How do you vote?

[Luke]

Here in Saline County, Mo at least in our little town we have paper ballots. We don't even have voting boths, just some long folding tables in the back of the city hall. Oddly, there always seem to be doughnuts for the election officails.

I was curious how the rest of the world elects their represenatives.

[Phil Fiord]

Two lines here. A to M and N to Z. When you get to the front, you go to a table for your last name list, show valid ID and get a magstrip card. Walk to a touchscreen terminal with privacy flaps on the side. The card gets inserted and you select your votes. A summary screen shows and you confirm. Get an "I voted" sticker and be on your way after returning the mag card.

Northern Virginia here.

[Luke]

Wow, You Virginians are up town!
Before I lived in the small town, I lived in a town of about 13,000. While they didn't have mag strips, the did have the AM/NZ lines. Also had "booths" with privacy flaps and I voted stickers.

[Phil Fiord]

When I was still in California, southern part that is, we had the mechanical pushers to chip out a punch on card sets for each initiative or candidate. There we had cardboard booths with privacy curtain behind. You literally ducked into a booth and punched cards to put them into an envelope and drop in a sealed bin with a lock.

I like my counties version and unlike reports elsewhere I have yet to select candidate X and have Y show up. I will be voting Tuesday and took this week off for vacation to do so. Figured its a good week to take and keeps me close to home if the worst threats happen after.

[Ryan Ruck]

For me, I go to the small rural middle school 5 minutes from me. They have folding table deals with privacy walls. We use Scantron sheets and they get fed into the machine (forget who makes it) when you're done voting. Nothing too special.

Kind of funny I work for the company that made the famous ones but I've never used or even seen one of those touchscreen ones, even at our corporate HQ!

[American Patriot]

We normally have paper ballots. They set up little standing tables with side and back shields to keep people from looking at what you're doing.

However, several areas have gotten voting machines with touch screens. Like some other areas in the country who have them, people have been raising a HUGE stink about them because when you click on Romney, it defaults back to Obama..... Wonder how they can be so BROKEN? (that is sarcasm, because I KNOW they aren't broken, I KNOW someone screwed with them... they are likely diebold machines...)

[Phil Fiord]

This year was different. We still have touchscreens that are dark blue in color and appear to compact down. A visible paper roll is there to record the data and two poll workers staffed this carefully.

Ok. Gone was the A to M and N to Z. It was a general line. Upon entry to the building hallway, one walks in and it looks empty based on past votes, but what they have done is move the line inside due to the 44 degree temperature. So walking to the open air room a teen helper asks if I am sure I am in the correct location because there are now two in the complex of buildings. I tell him yes and he directs me to the end of a line on the far left side. When I arrive to the line a woman in front of me comments the election is tight. I am loathe to discuss anything inside a poll location so I just uh huh and look away.

As the line moved we came abreast of a folding table that had two discarded Republican ballots sample sheets from outside. I was not happy to see this but figured it was not a mural or other major offensive contaminant and was far from the actual vote area, though still inside and not in any hands. Moving more and wrapped around a alcove seating area, a man in line with three boys about 10 years in age came into earshot. He was telling the boys how the vote works. Hmm. I like this until one of the boys barks loudly he hates Romney because he is evil. I showed a look of disapproval to the man with them and it got hushed. We were IN a voting place after all.

Eventually I was at the front of the line and directed to a table with three workers. They each had laptops. The worker who assisted me asked me to state my name. I observed he misspelled it while typing and corrected him when his face went blank with no result. He did that and my file was there. He asked my address and for my ID. I used my drivers license. He ticked some setting and handed me a Yellow quarter sheet on card paper that showed I was eligible to vote.

I was then directed to a second table where two workers sat. They took my yellow card and handed me a plastic card with a chip in it. It is used in the machine. They pointed to short line to get into for the vote machines. While in that line I saw a man, wife and small child allowed to take an end machine of the five there to do their votes one after another as the poll worker said to the other, to keep it moving.

I am pointed to machine in short order and got to my spot. Insert card and the ballot appeared. First page, President and Senate. 1/2 in square boxed by each candidate with plenty of big finger buffer space. I selected those offices and hit next. Two state matters. Same setup, select and next. One school board ballot and next. A review showed my selections. They showed correctly and I had to confirm with a selection this was correct. Another screen showed with a large CAST BALLOT button. I select this and it pauses and confirms its recorded.

I walk away from the machine and the worker takes my card I removed and hands me an "I voted" sticker I slap on my jacket.

That is how it worked this year. More cumbersome but overall ok.

[American Patriot]

Ok... Spoke to the wife this morning when she voted, and when it was all done again.

Her: She spent almost a full hour in line outside the poll. When she got inside it took them 5-8 minutes to check her ID and "log her in" - they were using computers. Took her less than 10 minutes to vote. She apparently voted straight down the R line.

Me:

I left work, showed up and it was a little crowded. There weren't many people at the little "voting booths" (which are tables)... but there were 8 people in front of me in line to talk to the computer operators.

I had to show my D/L. (I don't get what the big fucking deal is about showing your God Damned state D/L for proof of voting!) They looked my name up in the computer. I had to read a statement that said "I am an eligible voter", click "Yes" then electronically sign the screen in front of me with a pen.

Once finished she asked for "158" (which is my precinct I think, I forget) and they handed me a ballot with a cover and sent me to the table.

I voted Republican on all the people (a couple I don't know for sure, but had heard some anti-them ads on the radio about taking away woman's rights, getting rid of big government, etc, so I guess they are right up my line of thinking hahaha).

I looked at the Judges. I have a rule. If I have to VOTE on a judge, I vote "Do Not Retain" - ever. I don't give a shit who they are or what they believe. Judges shouldn't be in there for life in my opinion. Supremes are a little different, but you don't get to vote on them - But I do on district judges and locals and what I've heard of the locals they are all fuck ups. I vote to get rid of them.

I only got to vote for my Senator, Udall. I don't like him either... as much as I dislike Romney... but he's better than putting a fucking head liberal in an office. Any time.

Took me about 10 minutes to go through all the issues.

I voted NO on Mari-Jane. I voted NO on a new tax and I voted FUCK NO to "retain a tax" on something that is supposed to fix streets but is being abused. Fuck no no no. NO MORE Government. NO MORE ASSHOLES in office. NO MORE TYRANNY.

Fuck them all. If Obama is in office tomorrow... and retains it for four more years, I am going to make a fucking stink that will be heard across the country about Socialism. I will FIGHT it. I will help stop it.

I'm done with this shit. I'm done with cocksuckers who want to rip the military to shreds. I'm sick of cutting our Defense Budget and giving money to these motherfuckers who want "Obama fones" - I'm SICK of these assholes giving money to tree hugging lame brained sissy cocksucking crossdressing whores.

[American Patriot]

Oh, I forgot. There were PAPER ballots and black markers to mark the dots.

No computers for us.

Oh, and I am tired of these statist motherfuckers that want MORE of my money in taxes... fuck them all

[Phil Fiord]

Rick, please don't be so coy with your reply. With a more verbose one we could gauge your actual thoughts which would be better. LMAO!

[American Patriot]

So... you think I ought to elaborate a bit?

/grin