@abasket - my D filled out her absentee request form in August. Her absentee ballot came…to our home in Ohio, not her college in Mass. I watched her fill out the form and I know she did it correctly. That’s not the post office’s fault, that’s our board of elections. I took it to her in person when I went for family weekend.
I had my training last night for being an official observer for the party I belong to. Very interesting. Some people were saying the problem they had last election was people showing up with guns displayed with lots of campaign insignia. I have to admit I’m not thrilled about the idea of facing an angry voter with a gun.
The head of the county party said that in all previous elections the head of the Rs and Ds both got together to split the cost of coffee and donuts for all the poll observers (not the poll workers! We were cautioned that could be viewed as collision). But this year our party head said the head of the other party won’t return his callls. That was disappointing.
@hayden the moderator in your polling place is there to keep things safe, civil and moving along. If someone is disruptive to the election process for any reason, the moderator will deal with it. If open carry is permitted in your state, then so be it as long as it doesn’t disturb the election process.
Campaign insignia…nothing with names or references to parties allowed within 75 feet of the polling place. Again…your moderator will deal with this if necessary.
I don’t care whose fault it is - she requested it weeks ahead (well ahead of any deadline) - I’ve watched at home, she’s watched for it at school. Plain and simple, it hasn’t come. She tried to be proactive but to no avail. But to hear from the state "hotline’ that “oh yeah, that’s one of the counties that has had lots of trouble with the delivery of absentee ballots” - is disturbing!
@abasket That’s particularly concerning since Ohio is so key to this and all recent elections. My D’s absentee ballot in Maryland showed up within a week I think.
The campaign I’m working for is sending a lot of lawyers to Ohio precisely to deal with voting irregularities. Our side, and probably the other side, has a voting hotline that voters can call if they have voting troubles. It might be worth it for your daughter to call a major party’s hotline.
Every state also has an elections control state number that can be called to report irregularities. The Secretary of State also deals with these complaints.
My niece was at Kenyon during the 2004 election. She was in line well after midnight (along with everyone else.)
@abasket I posted earlier about having to follow up on my college kids’ absentee ballots that weren’t being delivered in a timely fashion. When I called, the women claimed one wasn’t registered despite the fact that said child has voted multiple times before. I had to keep repeating myself a few times and finally got the woman to check who then proceeded to put me on hold and then come back to say “sorry! They were in the wrong pile”. Maybe she was having a bad day but we live in a town where our political leanings are in a minority and it is a swing state and a tight race. I can’t help but feel a little paranoid about the whole process.
I agree with others that your daughter should report it up the food chain and call people both handling the election process as well as party officials in the state.
Is she too far to drive home to vote in person even if it is a big inconvenience?
Not sure what state you are in thumper, but around here the rules are different - people passing out election crap have to be 10 feet away from the entrance to the polling place, and voters are allowed to wear Tshirts, buttons, etc, announcing their choice, as long as they vote and immediately leave the room (no hanging around to chat). And hayden the observers should not be interacting with the voters at all.
News tonight was talking about a lot of NC folks who were wrongly purged off the lists of registered voters (even someone who had just voted in the primary). I’m hoping the margin of victory is enough that it doesn’t drag on for months.
http://www.nass.org/component/docman/?task=doc_download&gid=1347
Wow lots of variation from state to state regarding hose distances.
@hayden where I am, the unofficial checkers or observers are not permitted to interact with anyone in the polling place. They are supposed to silently sit there and observe or check.
“the unofficial checkers or observers are not permitted to interact with anyone in the polling place. They are supposed to silently sit there and observe or check.”
In IA and WI (and I believe many other states), VOTERS may choose to initiate an interaction with the observers, and a big part of why we are there is to support them in any way they request.
In New Hampshire it’s only 10 feet. Wow! That’s basiclaly right outside the door.
^^^ To follow up on my earlier post, over the years, a number of voters who were strangers to me asked me for assistance, which I was happy to provide. I don’t know why they chose to ask me rather than the election judges, but that’s what they did, and it’s their right. They were mainly elderly/disabled voters, some with shaky English. They may have made the (prejudiced) assumption that a younger person would be more help with the technology than the judges, who were older folks. We’ll see if I stop getting so many requests as I approach the election judges in age.
This image shows the gauntlet NH voters face: http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/GTY_nh_primary_15_jrl_160209_3x2_1600.jpg
That is insane (the NH picture). It’s 600 feet here. The only thing near the entrance is the big sign reminding people of the 600 foot rule.
I received my ballot in the mail on 10/25, filled it out alongside my H last night, and dropped it at the ballot box at my local library this morning. In WA, there are no polls, it’s all by mail. This year, my county expanded the number of drop off spots. Last year, I either paid for postage or drove 10 miles RT to drop it at the closet box.
" I don’t know why they chose to ask me rather than the election judges"
Because you look like a nice and helpful person, @Hanna . 
In PA the watchers are mainly there to take notes on who votes, so they can go off and call people who haven’t come in. I know in college areas they challenge students to slow down the voting, and Philadelphia may be interesting, but that has never happened in my area. If a voter knows a watcher and talks to them, fine, but there is NO WAY in my district they would be giving voting advice! It is not allowed.
Several primaries ago, I called people on a list I was given urging them to vote for a candidate. Several people said they were so annoyed at being called that my call made them less likely to vote for that person!