<p>Early voting started here (TX) on Monday. I took advantage of it yesterday. I went at 2:00 in the afternoon and waited about 30 minutes. The line got longer shortly after I got there: people waited outside, let in the building in groups of 20-25 in order to stand in line inside rather than out. I talked with the worker manning the door and he said that the longest wait occurred that morning around 10 a.m. with cars lined up down the street, not able to park in the lot. I started to wonder if voting on election day might be faster. The number of people on a Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 surprised me. Still, all went smoothly and moved quickly considering.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m done. Anyone else early vote?</p>
<p>*Moderator, feel free to remove this thread if you think it is political or turns that way.</p>
<p>Early voting isn’t an option here, as far as I know, unless you file a request stating that you’ll be out of town or otherwise unable to attend (hospitalized, housebound without transportation, etc.) on election day and you must use a vote-by-mail ballot. </p>
<p>Our polling places are staffed mostly by elderly volunteers, who unfortunately often have trouble reading the computer print-outs of registered voters’ names and addresses which can slow things down. Fortunately, I can scan the page upside down and spot my name pretty quickly since my middle (maiden) name is unusual for these parts. </p>
<p>There’s generally a bit of chit-chat (Oh, you live on _____, do you know the Jacksons? Betty Jackson is the best baker in the county, and Bob loves to bar-b-que. They have such a pretty view from their place. Betty and Bob had a pig pickin’ last fall and we had the best time. Of course, we just had sweet cider and lemonade since the Jacksons don’t…) Eventually, the woman’s husband reminds her that other voters are waiting and I escape with my ballot. </p>
<p>Over the years, I’ve learned to go between 9 & 11 a.m. to miss the before work and lunch time rush, or between 2 & 3 p.m. For some reason, a lot of moms wait until after their afternoon carpool and come between 3 & 4 with their kids, then the after work rush begins. </p>
<p>If I can interrupt the chit-chat with a quick, “No, Ma’am…thank you” and take off before the volunteer launches into her story, the process moves quickly. If there are too few voters, then it can be tough to break away.</p>
<p>I voted last week, because if you go in person to the local board of elections to request an absentee ballot, they will hand you the right one immediately, and you can fill in the ballot there if you don’t feel like dragging it home with you. In and out in about 10 minutes because of the absentee ballot request paperwork, not because of any lines.</p>
<p>We don’t have early voting in PA but I think it’s a great idea. The more people who are encouraged to vote, the better. Perhaps it was just busy because it was the first day of voting? Maybe next week would be better. </p>
<p>I’ve voted in every Presidential election since 1980. Some have huge lines. Other times I walk right in. Funnily, 2008 had very high voter participation, but I had a very normal line at my polling station. Guess I just picked a good time to go.</p>
<p>Lots of chitchat in line yesterday while people waited … none of it political: cold front coming in, etc.</p>
<p>Despite the fact I early voted, I do like the idea of voting on election day. I think it makes it more of an experience to remember. Still, one year I stood in line over two hours and unfortunately that’s not the part of the experience I care to repeat.</p>
<p>Last presidential election my daughter had just turned 18. The poll workers made a big deal of her first time to cast a ballot … really nice.</p>
<p>Early voting in Virginia started about a month ago.
But one cannot just decide to vote early because it is more convenient for them.
Laws vary by state.
In Virginia, one can only vote early (or absentee vote) * if they are not going to be present during Election Day:</p>
<p>In the past week, both local newspapers and our state delegate have encouraged voting absentee…there needs to be a reason, but apparently not much of one.</p>
<p>H and I will be voting today or tomorrow.</p>
<p>D, in grad school in a state where the election results aren’t too much in doubt, will vote absentee in Va since we’re a swing state.</p>
<p>I will be traveling on election day so I voted my absentee ballot in person early last week. I was surprised to find a line at the Board of Elections (NJ) and the whole process took about 30 minutes. There were about 10 people ahead of me and more kept coming while I was there.</p>
<p>Oregon is all mail ballots. Quick, easy and cheaper for the state. I miss the thrill of the booth, but not enough not to appreciate the ease of the mail-in ballot!</p>
<p>I remember when Detroit couldn’t count the ballots for mayor for about a week and we had no idea who won. That was in the early 60’s.</p>
<p>Do people live where there are few voting places? We live in Precinct 7, which is a neighborhood in my town. Walk into the ground floor of the old folks home, tell them your address and vote in one of about 20 stations. Never have to wait more than 5 or 10 minutes so I’ve never understood the appeal of early voting.</p>
<p>All our voting is mail in. So I not only have to find a black pen, I have to find a stamp!
I used to volunteer at the polls, & I enjoyed that. I worked with the problem cases, the people who didnt have ID, those who had made a mistake or needed assistance for disabilities.
I saw how especially seniors enjoyed coming together with their neighborhood in a show of citizenship, and I loved hearing stories from people i only saw at the polls.
I remember how when we first moved to our neighborhood they had ballots for children to vote & stickers for everyone. I miss that.
The Facebook badge isn’t the same.
;)</p>
<p>No early voting here. I have to vote in person (or so I was told- which I found out now was a lie but it’s too late to get an absentee ballot IIRC). So I have to leave class, race to my home district, and vote. Yay :rolleyes:</p>
<p>We don’t have early voting, just vote by mail. Personally, I like going to vote on Election Day. I can walk to the church where my precinct is, which is very nice.</p>
<p>I’m in Colorado, and we have several options: early voting, voting by mail, or voting on election day. Although I love the experience of going on election day, I’ll be traveling this year. I received my ballot in the mail, and I hand delivered it on Monday to the county clerk’s office. As a voter in a swing state, I know my vote will count–and I don’t want it to get lost in the mail!</p>
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