How busy is your polling place? What method did they use?

[prberk]

Just wanted a cross-section of voters from around America today to tell how busy their polling station was, and how it worked for each.

Ours opened at 6 a.m., and I got there about 6:10. I got through about 6:45, and was voter number 180.

We used paper bubble-in type ballots (like Scan-Tron in school), then fed them into a machine.

The line was long, but moved quickly. They had six stations set up for people to use, and so someone was finishing about as quickly as someone else got their ballot.

People in line were mostly quiet and patient.

What about you?

[P.S.: Do not make this a poltiical thread. Just about the process. Otherwise, thread will get shut down. Not my intent here.]

 

[Lucky]

In Montgomery County MD we use touchscreen machines. (We used to use Datavote punchcards, a type that wasn't as error-prone as the more common type of punch cards that caused so much trouble in FL in 2000.) I waited about 25 minutes, and voted at about 9:00 AM. The line looked long but it moved fast - they had about 12 voting stations going at once. So people were patient and mostly quiet - more so than if they were waiting for a ride at WDW.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

We have touch screens also. I did early voting and had to stand in line for an hour. Voting took a while as we had tons of amendments to vote on.
They've already had a machine in another state that even though the guy voted for A, it recorded that he voted for B (not using names). They had to recalibrate the machine. What if this had been happening all day and others simply didn't notice.
I am always worried when we vote touchscreen. I make sure and watch that final page before I hit submit/continue. No matter who you vote for, you should be aware.

 

[dave&di]

Hope USA get the right one! I won't tell you my favourite, no politics here!!!!

Best wishes from the UK, hope this is the beginning of a better time!

 

[WDWNooby]

Our voting procedure is pen to paper then placing it in the box. This part of the Midwest is a bit behind the technology times.

We did early voting on Friday and had about a five minute wait. Since it was my son's first year to vote I wanted it to be as stress free as possible for him. I heard folks at work mentioning that they waited anywhere from 30-60 minutes to vote this morning.

 

[NYwdwfan]

We used the scantron kind in NY. It's so strange though - they don't ask for ID. Your signature just needs to match the one on file. Some guy was yelling at the poor woman working the information desk that hey should require picture iD. It was a bit uncomfortable - I agreed with his idea but he should not have been yelling. I went around 2:00 and was basically in and out - no wait at all. I think a lot of people go before or after work but I was off today.

 

[Britt]

I live in a swing state, so there was NO way I was tackling the polling places with a 2 year old! I mailed in my ballot. Just standard paper.

Most disappointing part? I didn't get a sticker They need to send a sticker with the mail in dang it! LOL

 

[unkadug]

Scantron type here also....polls open at 7 AM ... I was there about 7:10, I walked out at 7:35. Took me another 20 minutes to get out of the darn parking lot !

 

[stevehousse]

Illinois here, went at 630pm, literally walked in and out! They had both paper or touchscreen your choice. I did touchscreen

 

[KJ1081]

Scantron as well over here in Buffalo. I was the only one voting at 8:35pm- I'm going to remember that for next time!

 

[The Mom]

It took me an hour, early voting, 10AM on a work day. Scanner, but with an electronic sign-in, which some people didn't know how to use. Also, some apparently "x'd" rather than filling in the ovals. I think it's a generational thing; they were older than I. And I'm just shy of retirement age.

Might be time to update the old avatar - it's 10 years old!

 

[SAV]

Went at about 4:30pm. Waited 1 person to get my scantron style ballot, walked right to the booth and out within 5 minutes.

 

[Ariel484]

I live in a swing state, so there was NO way I was tackling the polling places with a 2 year old! I mailed in my ballot. Just standard paper.

Most disappointing part? I didn't get a sticker They need to send a sticker with the mail in dang it! LOL

Same here! Also in a swing state, also mailed in the ballot, also didn't get a sticker.

My mom sent me a text at 8AM and said she was in a 45-minute long line at her polling place (in Ohio). Not sure what kind of ballots we use here as the husband and I have been mailing in our ballots for the last few elections.

 

[annawilliams]

Ours was scantron style in Michigan. We bubbled in our picks with a pen. I waited in line for about an hour and got a call from my husband that he was coming up and had to be back to the school he teaches at within a half hour. So, I decided to be the nice wife and give him my spot and go to the back of the line. I was probably in line 2.5 hours total.

 

[unkadug]

It took me an hour, early voting, 10AM on a work day. Scanner, but with an electronic sign-in, which some people didn't know how to use. Also, some apparently "x'd" rather than filling in the ovals. I think it's a generational thing; they were older than I. And I'm just shy of retirement age.

Might be time to update the old avatar - it's 10 years old!

But if you do that, then nobody will recognize you!

 

[prberk]

Our voting procedure is pen to paper then placing it in the box. This part of the Midwest is a bit behind the technology times.

We did early voting on Friday and had about a five minute wait. Since it was my son's first year to vote I wanted it to be as stress free as possible for him. I heard folks at work mentioning that they waited anywhere from 30-60 minutes to vote this morning.

I think using the pen-and-paper ballots (including the Scatron type) is a good thing, and assures you that your vote can be recognized later, for a recount if necessary. I think that the electronic type does not give you that kind of backup assurance, should something happen to crash the system. They likely have backups in place, but they are not apparent to the voter, which is also important.

Paul

 

[flynnibus]

I always go after work.. the lines always seem better than before work. Here the polls are open till 7.. plenty of time.

VA had a new voter ID law this year in effect. It's kind of a hybrid... they require ID, but the requirement is pretty lax in that all kinds of things can be used, including ones without photos.

• Virginia voter registration card
• Valid Virginia driver's license
• Military ID
• Any Federal, Virginia state or local government-issued ID
• Employer issued photo ID card
• Concealed handgun permit
• Valid student ID issued by any institution of higher education located in the Commonwealth of Virginia
• Current utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck indicating the name and address of the voter
• Social Security card

And if you had no ID, you could fill out a provisional ballot and get it auth'd later.
We still had reports of clowns trying to vote more than once by cutting in different lines. I can't believe after all these years the polls don't have a simple stable 'token' system to prevent that. It seems year after year, they have to make midday adjustments. No reason for that.
And the electronic voting is funny.. people were willing to wait 10-20 people deep to vote on the electronic machine vs just walking up and using a paper ballot with no wait.
Morning waits I heard were upwards of an hour or more at times. But our voting locations are so small.. They use both elementary schools in my neighborhood, and the voting precinct is even smaller than the elementary school's student boundaries..

 

[emcclay]

Polls opened at 6a in my town. Got there around 5:55a, and voting had already begun. Only had to wait a few minutes for an empty booth. The ballots are Scantron style.

 

[wiigirl]

Went over lunch...no line...electronic.