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Ballot was mailed to me. I sat on it for a few weeks. I finally decided to vote for Trump and I cursed myself for doing so as I filled it out. I drove to the location to drop it off in the official ballot drop box for my location and I had a blank stare for a minute before I finally decided to drop it in the box.
I would had cursed myself for voting for either Biden or Trump, so will vote for the Libertarian candidate. Since Trump will easily win in my state, my vote won't affect him at all.
Didn't see any sense in voting early and waiting in a long line, due to there only being one voting place for early voting. I don't expect any long line when I vote on Tuesday with the weather expected to be nice and sunny.
But the sense of community is missing, and the direct experience of seeing how everyone - white, black, old, young, well-dressed, slobs, etc., etc. - gets an equal say. You can explain to your children that everyone gets one vote, but you can’t transmit the feeling of experiencing it first-hand.
Also what is also missing is seeing how people wait on line, an hour if needed, two if needed, because that is how strongly they feel about placing their vote. It sends a message.
One issue I see is the lack of exit polling which used to be the gold standard of election night predictions. I think with computerized ballot processing counties are faster and counting the votes. I'm not so sure any in person voting was able to teach children about voting the lack of participation has never been more then about half the population with the exception of this year more have registered to vote.
Perhaps the question could have been asked more succinctly.
Habits and customs change. Adults can teach their children about the importance of voting by filling out a ballot at the kitchen table just as easily as they can by toting them to the physical polling place.
Perhaps. I did give a pretty good example of what I was looking for in my original post.
For example, if I asked you to describe your driving experience followed by a lengthy example of my own over my life time. Would you assume the question was simply for the last week of your driving experience or more?
Habits and customs do change. That is what I am referring to. We are losing our sense of community and wonder why so many don't care about the other guy. I worked in a factory that employed 3200 people. Less than half voted.. Their choice to be sure. The company actually allowed 2 hours vacation time to go vote if you wanted to. I didn't need to, my polling place was only 5 minutes from my house, but I would take the last 2 hours off so I could go get my kids.
Filling out a ballot is fine, but it absolutely denies the feeling of community. I would compare that to watching an old movie on TV v.s going to a drive in. LOL Yes you can be entertained, but it just isn't the same.
But the sense of community is missing, and the direct experience of seeing how everyone - white, black, old, young, well-dressed, slobs, etc., etc. - gets an equal say. You can explain to your children that everyone gets one vote, but you can’t transmit the feeling of experiencing it first-hand.
Also what is also missing is seeing how people wait on line, an hour if needed, two if needed, because that is how strongly they feel about placing their vote. It sends a message.
Exactly right. They get the everyone gets 1 vote in school. What they don't and can't get there, is the coming together of their community. They dont get to see faces, hear stories, catch up on the town doings that don't make the paper. Like watching a circus on TV as opposed to going to one.
All my life, I’ve found it a very positive experience to vote. It’s uplifting knowing that we get to choose who we want for president, each person getting an equal say, and there’s usually a shared pride among the voters. Lots of small talk on line, smiles, even jokes.
Not so this year. I stood in line to early vote (took about an hour), and it was dead silent. Nobody made eye contact. I certainly saw no smiles. The entire experience was....somber. Sad, almost.
It’s the only time I walked out of a polling place feeling disappointed.
We've never been this divided before in my lifetime, in fact, no one alive today has ever experienced a Presidential election like this one, because there hasn't been one like this in the past 100 years. You might have to go back to 1876 when Rutherford B. Hayes won a hotly contested election over Samuel Tilden, an election that was not decided until March of 1877.
Filled out my mail in ballot and instead of mailing it, I dropped it off at election headquarters.
I voted absentee as I usually do. I received the ballot on a Monday, filled it out, took it to the grocery store with me Tuesday morning (signature on envelope needs to be witnessed in SC), had customer service lady witness signature, and dropped it in the outgoing mail at the post office on my way home. Ballot was received by the election office on Wednesday.
The one time I voted in person in NH, by experience was similar to boneyard's was. Walk in to the elementary school (the only voting place in town), no ID required since they know everyone and greet everyone by name, they'd check off your name in the book and hand you a ballot. They also let me know (without my asking) that my parents had both voted first thing in the morning. There's nothing like living in a small town. LOL
I did talk to someone here in SC who voted early in person. He stood in line for 3 hours. Most people I've talked to averaged a little over an hour in line. There are only 3 places to vote early in this county for a few hundred thousand people. They need more.
I started this thread because so many are so negative when it comes to the elections and voting. So much so that I can't help but wonder if I actually came from another country.
I lived in a small town/ township. 1 place to vote. There were no angry protestors or militant pollsters outside. No one was hostile in the least. Neighbors gave their elderly neighbors a ride to the poll so they could vote. It was common for friends to hang out outside and shoot the breeze. Not talk politics, just talk about sports, hunting or fishing.
I took my kids with me to vote. For them it was exciting to see what we did behind the curtain. LOL. The ladies that worked the polls, seemed like permanent fixtures. They each brought a dish of food. My son could not care less about voting. He wanted what was in the slow cooker smelling so good. LOL I did too. I know Mrs. B made the best pulled pork anywhere. She always gave my son a sandwich.
My point is that there was never hostility, or glares or rude behavior. Well none except from the guy we all called Al Weerdo. He was always angry about something. LOL Jersey transplant.
That's where my kids learned about voting. Thats where they learned to be polite at the polls. None of us talked about our vote inside or outside of the polls. We considered it bad form.
This sounds exactly like where I live, and this has largely been my experience in past years. I can't comment on this year because Hubby and I absentee voted for the first time because he had back surgery recently and can't stand in line for long periods of time. I felt that the absentee process was very safe and well monitored with very specific identifying information required, and when we dropped our ballots off at the county clerk's office everyone was very professional and we placed them in a locked metal box. I feel confident that our votes got to where they needed to go and will be counted.
The only thing that would make me feel a little better is if I didn't live in an important swing state with a governor who hates the President and wants him gone at all costs, but I honestly don't feel that she or her minions can get their hands on my ballot, at least not legally so I'm sure it will be fine.
We've never been this divided before in my lifetime, in fact, no one alive today has ever experienced a Presidential election like this one, because there hasn't been one like this in the past 100 years. You might have to go back to 1876 when Rutherford B. Hayes won a hotly contested election over Samuel Tilden, an election that was not decided until March of 1877.
Filled out my mail in ballot and instead of mailing it, I dropped it off at election headquarters.
Or 1860 when the South threatened to secede if Lincoln was elected and then followed through on it, plunging us into Civil War.
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I did give a pretty good example of what I was looking for in my original post.
