During these past few months, I voted in the presidential primaries, the county elections,and recently, the presidential election. I've never voted so often in a single year. I also haven't voted at a poll booth since the 1990s (since California has fewer restrictions on absentee ballots than here and no voter ID laws). Back then, it was mainly a bunch of senior citizens who manned the booths.
I see the poll station workers haven't changed.
The first time I voted in this state, I waited very patiently as the woman checking my ID took forever as she constantly mistyped my name. She kept bringing up my husband's name on the computer and asking if that was me. Um, no. As I waited, 4 other people went through the line next to me and finished voting by the time she finally got to the right name. I did find it weird to have people declare their parties out loud when they came in. It was the primaries, after all. I just thought the loud declarations were weird. If this is normal at polling booths, then I have had 20+ years of not having to do that as a cherished memory. I whispered my party affiliation, on the mistaken belief that my vote was anonymous.
I did like the touch screens (paper chads existed the first time I ever voted at a polling station), but some of the choices involved pressing really hard or having to press in just the right place to make sure you're voting for the person you intended to vote for. I especially liked being able to type my write-ins. Let's just say that 3 of the votes this past year going to Taylor Swift came from me.
While I wish absentee voting were open to everyone, I guess having early voting is better than nothing.
I recently moved, and I dutifully updated my address with the Commission.
Or so I thought.
They have a place online where you can verify what address they have on file. I'm sure my update was lost in the mail. Before I went to vote, I checked and noticed that I'm still listed at my old address. I will update this review if my address is never updated, despite repeated attempts. read more