but never arrived. Address was fine as I got all of the informational mailers, don't know what happened. There were a few ways to rectify it, today I opted to go into the county elections office where they had me sign a piece of paper promising that I am who I say I am and handed me a new one, filled it out and dropped it in their ballot box. Very smooth process, california makes things pretty easy to fix if something goes wrong.

# ? Oct 27, 2020 21:56

KillerJunglist: May 22, 2007; Lion of Judah protect you, Jah be praised.

Early voted in El Paso County, TX. My wife and I went together. We both work nights so we showed up at the place around 6pm. Lines were nuts earlier in the day, but we only had to contend with like 8 other people so it was pretty smooth sailing.

No party affiliations for mayoral vote tho and there are like 6 people running. My bad for not researching first but it would have been nice to have that on the ballot.

# ? Oct 27, 2020 22:01

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# ? May 5, 2024 18:29

HisMajestyBOB: Oct 21, 2010; College Slice

Seven Hundred Bee posted:

This is wrong in some states. In VA they mail you a sticker

I voted by mail in Virginia and my ballot was received a week ago, but I still haven't received my sticker. WTF is this travesty of justice?

# ? Oct 27, 2020 22:03

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > I Voted!: Share Your Voting Experience & Ask Voting ?s

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