Early Vote Citizen Report: Dayton, Ohio

[andyrowe]

I arrived at the Montgomery Co. Administration building (a blue county in the sea of red that is southwest Ohio) Wednesday, October 22nd at about 1pm. There was a single polite Obama supporter standing on the sidewalk with a handy sample dem ballot. As I entered the building I found myself walking several paces behind a college-age African-American male as I followed the signs down the escalators. I've frequented the board of elections office before but was surprised to see that the voting was taking place yet another level below the basement "mezzanine."

I was delighted to find a decent crowd of 40 to 50 waiting to vote and already voting. The room was divided into three sections. I was given a number (47) and directed to fill out a form on a clipboard. As I sat in the waiting area a loud man was calling people who's number was in the low 30's. As I took in the hum of the room I wondered how we used to get it done in one day.

They got to my number in about 6 minutes or so and I was directed to sit across from one of several poll workers. This young man looked to be a father to me. He was the quiet nerdy type I could relate to. He quickly entered the info on my short form into his laptop and then appeared to be content to sort of stare off into space. An elderly poll worker made some quiet complaint to him to which he replied, "It wouldn't be so bad if we could get up once in awhile," awkwardly massaging his calves in his metallic folding chair.

"So, has it been this busy since voting began?" I asked him mostly to take his mind off things.

"October 6th was our busiest day. It got quieter after that, but it's been building back up since then." His laptop gave him the green light to give me a ballot (two long thick folded optical scan sheets) and he directed me to the voting booths. I was instructed to fill out the circles with a provided blue pen (I would have trusted a black pen better and immediately wished I'd brought one) and afterwards to take my ballot to a young lady sitting by the lone flag in the room. His last statement was to inform me that I could seal the two pages in the provided envelope or that I could ask to have the young lady handling the completed ballots do so.

As I walked up to a booth, I noticed a dem sample ballot had been left in one of the other booths. I took my time reading every name and every issue. It was quite a cathartic experience as I filled in each bubble on the unwieldy optical scan sheets. Of the twelve times I've voted, I was most prepared for this one. I went over and over the "absentee" ballot to make sure I hadn't missed anything (particularly something that would have disqualified my vote) and squeezed it into the almost too small envelope. The young lady at the ballot box sealed it in my presence to my satisfaction and stuffed it into the ballot box.

I'm going to miss that ballot.

[andyrowe]

1. can i get a w00t w00t?

:hide:

[grantcart]

2. w00t w00t

[andyrowe]

3. Thanks.

I knew somewhere out there was a w00t w00t for me.

[gmoney]

4. You forgot to mention...

...the whirring sound of a paper shredder once she placed your ballot in the box. ;)

Yeah, sounds pretty much like when I went on the 5th, although it wasn't as busy when I went.

One comment in general to voters... read over the issues and candidates ahead of time so you can vote quickly while in the booth. There are going to be long lines, especially if everyone tries to read the double talk of the issue initiatives ("a motion to repeal the undoing of the passage restricting the revision of the previous amendment...)

Good work!

Woot! Woot!

[andyrowe]

7. I forgot...

...the whirring sound of a paper shredder once she placed your ballot in the box.

o.m.g. hilarious and chilling. :dilemma:

[LiberalAndProud]

5. Do you use optical scanners?

My absentee ballot came with instructions to use either a black pen or a #2 pencil, specifically. We use ES&S scanners to count the vote. They gave you a blue pen?

[andyrowe]

8. I was careful to read all material presented to me.

This included the voter info form before my ballot, the 2 page ballot itself and the envelope provided. I am fairly certain this wasn't instructed written or verbally but I myself know that black pen and #2 pencil returns less errors than blue ink from my experience in the Dayton Public School system. I was given a blue Bic pen (and one was in a convenient holder in the booth).

I was careful to fully fill in each oval (which was instructed verbally and in writing) and feel adequately satisfied my vote will be properly recorded.

[Allyoop]

6. pens

Use the pens that are provided. In our county in NC, gel pen's ink does not register. Don't know about other kinds of ink, but I advise you to use the pens that are provided even if you prefer your own.

[andyrowe]

9. I would have used a black Bic if I'd brought one.

But definitely the blue Bic provided rather than any other black pen. I was content using the pen provided.