done.

[lagilman]

And lo, I have voted.

As every election, my polling place feels miles removed from the political scrum -- the parking lot was full, but the lines were moving quickly, the volunteers were greeting people by name, and the topics of conversation were almost all social.


As one volunteer said, no challengers would dare come here. We'd give them a cookie and sit them in the corner with a shhhh! warning.

And yes, there were cookies. Allegedly for the kids-of-voters. I qualified. :-)

addendum: amusingly enough, when I went to the bank afterward, they gave me a lollypop. Do I have a 'give me sugar' sign on my forehead? I do? Cool!)


Now all we can do is sit back and wait.



(and while we wait, this bit of amusement from a friend: I'm off to vote. I'm wearing the T shirt that my daughter gave me. It has a picture of a crazy looking Gollum saying 'Bush is an agent of Sauron. We hates him.')

Comments

Power to ya!

[banazir.livejournal.com]

lol, cookies. Good show!

We hates him forever!

--
Banazir

[aynjel.livejournal.com]

I mailed my ballot yesterday morning before I went to the airport. I'm in a different city. I'd much rather be at home tonight, with my housemates and my friends, rather than in a hotel room in Sacramento.

And I want a cookie. I really want a cookie.

[lansan5.livejournal.com]

where did she get the shirt??? I want one!!

[peggin.livejournal.com]

You got a cookie? Jeez, they didn't even have those "I Voted" stickers at my polling place. I feel deprived. :(

[paleologa.livejournal.com]

Voted in Bloomfield early this morning, and had to wait a little while because my district has but one voting machine (the old-fashioned, pull-lever kind). There was a woman sitting there wearing an "Official Challenger" ribbon, and she had apparantly asked the ladies at the desk to call out all of our names and addresses as we signed in (mine were called out even though they appeared in the book with my signature, as usual). Ribbon lady was checking all of us off against a master list - while I was there, she told the ladies to be sure to call our names out loudly, so she could hear them. Hrm. Never had this particular experience before.

Anyone else?

[paleologa.livejournal.com]

Also, no cookies or "I Voted" stickers. Phooey.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

call out all of our names and addresses as we signed in

And that's when I'd have trouble. While I'm happy to verify my name and address on request, I do NOT want them shouted all over. And I would say so. And then I'd insist that the challenger shout her name and address so that I could write them down and go verify them.

[lagilman]

It was the same-old same-old routine where I voted -- sign the book next to a repro of last year's signature, then sign the second sheet that youhand to the person (wo)manning the booth. Didn't even get asked for photo i.d. And yay for the old-fashioned clunky lever-pull voting booths! I'll miss them when they go.

[windrose.livejournal.com]

Where I voted, you showed the election officials your voter registration card, they checked to see if your name was on the list of registered voters, and then they handed you a paper ballot. Because I had registered by mail, I was required to show them a photo ID as well. The whole process took about five minutes, and that was only because the elderly gentleman who had all the A & B names couldn't find my name right away.

voting

[aqua409.livejournal.com]

I'm voting later with hubby. He was talking to dad-in-law last night and I wanted to strangle DIL. DIL said he's not going to vote since he doesnt like either Bush or Kerry. I told hubby that does he realize there are other issues on the ballot besides voting for president? It makes me sick when a person doesn't excercise the right to vote. If DIL starts to complain after the election is over, Im going to tell him he didnt vote so shup.
Jenn

[redstarrobot.livejournal.com]

Where I voted, there was even less hassle than that - they were just checking off active voters on a list by asking address and name when they came in and signing them out the same way, no signature or ID checks. (I registered by mail, so they did want ID and proof of residence, but even proof of residence was just a minimum of "any piece of mail sent to you at that address".)

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

Huh. In my precinct, you aren't allowed to vote if you're wearing a button, a hat, or a T-shirt endorsing a candidate. "No electioneering within 50 feet of the polls." I heard the poll workers discussing it.

[lagilman]

There were signs up saying that challengers weren't allowed to be affilated, but nothing about voters.

And, of course, any last-minute campaigning has to be done outside the polling place.

Re: voting

[jennetj.livejournal.com]

A local columnist had a lovely article saying that those who don't vote should be penalized if they complained afterwards. The first time they complain, they'd be fined. The second time, they'd have to serve a week of community service. It sounds good to me.

[barbara-ferrenz.livejournal.com]

No cookies for me. I got doughnuts but I had to buy them from cute little girls raising money for something or other.

On my way in, a lady called out to me "Two minutes! There's nobody there." Indeed, there was only one other voter there. All of the cars in the parking lot must have belonged to the election workers and the campaign people.

I took off my Kerry/Edwards button before I went in because of the no electioneering rule. They gave me a sticker afterwards that says "I voted touchscreen." The touchscreen was easy to understand but it took me a few tries before I realized that I had to tap it with the tip of my fingernail to mark who I wanted. I called and warned my husband, who is voting later, to be careful. With his big meaty fingers, he'll be voting for everybody.