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[Error: unknown template qotd]Well, this is a day late, but here goes:
I had read/watched/heard many of the news stories about long lines at the polls, but knowing I live in a small town in rural New Hampshire, I was confident it really wasn't going to be an issue. I was actually pretty much spot on. There was a definite line to register people, and our town had a record 1,400 new registered voters this year, which is pretty damned amazing! Thankfully we had a really organized Town Clerk and Town Hall staff that made sure there were about 40 people helping out at the polls. There was absolutely no wait for me as a registered voter to check in, get my ballot, vote and leave. I was in and out like that. I think I spent more time just casually chatting with other voters than actually getting through the voting process!
In New Hampshire we still have a lot of towns that hand count paper ballots, but even those towns in New Hampshire that use electronic reader machines to process bubble-form ballots still use a paper ballot and there is a definite recourse for verification and accountability. I am extremely grateful for that. I am also very fortunate to live in a state that permits same-day registration so that 1,400 people that may never have participated in an election could still participate. That makes me proud of my state! That and we finally abandoned straight-ticket voting, so now people can't just check a box to vote by default for all Democrats or all Republicans!
My personal experience was mostly vanilla. The most interesting aspect was walking up and announcing my name at check-in to get my ballot. There was an audience of observers (which I have since figured out may have been the Democrats' lawyers) sitting behind the table and the check-in workers (one of whom is a co-worker of mine). I announced my first and last name, not realizing they were also expecting my middle name. The check-in person loudly started to announce my middle name and paused in disbelief as if there were an error, then sort of sheepishly confirmed it.
"A... Amanda?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Okay... ummm... you're all set."
I had read/watched/heard many of the news stories about long lines at the polls, but knowing I live in a small town in rural New Hampshire, I was confident it really wasn't going to be an issue. I was actually pretty much spot on. There was a definite line to register people, and our town had a record 1,400 new registered voters this year, which is pretty damned amazing! Thankfully we had a really organized Town Clerk and Town Hall staff that made sure there were about 40 people helping out at the polls. There was absolutely no wait for me as a registered voter to check in, get my ballot, vote and leave. I was in and out like that. I think I spent more time just casually chatting with other voters than actually getting through the voting process!
In New Hampshire we still have a lot of towns that hand count paper ballots, but even those towns in New Hampshire that use electronic reader machines to process bubble-form ballots still use a paper ballot and there is a definite recourse for verification and accountability. I am extremely grateful for that. I am also very fortunate to live in a state that permits same-day registration so that 1,400 people that may never have participated in an election could still participate. That makes me proud of my state! That and we finally abandoned straight-ticket voting, so now people can't just check a box to vote by default for all Democrats or all Republicans!
My personal experience was mostly vanilla. The most interesting aspect was walking up and announcing my name at check-in to get my ballot. There was an audience of observers (which I have since figured out may have been the Democrats' lawyers) sitting behind the table and the check-in workers (one of whom is a co-worker of mine). I announced my first and last name, not realizing they were also expecting my middle name. The check-in person loudly started to announce my middle name and paused in disbelief as if there were an error, then sort of sheepishly confirmed it.
"A... Amanda?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Okay... ummm... you're all set."
