Early/Absentee voting

[chiver78]

does your state offer Early Voting? do you take advantage of it? are you one of the many voters who travel for work and just got in the habit of getting an Absentee ballot "just in case" you weren't going to be available to vote on Election Day?

since I wasn't sure where I would be on Election Day this year, I requested an Absentee ballot. I'm working on it now, and having a hard time bringing myself to fill in the final oval before sealing the envelope and mailing it out. this is one that I'm going to have to hold my nose to complete.

[Tennesseer]

Early voting in Tennessee began last week.  I will vote some time later this week, mid-afternoon.  Usually no waiting line at that time.

[happyhoix]

We have early voting, and I'm going to run by there this evening - with my job things can come up at the end of the day and I don't want to work too late and miss voting.

I hear you about having to hold your nose to vote. There was a segment on Jon Stewart a few weeks back about some New York race where the Republican incumbant had been charged with something like 36 felony counts (charged but not convincted yet) - this was the guy, if you remember, who got national attention for threatening to throw a reporter off a balcony. You would think he would be easily defeated, but the democratic candidate is clearly an idiot. Not only is he ignorant of the issues, he is unable to answer reporter's questions except in rambling, incoherant ways. When asked what his international knowledge was, he said something about knowing an exchange student from Japan.

So at least, whatever you're having to hold your nose to vote for, it hopefully wasn't as bad as that choice!

[Value Buy]

My wife and I voted yesterday in Indiana.

We will be in Kansas City on election day.

Went in at 10am, and 51 people had already voted.

The clerk said they were surprised by this year's early voting turn out since it is an off year election.

I would not normally vote early, as you never know what secrets get revealed in the last week before an election that might change your vote.

And we both voted a splintered ticket.

Splintered was more appropriate than "split" this year.

[billisonboard]

Washington State has only by mail voting. My ballot is sitting around here someplace. Haven't looked at it yet. 

[chiver78]

ditto, dem.   Gov. was the final oval I needed to fill in. one's bad (with some good qualities) but the other just sucks and needs to go crawl under a rock. and the problem is what's bad about the one I ended up voting for is stuff that I ordinarily wouldn't overlook. what sucks is that this election really is the lesser of two evils.

[sesfw]

Our town has mail-in voting only. AZ doesn't have early polling places but mail-in is available to anyone that wants it.

I'll take ours to town hall today and place them in the sealed bin.

With all the nastiness of the campaigns and skeletons in the closets this year everything is the lesser of two evils.

[djAdvocate]

36 states offer early voting. 

[EVT1]

I voted the other day- I voted to avoid the election.     Hope the other people in TN handle the ballot initiatives correctly- if not eff it anyway.  Not going to stay in this state that much longer. 

[Tennesseer]

Oct 21, 2014 11:02:05 GMT -5 EVT1 said:

I voted the other day- I voted to avoid the election.     Hope the other people in TN handle the ballot initiatives correctly- if not eff it anyway.  Not going to stay in this state that much longer. 

NO
YES (reluctantly)
NO
MEH

[lynnerself]

Vote by mail only in this state for many years now.
So I can vote anytime after I receive my ballot.

A huge percent of the people still wait until the last day and drop the ballot off at the elections office.

[b2r]

  The Black Panthers must be working the early voting sites in Chicago at :08 seconds in you can hear "Vote Democrat!"

[djAdvocate]

to which Obama replied "i can't say anything about that". 

[Tennesseer]

Oct 21, 2014 12:30:32 GMT -5 b2r said:

  The Black Panthers must be working the early voting sites in Chicago at :08 seconds in you can hear "Vote Democrat!"

Who knew people you cannot see in a video are Black Panthers let alone black.

[djAdvocate]

Oct 21, 2014 14:27:48 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Oct 21, 2014 12:30:32 GMT -5 b2r said:

  The Black Panthers must be working the early voting sites in Chicago at :08 seconds in you can hear "Vote Democrat!"

Who knew people you cannot see in a video are Black Panthers let alone black.

you can tell by his accent that he is black. 

[Tennesseer]

Oct 21, 2014 15:31:21 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Oct 21, 2014 14:27:48 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Who knew people you cannot see in a video are Black Panthers let alone black.

you can tell by his accent that he is black. 

And a Black Panther to boot.

[djAdvocate]

Oct 21, 2014 16:00:40 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Oct 21, 2014 15:31:21 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

you can tell by his accent that he is black. 

And a Black Panther to boot.

he's a Black Panda.    cuddly little fellow.

[Tennesseer]

Oct 21, 2014 16:04:14 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Oct 21, 2014 16:00:40 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

And a Black Panther to boot.

he's a Black Panda.    cuddly little fellow.

Maybe it was Mike Jones making another funny after he told Obama, "Mr. President, don't touch my girlfriend."

[Value Buy]

Oct 21, 2014 11:54:10 GMT -5 lynnerself said:

Vote by mail only in this state for many years now.
So I can vote anytime after I receive my ballot.

A huge percent of the people still wait until the last day and drop the ballot off at the elections office.

Based on most people's perspective of mail delivery, do you really want to know your vote is depending on the postal service to make sure your vote counted

I might be inclined to personally deliver my vote to the election office too.

[djAdvocate]

Oct 21, 2014 17:50:47 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Oct 21, 2014 11:54:10 GMT -5 lynnerself said:

Vote by mail only in this state for many years now.
So I can vote anytime after I receive my ballot.

A huge percent of the people still wait until the last day and drop the ballot off at the elections office.

Based on most people's perspective of mail delivery, do you really want to know your vote is depending on the postal service to make sure your vote counted

I might be inclined to personally deliver my vote to the election office too.

95% of my revenue comes through the mail.  i have a lot of faith in the postal service.

[EVT1]

Never had a bill fail to show up

[Value Buy]

Oct 21, 2014 20:07:25 GMT -5 EVT1 said:

Never had a bill fail to show up

Really?

I have.

And I have had checks never show up, when I paid a bill, let alone ever endorsed.

[dondub]

My experience with the Post Office over the years has been tremendous. Hundreds of rent checks without a miss. Some mailed after 4pm one day have shown by 11am the next.

On the mortgage verification side many 24-36 hour turnarounds back in the day when we needed to mail. Incredible service.

The US Postal Service rocks!!!

[msventoux]

It's not the post office I'm worried about.  My last absentee ballot was denied with a letter saying it wasn't valid since I hadn't signed it.  I know I signed it since I copied it before I mailed it out.  I went to the election office and brought it to their attention, but I doubt it made any difference. 

[marvholly]

IL has early voting. It started Mon 10/20 and (locally) goes to 10/31. Locally for me the hours except for 1 day are ONLY 9-5 so best for SAHP, part timers, unemployed & retired. Some sites ARE open 11/2 and maybe 11/2.

I, too, am VERY NOT happy w/either of our governor choices. Democratic Incumbent has not accomplished much but raising the income tax. Republican challenger has a BUNCH of lofty ideas that he has NO clue how to fund and as a total outsider NO HOPE of getting past a totally democratic legislature, both houses & unlikely to change

I started doing early when I worked the election(s). Stopped doing that several years ago –puny (below federal minimum wage for actual hours worked) pay. I KNOW one time or another I did do absentee but MANY years ago. I would guess late DH & I were traveling as we often did for our Nov anniversary.

[Abby Normal]

Oregon is all "mail in" as well.  Or you can drop off at the elections office or another drop site (like the library).