Why I Vote In Person
It was the early 1990s, and I was serving as an election judge for the first (and only) time. I was not cut out for a day that went from 5am to 9pm, of counting write-ins by hand, for being constantly "on" serving people — those judges are heroes. At the same time, it was an incredibly rewarding experience to see people come out to vote, to register at the polls (MN has same day registration), and to feel great pride in my country.
It was at the training when I asked "What about the absentee ballots?"
The answer - "We count those, of course. If we have to." But I could not suss how they knew if they had to.
That same question came to my mind when I voted for Wellstone in 2002. I was going on tour with my theater company and had cast my ballot, and then the plane crash. I went down to the election office to retrieve my ballot and write in Mondale, and was told I could not because Mondale had not been confirmed as the candidate yet. It took several minutes of arguing, and then, only when a news crew with a camera happened to walk in, that they figured out how to give me the ballot back and let me vote.
Since then, I've always made sure to vote in person, every election (I even vote uncontested primaries. I know. I'm a geek.). I keep in mind my friend Judy's comments — "We take voting very seriously in this household. We send someone down to vote every hour or so so they can keep an eye on the polls." (Judy had a lot of kids/stepkids).
Which is to say that I know that voting by mail is tempting. It's fast and convenient. You candidate knows how votes are coming in. You can GOTV, or serve as a poll watcher or election judge. My current Secretary of State, Steve Simon (who I've known since college, which is a long time) assures me they track and count everything, not just "if they have to."
But the constant push toward immediate results and also being able to count every ballot are at odds with each other. Way back in time when I counted votes as an election judge, I realized that as I tracked every single write-in vote.
Honestly, if there was every an election to go and stand in line, even with covid and such, this is the one. I don't trust the manufactured issues with the Post Office, and I think this year, they're really going to need to count every one. In Minnesota, you are required to get paid time off work to vote. The most important thing, of course, is voting, but I think "in person" will be an important tag line this year, even if it should not have to be.
(Nostalgic picture because that makes Blogger work better.)
It was at the training when I asked "What about the absentee ballots?"
The answer - "We count those, of course. If we have to." But I could not suss how they knew if they had to.
That same question came to my mind when I voted for Wellstone in 2002. I was going on tour with my theater company and had cast my ballot, and then the plane crash. I went down to the election office to retrieve my ballot and write in Mondale, and was told I could not because Mondale had not been confirmed as the candidate yet. It took several minutes of arguing, and then, only when a news crew with a camera happened to walk in, that they figured out how to give me the ballot back and let me vote.
Since then, I've always made sure to vote in person, every election (I even vote uncontested primaries. I know. I'm a geek.). I keep in mind my friend Judy's comments — "We take voting very seriously in this household. We send someone down to vote every hour or so so they can keep an eye on the polls." (Judy had a lot of kids/stepkids).
Which is to say that I know that voting by mail is tempting. It's fast and convenient. You candidate knows how votes are coming in. You can GOTV, or serve as a poll watcher or election judge. My current Secretary of State, Steve Simon (who I've known since college, which is a long time) assures me they track and count everything, not just "if they have to."
But the constant push toward immediate results and also being able to count every ballot are at odds with each other. Way back in time when I counted votes as an election judge, I realized that as I tracked every single write-in vote.
Honestly, if there was every an election to go and stand in line, even with covid and such, this is the one. I don't trust the manufactured issues with the Post Office, and I think this year, they're really going to need to count every one. In Minnesota, you are required to get paid time off work to vote. The most important thing, of course, is voting, but I think "in person" will be an important tag line this year, even if it should not have to be.
(Nostalgic picture because that makes Blogger work better.)
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