VOTE!!!

I just got back from voting. The merger of technology and paper cracks me up. I check in with my barcoded registration card. A little old lady looks for my name on a shett, she then hand writes my name and registration number on a piece of paper and says go see the lady in the blue apron. I meet the blue apron lady and she walks me over to a touchscreen, puts a plastic box the size of a deck of cards over some sort of reader for about 10 seconds and tells me I can vote. The actual touchscreen interface was very intuitive and easy to use.

I bet I could walk back in there in a couple of hours - go directly to the blue apron lady, tell her I'm ready and vote again (bypassing the check-in procedure where my name is already checked off). It would have made a lot more sense for the touchscreen to scan my registration card barcode to prevent me from voting multiple times. The blue apron lady has no idea who has and has not checked in.

I'm only voting once however :(

Now, I'm sure some older folks felt just the opposite - they probably liked the manual checkin procedure and were intimidated by the touchscreen interface.
 
The process I went through:

1) Arrive 5 minutes after polling place opens (turns out I was #37 to vote)
2) Get to table at head of line
3) Tell guy at table my name
4) He looks up name in book and I sign next to my name
5) He reads name and address to woman at table
6) That woman and another check for name in additional list (on green-bar paper) and then record name, address, and number 37 in written logs
7) Next woman in line hands me two-page ballot in plastic sleeve
8) I don't wait for a voting "booth" - there are only four - and I walk over to counter
9) I fill in little circles with a pencil (optical ballot)
10) Return ballot sheets in sleeve to woman who handed them to me

Total time: about 40 minutes (maybe 3 minutes spent voting)

At least it wasn't a punch-card ballot. Apparently 75% of Ohio (where I am) is still using punch-cards.
 
I arrived at polls at 9:45. Sign the Application for a ballot. Next lady finds my name in printout register. Next lady give me my optical scan ballot. Mark the circles, feed the ballot in the scanner, and I'm out of there in less then 5 min.
 
Mine was a bit more hi-tech:

1. Arrive in line at 8:35.
2. Arrive at check-in table at 9:10.
3. Wake up when nudged by person behind me.
4. Hand registration card to Lady 1.
5. Lady 1 yells my name to Lady 2 as I sign.

(Hi-tech part coming soon. Patience...)

6. Get handed a slip of paper with "READY TO VOTE" printed on it.
7. Let into booth by Lady3 who takes "READY" card.
8. Press cool LED indicated buttons to cast votes.
9. Press "CAST VOTE" button and open curtain.
10. Leave, wondering if it was worth the wait

In case you missed it, #8 was the hi-tech part.
 
My experience:

1. Arrive in line at 6:45
2. Stand in line for 2:20 minutes
3. No where near getting in.
4. Leave


My boss, who was in line ahead of me, arrived at work at noon.
Hopefully tonight will be better. The area I live in is experiencing a population explosion and the little church can't handle the volume.
 
Rauco, the process I went through would have been better if they had handed me some sort of "ready to vote" item. The way mine went, any shmo could've went up to the "blue apron" lady and told them they were ready to vote.
 
Just got back. Still punch cards here. I asked my version of the blue apron lady if she had any latex gloves. While she looks at me in confusion, I explain that there must me at least 45 years of bacteria on my levers! Still confusion on her face. I say screw it......LOCK ME IN.

The only fun part is that I drove my Harley to VOTE. I know the damn last minute pushers would be there. When I get to the little school I decided to go all out. Rode the Harley right up the sidewalk and stopped just short of the doors. While the "pushers" were selling their candinates I expended a few extra ounces of gas and drowned them out. Actually got a few claps from others, except that one lady with the little kids. P.S. I felt bad when leaving and let her kids sit on my bike ( without the revving)
 
My process only took less than half an hour and we had cool touchscreens!

Oh well, Nevada only has a lousy five electoral votes anyway!
 
My voting experience:

1. Arrived at the school at about 7:30 am
2. Notice an unbelievably gorgeous blonde woman in line about 6 people in front of me.
3. Keep moving up in line. Trying not to stare at gorgeous woman.
4. Do the name check-in thing, while eyeing legs of the gorgeous woman sticking out from under the voting booth curtain.
5. Voted quickly.
6. Hurried out into parking lot to get one more glimpse of the gorgeous woman.
7. Gone. Fantasy crushed.

Not really sure who I voted for.

Mark
 
Wow All these people from Ohio. I had no idea. And I thought I was on my own little island out here.
 
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