can someone explain why voting is limited to 5 minutes?

[greenbriar]

not that it is an issue, just something I wondered about

[plaintiff]

1. It isn't. Most places.

:shrug:

[Reform]

2. because

that's all the time it takes for a programmer to hack the voting machine

[amdezurik]

3. look behind you, lots more want to vote :)

after all a polling place is there to cast your vote, and that is it. Even the longest balot we have had has not taken me that long to fill out. Of course there will be exceptions, but in general it is just to keep the lines moving.

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

4. That's the first time I've heard of that.

Where are you from?

[greenbriar]

7. Kansas

there was a huge sign that said Law limits voting time to 5 minutes

[JJ]

5. Is that legal?

[eyesroll]

6. It isn't, here, to my knowledge.

That said, absent a disability, there's really no reason to spend more than 5 minutes marking a ballot here. They're never that long. (We use pen and paper here.) I hope nobody's actually sitting there in the voting booth debating which way to vote.

[JJ]

9. took me more than 5 minutes

I actually read the text of the ballot issues before voting yes or no.

(and I forgot my recently acquired old-fart glasses)

[Codeine]

14. You should read those before you arrive.

Makes it easier on those behind you.

[cobalt1999]

18. I have the entire ballot printed out ahead of time.

Reading it for the first time while trying to vote doesn't give you any chance to research the items, plus it's rude to the folks waiting.

[eyesroll]

19. We in Wisconsin never have enough for it to take more than a minute or two.

We had two ballot initiatives here, both very short.

I can understand wanting to read what you're voting for, even if you made up your mind, just to be sure (as the wording of a ballot initiative can be different from what the press or the ads say). I can also understand in states with lots of races or ballot initiatives, it'll take more than 5 minutes, but here it won't. Or, at least, it hasn't. It probably took me about 60 seconds to fill everything out this year.

[Ms. Toad]

8. It is rarely enforced,

but most states have limits. Check your state law.

[JVS]

10. To keep the line moving and to keep perverts from doing terrible things in there.

[R. P. McMurphy]

17. What a clever pubbie slam!!! n/t

[kestrel91316]

11. If there were no time limit, a bunch of RWers could park themselves in the

booths ALL DAY LONG and keep anybody else from voting. Don't try to tell me they haven't at least considered it.

[Codeine]

15. Holy crap.

I never even thought about that!

[kestrel91316]

16. Makes me wonder about some of these really really long lines in

early voting. I think some people try to take as long as possible, just to make it harder for others to vote.

One more reason to go with permanent absentee, or vote-by-mail only like OR.

[gollygee]

12. So you don't have one Republican in a mainly Democratic district tying up a maching for 2 to 3 hours

to keep everyone from having an opportunity to vote.

Or vice versa for that matter.

[juno jones]

13. That's why I'm enjoying my state

The family sat around in their pajamas a couple of nights ago, with some local newspapers for endorsements and info and the computer to fact check and took something like twenty minutes to fill things out. The luxury of being able to keep all the referendum numbers and minor candidates straight was wonderful. I feel like I have cast the most informed ballot of my adult life.

We drove the next day to the BOE and dropped everything by. It feels good.

PS: my 18 yo voted for the first time! WOOT!:woohoo: