We are excited about going to vote dawninns. Hubby will be going early before work and I will wait a bit between then kids and I will go, it shouldnt be such a big line at my place because its a VA hall and very small town I plan to see a lot of the working class people (cough..republicans j/k )out that day to vote because its the one day that most employees will let everyone off for a few hours to go vote. Have fun everyone Sam
NOPE!!! Last presidential election, I went about 10:00, and waited and waited and waited. Carl came home about 3:30, and had about a 45 minute wait. So go figure! My choice is either early, or right around 3. And my WONDERFUL husband decided TODAY that the car needed to go in NOW. And Tuesday is my BUSIEST day WITHOUT voting. So he wanted me to take him the half-hour drive to his work and pick him up later. When I balked a bit at that (my submissive self taking over, Becky! ), he decided to take a personal day and he could get caught up on his grading, too.
I am thinking of going alone this year. Handsome will go after work. We usually vote in pairs but since the lines are going to be so long and my sister will have Emma in the morning, I just might vote after my doctors appointment. But then, I like voting with Handsome because we usually go out to dinner afterwards.
This is the only part of this election that I do find interesting. Just imagine! Twenty years from now, students will be reading about this history making election. The books will tell about the first black President or the first female VP, possibly President.
Thanks Dawninns! I'll be taking my kids with me to go vote. I'm packing snacks, water, books and a stroller. I'm expecting it to be a long wait whatever time I go tomorrow. My friend voted early today and said the wait for that was an hour. I'm wondering what I will do though if my kids have to go to the bathroom while we are waiting in line. Hmmm.....the more I think about it the more I wonder if my sister and I can just swap babysitting duties tomorrow morning. I'll let you guys know how voting went in my city. I will be staying up late to watch election coverage as well. I'll probably be keeping myself up with sugary and chocolatey Halloween candy while flipping through all of the news channels. I might stay on MSNBC the longest though. I like Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow.
DH wants all of us to be there when they open at 7. But after reading this, maybe we'd be better off waiting til 9? Hmmm. Not sure what to do. We're taking the boys with us, because they've been curious about the election. Better go pack the backpacks before going to bed.
You guys have to wait hours? Okay, I'm sorry but that is just messed up. It never takes me more then five minutes to votes in provincial and federal elections. Is there ever speculation that maybe your voter turnout is so low because the votin process is so cumbersome and awkward?
I agree- To vote in Oz, I never had to wait more than a few minutes. The whole election process is about 6 weeks from start to finish. Election day ( for state and federal elections), is always a Saturday. ( booths are usually open from about 7 am - 6pm) Public places like schools/halls etc are open. You enter, give them your name, they ask if you have voted already, they cross your name off the electoral role ( compulsory voting over 18), you get your slips,, vote, pop your ballot in the box, go home, have a cuppa or a beer and await the results.( which are announced that evening). Simple. Good luck- fingers crossed for Obama
Yup, that's how it goes here. There's no registration either. The government simply compiles a voter's list from tax returns, census data and such. And if you arrive to vote and you're name isn't on the list you simply provide ID, swear an oath and then go vote. Of course it's all standardized and run by the feds - no variation at all from province to province which I think is another strength of our system. Not to come off as superior or anything of course.
Sure you dont live in Oz? Again, ours is also compiled from tax returns, census etc. `just before election time, people come door to door, with enrollment forms, in case you were too young to vote at the previous election, or have moved and havent swapped addresses etc. You soon have a fine if you havent voted! Very efficient. Great system ( even though I was a little sad at the result of our last election ) I'll return when Rudd is out :lol:
We were there when the polls opened at 6:30, and we were an hour and half. Carl says I'm wrong about the time last Presidential Election. He says I waited THREE HOURS!!! The only thing that I felt was "wrong" was the handicapped voting. They had a booth reserved for handicapped, which is fine IF there's a handicapped person. But it's wrong to let it go unused. I think they should use it just like any other booth, and when a handicapped person comes, that person should be next in line to use it. The attitude this morning was good, though I did hear one woman fussing. And one woman didn't have the proper ID. But they've been saying all over the TV and radio to be sure to have proper ID, and they were saying specifically what counted, so there's really no excuse!
Iwas just listening to the radio and one thing that I didn't know was that when you go to vote you may have other things on yours ballot like referendum questions and candidates for local office. It may take a good ten minutes to mark a ballot. I'm thinking the similarity in our systems must be due to an inherent simplicity in the parlimentary system? Good old Commonwealth clarity?
Yup, we have other things on the ballot. In my area we are voting for President, Congress, State legislative and County positions. We're lucky we don't have referendum to vote on. I heard something about somewhere in Ohio where their ballot is something like 40 pages of items to vote on! Our voting system should be more efficient, but it isn't as of now.
I went to try this am. The line was AWFUL!!! I left...I couldn't even find a parking space, and I wouldn't break the law just so I could (there were people parking in handicapped spots, on the grass, in the middle of the road, etc. It really frazzled me. I came home. Very deflated, I now have to go with my kids in tow. Hubby's there now and says the line is deceptive b/c there are two districts voting at our polling place. The line that wraps all the way around the building is for the OTHER district, not our district. I'm going to try about 10:00. He says the crowd is dwindling. I'm hoping to hit that sweet spot where everyone who had to vote early to get to work will be done, and the fools who are going to try over their lunch hour. PRAY FOR ME. I'm NOT a crowd person AT ALL!
Hubby went this morning at 7am when they opened up he said line was very short I am going to go as soon as I do the farm chores. I am doing straight republican so shouldnt take long to mark one box. Sam
Yes, we have many things to vote on. Everything ranging from the President, state, county, to city officials, and school board members. The size of a city or town will also determine how long it will take to get your vote in. The reason we have to register to vote is because there are some very messed up people who will try to use another persons identity in order to vote. I personally do not want somebody voting in my place.
CAREFULL! Make sure your presidential vote is counted! :shock: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/30/straight.ticket/ http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=12459 http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jp--IEoLjpYzug2IA6lVWMNv_90wD943SOT80 http://www.blueridgenow.com/article...itle=When_you_vote__don_t_forget_the_big_race
Wow...easy voting for me today. I stood in line for 5 or 6 minutes and it took me 3 or 4 minutes to vote. I'm glad I went when I did. I hope the rest of you have an easy time voting!
I went this morning about 8:30 and stood in line for maybe 5 mins then the ballot took me about 8 - 10 mins to complete. We were voting for our county sheriff, president, state supreme court justices, all of our representatives by district, school board members, and all of our county positions. Then we had about 10 propositions to vote on. But after voting I hit starbucks for my free coffee!
We had 15 pages on our ballots- local, state, and federal stuff. It probably took about 5 minutes to actually vote.
