I voted today in Trumbull County Ohio, and my vote will be counted

[JohnnyRingo]

Good news as I saw it. I didn't expect it, but the line went around the building. There must have been 250 there, mostly people who appeared to me as Obama voters (I look for men with the same haircut they had in the 7th grade). Anyway, Trumbull Co is about 66%/34% democrat.

I was told the paper ballots we filled out would be counted the first thing Monday morning. I was actually thrilled to see so many entries under president. Among them was Libertarian Gary Johnson, and I wondered how many local 'baggers will take him over Romney.


I went because I got this in the mai today:

[jenw2]

1. And how do you know it will be counted?

In the county where I live, there's a nice web-based system that shows if your vote was either counted or thrown away:

http://info.kingcounty.gov/elections/ballottracker.aspx

The last election was Aug 8th, and when I checked for myself and my four friends I was with, all five of us had our votes thrown away.

[JohnnyRingo]

2. Trumbull County has a hard time finding Republicans...

...to work at the elections board. I'm a poll judge, and we have to heve an equal number of Dems and Repubs at each precinct. Trumbull County always has a hard time finding enough republicans willing to work the polls. That's how scarce and self centered they are here.

I'm confident my paper ballot will be counted and properly sequestered in case of a dispute.

Not many from outside the state know that since 2004 the Diebold machines have been equipped with a paper print-out. The vote is tabbed on a roll as one votes, and can be reviewed before leaving the station. That roll is signed by all four precinct workers (2 Dems & 2 Repubs) and locked in a box for the trip to the Elections Board by one Dem and a Repub. There it is locked up in case of a recount for several years.

Ohio can still be stolen, but it's much easier to get caught than it was in 2004.