Absentee ballot (non-political)

techmom99
Sat, 22 Oct 2016 02:52:31 +0000

In NY, absentee ballots have to be postmarked by election day. They are not counted at the polling places (I work as an election official) but are sent to the centralized board of elections. There is no early voting and no email or online voting.

It is only in the past couple of years that NY has gone from the old fashioned lever machines to high tech electronic voting. I personally hate it because so many elderly people lose their votes because they can’t keep their coloring within the tiny circle. A young man in my community is campaigning for the lever machines to be brought back because they are easier for the elderly and some disabled people; this young man has CP and he can do the lever but his parents have to either mark his electronic ballot for him or he has to use the special machine that marks the ballot for you and which is so difficult to use.

In the local elections that I work at, the absentee ballots are kept in the municipal office and are given to the chair of the election (the past couple of years that has been me). They are only counted if the race is too close without it. One year, the election was so hotly contested that the absentee ballots were taken to court and I had to go and testify about my interpretation of the signatures.

I am always sent an absentee ballot but I never use it. I work at one polling location, often with my D, my H works with one or two of our sons at our assigned location. D and I take our lunch break and go over to where H is, vote and have lunch together.

I anticipate very long lines at our polling place this year.