General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsObservations from a NJ Poll Worker (Primary Election)
Yesterday I worked at the polls in my small town. Generally all registered voters were provided with mail-in ballots and a majority of those voting utilized this option. The voters who didn't mail in their vote showed up at the polls. They were offered provisional ballots which both the ballot and its envelope.
We had less than 125 voters all day (6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.). We had a "back up" of 3-4 voters maybe twice as we only had four voting "tables" for the entire town.
Our community is very diverse: whites, African-American, Latino, Arab and the ballots and instructions are in English and Spanish.
That being said, I watched about half the voters spend 15 minutes on completing the envelope. Not the ballot. Basic stuff like name, residential address, choice of drivers license or last 4 digits of Social Security #, gender, choice of party. They were generally confused. It wasn't small printing or something exculpatory. The ballot -- many voters had to be instructed on filling in the circle next to their choice of candidate, like SATs. I get it; a lot of people don't have much experience with forms due to their (lack of) education.
Some encouraging observations: All but 3 voters were aligned with the Democratic Party; most of them had not declared party affiliation prior to voting and chose accordingly.
As for Trump's assertion that the vote would be "rigged" in November, our team was scrupulous in record-keeping. We counted all the provisional ballots AND the envelopes before the polls opened and periodically counted during the voting hours and took a final count and RECORDED how many ballots/envelopes were left over when we closed the polls.
Every voter who showed up was allowed to vote provisionally.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)Come November 3, theyll know what they are doing, and it wont take as long. Voting doesnt come naturally. We all had to learn how to do it.
Thanks for the report.
-Laelth
mountain grammy
(26,794 posts)3Hotdogs
(12,702 posts)The regular ballot I received in the mail is also complex, but not as much as the one described by the o.p.
That is why I did not bother to fill it out. I shit-canned it since it didn't matter anyway.
I voted by mail once before when I was going to be in U.K. during an election. I am not sure I correctly filled it out. It involves filling out three forms, one of which is the ballot.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)That's not good.
3Hotdogs
(12,702 posts)lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)3Hotdogs
(12,702 posts)lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)It is to me.
3Hotdogs
(12,702 posts)I will vote for Joe. We are an Dem. state. It doesn't matter who I vote for, Joe will win N.J.
That is why I don't even bother to argue with my maggat friends. Regardless of how they vote, Joe will win N.J.
SharonClark
(10,014 posts)My experience is that people who vote by absentee ballot are initially concerned they may screw it up. I suspect casting a provisional ballot may generate the same concern.
hkp11
(275 posts)1st time mail-in ballots instead of waiting in line to vote.
Joinfortmill
(14,842 posts)lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)In most areas, "provisional" is a euphemism for "pretend."
NJ is so all-in on mail-in ballots that in-person voting is deprecated?
no_hypocrisy
(46,747 posts)Instead of completing the ballot and mailing it, you come to the polls, do the same thing but hand over the sealed envelope to the poll workers. No "pretending". The main reason why some voters came was they lost their mail-in voting package.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Haven't those been banned yet? I thought NJ had a Democratic governor and legislature.
no_hypocrisy
(46,747 posts)was due to the fear of spreading the virus via touch-screen voting.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Here, the law still says you have to have a damned good excuse for an absentee ballot, but the Governor has issued guidance that you can use the medical excuse if you are worried about COVID. Hopefully we and NJ can clean that up into a clearer system, going forward.
randr
(12,421 posts)The fact that we can't, or don't, is proof to me of manipulation.
LiberalFighter
(52,178 posts)I deal with the assigning of election workers for the Democratic Party in our county. Then we have to deal with vacancies on Election Day an hour before the polls open when some of the workers don't show up or get sick. Our state the polls open at 6 AM.
FakeNoose
(33,552 posts)People don't vote that often. Some only vote once every four years, some hardly ever. Some people are there for the very first time. We all hear a lot of yammering about this candidate or that one, a lot of anger over how voting should be done etc. Those of us who vote all the time - well we aren't nervous or confused, it all just rolls off our backs.
But people who don't pay much attention - probably don't read many newspapers either - those are the Americans who need to be schooled on how easy it is once you get used to doing it. When they realize that some people are trying to confuse them on purpose so they'll give up and not vote - that should make voters even more determined.
I'm glad the poll workers are diligent in helping these voters understand how the process works. Once people understand it, they won't be confused or afraid of it.