Ah, redistributing the wealth to make voting sane! Who will vote for that?

Not having early voting in Missouri, I didn't understand until recently that only a small number of polling places are available for early voting. I assume this is due to cost? Amazing that we will have a third of votes cast by the end of today with such a limited number of polling places.

Steve,

I think that calling it a poll tax is a bit too strong. People are standing in line to vote before Election Day. (I personally stood in line for 2 1/2 hours on Saturday.) But tomorrow there will be vastly more polls open. In Palm Beach County, there were 11 early voting polls, tomorrow there will be about 400.

I certainly do wish there were more open early polling places, but likening waiting in line (or on line for you New Yorkers) for the ability to vote early to a poll tax is a bit strong.

(Plus here in Florida, the Gov even extended the voting hours, much to the GOP's chagrin.)

Now, if you have to wait 2 hours tomorrow, there is something wrong . . .

There's an easy solution to this. It's called paper and pencil.

Then you can set up as many folding tables as needed, topped with even cardboard dividers to enforce ballot privacy, and voila.

Best of all, it's really cheap and has a paper trail. Which is why we don't do it that way - because one of our parties doesn't want people to vote, or a paper trail.

My Republican Secretary of State (Georgia), Karen Handel, doesn't consider long lines (up to 10 hours in Atlanta) to be a problem, says everything is going smoothly, and that if people didn't want to wait in line for ten hours...then they could have voted even earlier (in other words, it's their own fault).

Why we continue to elect such cruel and deliberately dense people to represent us here in Georgia is beyond me.

One way to circumvent having to lose 8 hours worth of wages (if you haven't already voted) is to get in line immediately after your work is done. Once you are in line before the polls close, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE - even if that means the polls actually have to stay open until the wee hours of November 5th!

ANYONE IN LINE BEFORE THE POLLS OFFICIALLY CLOSE ON THE EVENING OF NOVEMBER 4TH IS ENTITLED TO CAST THEIR VOTE!!!

I've voted in 8 Canadian elections and never had to wait at all and our voter turnout rates are just a little higher than yours.

I'm glad I live in Oregon, where I can complete my ballot in the comfort of my own home, and mail it in or conveniently drop it off rather than waiting in line all day. The only bit I miss is the little "I voted" sticker I used to get when I lived and voted in Washington state.

To some extent I agree with you, but let's also not forget that there isn't a jurisdiction in the country that does not offer people the option of voting by mail using an absentee ballot.

Anybody who knew in adavance that standing in line for a while was going to cause themself difficulties should simply have requested an absentee ballot. Both my wife and I did this simply because we were not sure we'd be able to get away from work on Election Day.

Move elections to the weekend and promote voting-by-mail, and the problem of waiting in line will disappear.

@Jennifer

That is the way it is done with Canadian Elections. I've never had to wait in line at all in the 8 or so I've participated in.

Easy to count. Our recounts only take about 2 weeks.

I had absolutely no wait at all when I early-voted in mid-afternoon last week. But of course, that's probably because I live in one of the most liberal areas of liberal Austin Texas, and the evil-doers at ACORN wanted to make sure we could vote as many times as was necessary.

I voted six times as Vladmir Lenin and seven times as Karl Marx. I think Texas is going blue this year.

Why doesn't every state just do what California does - anyone can request an absentee ballot to be sent to your home. You fill it out and mail it in. What a concept!

While they're fixing the whole "waiting in line forever" thing, maybe they should take a look at fixing the whole "lots of votes being counted in secret by Republicans" thing.

Just sayin'

What I don't understand is why folks didn't request absentee ballots? When one requests an absentee in FL the request is good through the next two general election cycles and the request may be made by phone and in many counties through email. I'm relatively certain it's the same in most other states.

I arranged through email from my home in Mexico for an email ballot from the county of my former residence in WA state.

So I guess I just can't work up my indignity over these reports.

Now, if you have to wait 2 hours tomorrow, there is something wrong . . . -JWebber

Did you sleep through 2004?

If you're black and you happen to live in a city and your Sec. of State is a Republican, be prepared to wait.

2 hours? Ha, try 6, 8, or more.

I 'predict' some precincts will find themselves with just one or two working machines.

You are acting as if there is a difference in early voting and voting on Tuesday. There's not. A multi-hour wait to vote on any legal voting day is not acceptable. This is fucking America, for crying out loud.

Learn a lesson from retail. When there are people in line, open another damned register.

But just like in 2004, these elected 'professionals' will stand there shrugging, saying, 'Who would have guessed turnout would be so high?'

Whatever. Stop making excuses for our broken system.

Easiest way I can think of to confirm whether it's really a poll tax -

Is it happening everywhere, or just counties where poll taxes existed (i.e. the South, or in battleground states)?

Frankly either way, it's unacceptable. People need to be vigilant, as this is the easiest was for the American Right-Wing to steal the election - by preventing people from executing their constitutional right to vote.

Just curious, in which states are the longest lines being reported? We have Florida and Georgia...where else is it happening? Urban areas? Poor areas? Poor, urban areas controlled by Republican governors and secretaries of state?

First of all, they need to make Election Day a national holiday -- people still have to work on weekends, so that won't entirely work.

That and a FEDERAL voter registration system/voting procedure would solve most of these issues.

***

I'm actually worried about tomorrow -- you see, I've had a pair of back surgeries, and need a third, and there's no way in holy hell I can stand for more than 30 minutes. I just can't without suffering soul-crushing pain.

So I'm bringing a lawn chair and a laptop so I can do some work. Not sure how, exactly, it's going to work out for me, because I can't sit in a crappy chair for that long either. But it's all I've got.

But what if I can't do that? What if it takes several hours? Do I muscle through the pain, knowing it'll be days before I can walk again? DO I beg someone to move up in line? Do I just not vote?

These are concerns I should not have in a functioning democracy.

For all that it gets maligned, the city government of DC actually does voting right. Two examples that other places can adopt:

(1) We have 143 precincts. I'm in Precinct 143, which was created because -- get this -- the old precinct was getting too "big" at about 4,500 registered voters!

(2) Officially, there's no early voting in DC -- just "in-person absentee", with only one location, the Board of Elections office. But when people starting flooding the office, the officials did what all good bureaucrats do -- they reacted to their constituents. They now have a special security line, back-of-the-line screening, and lots and lots of poll workers and voting booths. The first week of voting, my wife tried to vote and the line was 3 hours. The second week, she went after work and it only took half an hour.

Of course, there's a common thread behind those two visible features -- a public policy that is pro-enfranchisement. That's really all you need, is a government that cares more about upholding the Constitution than about spending a few extra dollars, or scaring off certain demographics.

JWebber is right - at least in Florida. I live in Pinellas County, Florida, and in 2004 I'd drive by an early polling place every day. And every day there were long lines. Willing to take my chances, I voted on Election Day in exactly 5 minutes. This election cycle they reduced the early polling places to THREE from about seven. Longer lines, longer waits.

Our supervisor of elections rationale? Let's get people who want to vote early to rely more on absentee ballots. The St.PeteTimes editorial board slammed her for this and I'm hoping those people waiting on line vote her out of office.

As someone who waited for 1.5 hours in a substantial line in Miami last weekend, I would offer the following observations, which I feel all contributed to the long wait times.

-Obviously, lots of people there to vote.

-The ballot itself was a 2-page, double-sided, scan-tron ballot, which included the national races, local races, and state and county-wide ballot initiatives. I realize that there are problems with electronic voting, but filling in bubbles with a black pen? It's 2008, right? Related to this is that voting is actually a 3-step process: checking in at one table, voting at a separate booth, then feeding the ballots into the reader at a third station.

-The proliferation of ballot initiatives makes voting incredibly time-consuming and confusing. The wording is incredibly difficult to parse (I'm a lawyer, and there were a couple where I eventually just threw up my hands), and for those voters that actually want to spend time to understand what they're voting for, the entire process can take at least 15 minutes. Per voter, that adds up pretty quick.

What I don't understand is why folks didn't request absentee ballots? -Chris Brown

Several reasons. Some people like the the polling place experience. It's empowering.

It's also hard to get some people who are skeptical of the government to vote to begin with. They already think their vote isn't counted. Mailing it in would just reinforce that paranoia. There are a lot of elderly minorities in this country who feel that way.

Also, we have greater expectations that our government won't run elections that require 10 hour waits to vote. That's an unreasonable circumstance.

If Wal-Mart can open a new checkout when there are three people in line, then it's only reasonable to assume that people expect more machines to be added to busy polling places.

I arranged through email from my home in Mexico for an email ballot from the county of my former residence in WA state. -Chris Brown

So you committed vote fraud? Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but if your former residence was in WA, how do you still have the right to vote there?

Barack's Grandma has passed. :(

My mother voted in Wisconsin by absentee ballot and I voted by mail in Oregon. This is not too hard to get right.

I think this is disgraceful. While I am a strong supporter of states rights, there needs to be a federal standard on the hours, number of polling places and voting machines per # of registered voters. The fact that we make voting difficult then complain about voter turnout is bullshit

Barack's Grandma has passed. :( -MissMudd

Oh no. That's just awful. Every ounce of me wanted her to make it through tomorrow just to see him win this thing.

She raised a helluva person who is going to be a helluva President.

Voting problems in this country have reached the point at which they cannot be ignored. Voter-suppression tactics, electronic voting machines, and disjointed paper ballots are already areas of serious concern, but these ridiculously long lines should embarrass officials into action. It's simply untenable that our democracy tries to function this way. —Steve Benen

Gee, where I have I read this before on this blog? We must end 50 states and 50 versions (many more actually) of voting for president and Congress.

Doesn't Florida have absentee balloting? In Washington State, until most counties went to mail voting, one could use absentee ballots if he was too infirm to vote in person.

Hours waiting in line to vote. Why?

My friends, this is voter suppression you can believe in.

"...and not participate in the most important election in generations."

I think the most important election in recent times was that of 2000. It led directly to the worst presidency in American history, that of George W. Bush. The irony, of course, is that there's a good chance Bush didn't really win that election at all.

Is the waiting in line equally distributed? Or do Democratic precincts have longer waits?

If the state and county officials are manipulating the availability of voting machines to bias the election results they should be prosecuted.

And the law should be changed so that this kind of election manipulation can't happen in the future.

The Democrats don't need to keep segregationists in the coalition any more. It's time to do the right thing.

O/T: WHAT IS GOING ON HERE???

Voter docs found on Tampa highway :

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7779138&version=7&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

doubtful,

Yes, you do misunderstand. What would lead you to even consider the possibility that citizens of the USA residing in foreign countries wouldn't have a right to vote? Other than no thinking the question through.

There is a worldwide Democrats Abroad organization, and I suppose likewise for the republicans.

I emailed the election officials of the county of my former residence where I was registered, because as an USA citizen I have a right to vote for president.

The person with whom I communicated checked with the state Secretary of State office and determined that I, in fact, have a right to vote.

I folks don't want to vote absentee because "Some people like the the polling place experience. It's empowering." then they shouldn't bitch about the lines.

I am personally in favor the Nevada system of putting voting devices in grocery stores and such; but voting by absentee is the most convenient means. I voted by mail in my WA precinct for twenty years before I left as my precinct has so few voters that the county auditor chose to save taxpayer money.

You are overreacting to this. In Florida, each county can only afford to open a limited number of early voting locations. It is very difficult to predict traffic at these locations based on only one prior presidential election when this method was available. Due to the overwhelming number of early voters, it is probable that lines at regular voting precincts in Florida tomorrow will be minimal. I stopped by to vote early last week and the line was too long so I walked out. I stopped by a few days later and there was no line and I voted. Worse case scenario was that I would have had to wait until tomorrow to vote at my local precinct, which almost assuredly will have short lines.

The long lines for early voting are a sign of health of our democracy. Stop complaining already!

I arranged through email from my home in Mexico for an email ballot from the county of my former residence in WA state. -Chris Brown

So you committed vote fraud? Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but if your former residence was in WA, how do you still have the right to vote there? Posted by: doubtful

What, you think you go overseas to work or live and you lose the right to vote? What are you, a Republican?

All U.S. citizens anywhere in the world are entitled to vote in presidential elections as long as they would be permitted to vote back in 'merka. Mr. Brown didn't say anything about renouncing citizenship.

The problem with vote by mail is it is very easy to pervert an election.

You can tell people that if they will bring their ballots to you, so you can see them before they send them, you will give them $5 for voting for McCain, or who ever you favor.

The point of secret balloting at a poling station is to prevent the selling of ones ballot choice.

Maybe you think people would not try, but I think that Churches and others can, and do, try to get there parishioners to vote by mail so they can be involved in their ballot choices. There are churches that have volunteered to 'Help' the old and confused members of the congregation get the mail in ballot filled out 'right'.

A better system is not to have early voting, but to have three days set aside for voting. It could be Friday through Sunday. Have all the polling places open for at least two, preferably three days. That way every business could continue to function and every body could get to vote. You could even make the Friday a national day off.

@Rian - Hear, hear.

Dropped my ballot of yesterday at a conveniently located box in an A-Boy Hardware parking lot. No wait, drove up and was done in moments.

there isn't a jurisdiction in the country that does not offer people the option of voting by mail using an absentee ballot.

That's just not true. In New York State, you can't absentee vote just because you want the option. You need a reason you can't physically make it to the polls--like you're sick, or you're caring for someone, or you're traveling for business or away at school. And New York isn't the only state with those rules.

If we're going to have places where people cast their ballots, they should not have to stand in line for longer than 15 minutes. If it happens in one election, then it should be fixed by the next one. Voting isn't a privilege. It's a right.

Polling sites should come under the ADA rules - rather than require our at-risk seniors to be in these long lines, the polling places should have even one or two booths at nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and/or retirement homes. That we do not accommodate our seniors is merely another indication of this nation's lack of respect for our senior citizens.

Why every four years do we run around like our hairs on fire yelling "If only we could figure out how to make voting easy!"? There's a perfect solution we've been using here in Oregon for years now. VOTE BY MAIL! No absentee BS, no touch screen, no "early voting", no lines, just fill out your ballot at home and drop it in the mail box. This needs to be mandated on a national level and ALL of these problems will go away. Not that the GOP wants things to be easy mind you.

What I don't understand is why folks didn't request absentee ballots? When one requests an absentee in FL the request is good through the next two general election cycles and the request may be made by phone and in many counties through email. I'm relatively certain it's the same in most other states.

Except some people in Florida are complaining that they did not receive their absentee ballots in the mail.

" ... there isn't a jurisdiction in the country that does not offer people the option of voting by mail using an absentee ballot."

But some states actually require you to attest that you can't come to the polls on Election Day in order to get an "absentee" ballot. (That's why they're called "absentee" -- because you are going to be absent.)

Are you suggesting people in those states commit perjury in order to avoid lines at the polls?

Aside from the ReThuglican desire to hold down voting in poor and minority areas, the ONE reason for too few voting machines is that Americans won't tax themselves to pay for them. Or for much of anything else, either.

Average American: "Yeah, I want a fire department and police department. I even want clean air and water. And of course we need to support our troops. I just don't want to pay for any of that stuff."

Anybody who knew in adavance that standing in line for a while was going to cause themself difficulties should simply have requested an absentee ballot. -- mfw13, @16:21

Some states -- Virginia among them -- require a *reason* for voting absentee. The best one is, of course, "I'll be out of town on Election Day" (and then you fill out why -- business, personal, other -- what?). Really ill health is another. But you have to claim one or the other. So, my husband who's too proud to claim ill health or lie about being out of town, returned home without having voted last week (he's 84, has had a hip replacement, finds long lines painful).

We do have something called "curbside voting". You come with someone else who goes inside and asks for assistance, filling out a form (again, giving reasons). Two people (one from each party) will then take a machine out to your car, so you can vote. But that option is not well advertised; many people do not know about it and we've had barely ambulatory people tottering in, supported by two helpers (one each side)...

We'll see what tomorrow brings... We've had about 11% registered voters vote absentee (the Registrar's office, normally working Mon-Fri, was opened on Saturday, just this once). And we'll have more than twice as many machines (5 stationary and 2 just for curbside, as opposed to the regular 2 stationary + one curbside/indoors). We're hoping for the best.

PS One of the bottlenecks in the past was the dearth of poll workers. Not just "well trained" ones, but any. So that not only the precinct "captains" had to work 5AM to closing (ca 9PM), but others as well (normally, the rest of us work shifts: 5AM to 1:30PM and 1PM to closing, allowing for a half-hour transition). This year, we've had an awful lot of new people sign up, so we won't have shortages. OTOH, this will be the first time working the polls for them and it's anyone's guess how well they'll be able to perform. It's 4th time for me and I still have doubts about how well *I* will perform, because we will work -- for the first time -- with New! Improved! Electronic! poll books...

Can we wait until the election day to see what actually transpires ? Sorry, but who in hell is waiting 10 hour to early vote, WTF ?

They have been all over the TV here in Houston telling people to early vote if they can because they are expecting insanity tomorrow. Early voting here had a couple hiccups, but nothing over the top, no 10 hour lines, no intimidation, nothing. You can early vote anywhere in the county here. So even though my work is 190 miles from where I live, when I went to vote, my district choices came up. One huge plus with computers.

I am really curious to see how we do. The past two elections had no real reason to keep minorities away because GWB held such commanding leads that minority voting wouldn't have has any serious impact. This year is different. McCain is up, but last week only by about 10%, this week he is at 16%, but minority, namely Latinos, could have a real effect.

They have been all over the TV here in Houston telling people to early vote if they can because they are expecting insanity tomorrow. Early voting here had a couple hiccups, but nothing over the top, no 10 hour lines, no intimidation, nothing.Posted by: ScottW

No need for "irregularities" in the Lone Star state with McCain so far ahead. The problems will occur, most likely, only in the proverbial battleground states, and they will succeed in stealing at least one of them.

I folks don't want to vote absentee because "Some people like the the polling place experience. It's empowering." then they shouldn't bitch about the lines. -Chris Brown

Bullshit.

There's a lot of 'blame the victim' going on.

Flat out, it is unacceptable in America to wait half of more of a normal work day to vote. Anyone saying otherwise, needs to rethink before pressing submit, because there is no valid excuse for that absurdity.

It is not the voters fault for not voting absentee. What a pathetic, weak arguement.

It is the state's responsibility to ensure fair and well run elections. Period.

So stop blaming the voter. Or in this case, the nonvoter who can't vote because they don't have 8 hours to spare.

I am personally in favor the Nevada system... -Chris Brown

Oregon has it right, but that's not the system we all have.

Yes, you do misunderstand. -Chris Brown

Chris Brown, Jeff II,

Actually, it's shared misunderstanding. When you said the ballot came from the county of your former residence, I though you implied you voted in WA local elections, which can't be done unless you're maintaining a residency there. You said it was a former residency. As a citizen are allowed to vote in national elections, of course, as you mentioned, but it appears we were talking about two different animals.

As others have correctly pointed out, absentee ballots are not a solution in every state; some states don't allow you to use them unless you attest that you cannot be at the polls on election day.

And as doubtful correctly pointed out, at many polling places used by predominantly poor, minority voters, especially in states with Republican secretaries of state, a dearth of working machines/stations means voters wait for hours on election day.

Be careful about extrapolating your own voting experience to include everyone in the nation. We have a serious problem with voting access and it has to be addressed.

Disturbing and un-American!! You can bet that Buffy and Chad, the trust-fund babies, won't be waiting 10 hours to vote in the affluent suburbs that trend heavily Republican...

I think this is another factor that will make this election closer than we would like; particularly in the electoral college. Most all the states that have traditionally been Red that have exhibited a decent Obama lead over the last couple weeks are trending back to McCain/Palin; e.g. CO, NC, IN, OH, MO.

The key will be Obama's ability to GOTV in these and other states and hold onto a couple of them to ensure victory; otherwise it will be closer than we all want and subject to more success for the right via voter surpression as well as hanky-panky on the part of the right wing courts.

GOTV for Obama/Biden!!!

I have heard very positive reviews of Oregon's voting process....completely via mail. Why isn't this done nationwide? Not only would this solve the broken machinery, the long lines, and so many of the other voter suppression tactics, but it would be far less expensive for every state!

BrianInMKE,

Also, between the two candidates, one of them has supporters that are willing to wait in line. Enthusiasm will win the day tomorrow.

Early voting.
Vote by mail.
National holiday for election day (but not a Monday or Friday).
Weekend election day(s).
Home visits for disabled voters.
More polls and poll workers.

It isn't rocket science.

I feel very spoiled to live in Oregon right now. All out voting is vote by mail. You get your ballot about 3 weeks before election day and can turn it in at any designated drop off point, the public library, or put a stamp on it and put it in the mail. On election night there are lines for people turning in their ballot at the last minute. Overall though, there is no need to miss work, and if you dont wait until 7PM on election night to turn in your ballot, there are no several hour long lines. It is very convenient and you have time to review the measures on the ballot. I wish everyone had this.

Why every four years do we run around like our hairs on fire yelling "If only we could figure out how to make voting easy!"? There's a perfect solution we've been using here in Oregon for years now. VOTE BY MAIL! No absentee BS, no touch screen, no "early voting", no lines, just fill out your ballot at home and drop it in the mail box.

The security and supervision that exists for ballot boxes does not exist for most of the chain from your mailbox through the mails to the election office. While we may not yet have seen massive, organized manipulation of all-mail elections exploiting this weakness, its certainly an attack vector to be concerned about.

And, of course, not every jurisdiction that has mail-in ballots (whether universal or just for selected "absentees") does a good job of distributing them.

Why isn't this done nationwide? -impeachcheneythenbush

Reforming a broken voting system is not a priority of those put into power by said system.

Okay, so the process is flawed.

Folks camp out 2 days before buying tickets to
sports events or rock concerts.

The weather will be quite good in much of the country tomorrow.

This is an historic vote. Be a part of that history and treat others with respect, not disdain.

Early voting.
Vote by mail.
More polls and poll workers.
Home visits for disabled voters.
National holiday (not Monday or Friday).
Weekend election day(s).

This isn't rocket science. It's a throughput matter, just don't ask TSA to design it.

Actually, it's shared misunderstanding. When you said the ballot came from the county of your former residence, I though you implied you voted in WA local elections, which can't be done unless you're maintaining a residency there. You said it was a former residency. As a citizen are allowed to vote in national elections, of course, as you mentioned, but it appears we were talking about two different animals.

All I can tell you is that the elections officials in the Washington State Secretary of State office disagree with you.

It is you who are talking about something different than that which I posted and chose to argue the point.

Others have mentioned Oregon's vote-by-mail but it needs to be mentioned again. It is a great system. Convenient, simple and after nearly decade in wide-spread use there have been no reports of fraud or tamperring with with the system.

It should be a model for the rest of the nation.

It is you who are talking about something different than that which I posted and chose to argue the point. -Chris Brown

Not sure why you have to be an ass about it, but my understanding per the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot is that citizens abroad who do not maintain a US residency cannot vote in local elections.

If I'm mistaken, by all means, let me know, but you can drop the holier-than-thou act.

All I can tell you is that the elections officials in the Washington State Secretary of State office disagree with you. -Chris Brown

Hence my curiosity. Per everything I can find, you have to maintain a residency to qualify for local elections, which is why I though we were talking about two different things, federal and local elections.

Although many states allow absentee voting only if you'll be traveling or otherwise away from your precinct on election day, many others allow absentee balloting for any reason. If your state allows it, sign up for permanent absentee voting. You can mail your ballot to the registrar of voters or hand carry it. But you vote at your own convenience. No lines, no waiting; you can vote even if you're ill or handicapped. It works!

Not sure why you have to be an ass about it

I think starting the conversation by accusing the guy or gal of vote fraud is probably claiming the ass title in this case.

did some GOTV phone calls at Obama HQ this morning. I had several elderly people tell me that they were planning to vote but could not possibly stand in those long lines. They physically cannot do it. This voting process makes me really angry. Rachel is right. This is a denial of voting rights to those who simply cannot stand for hours in the sun.

Maybe an Obama Justice Department can get this right.

Rachel is going to shine even brighter on her show after this campaign...I say look out--she's only getting warmed up!

Presidential election day should be a national holiday it always falls on a leap year and workers work an extra day anyway.
We need to adopt national standards for voting, including early voting in all states.
Standing on line for hours in the 21st century, in the most technologically advanced free nation on the planet is a national disgrace and embarassment. We must do better. But fear not. the change we need arrives tomorrow.

Rachel is right. This is a denial of voting rights to those who simply cannot stand for hours in the sun.

This assumes that early voting is the same as election day voting; early voting is new or expanded in many states for this election, and its quite possible that demand for it was underestimated. While election officials should have been prepared for high election-day turnout, in many cases there just wasn't any basis for estimating early-voting turnout, it was a matter of making something available and seeing how many people turned up.

I would prefer to characterize it now—until we see what happens tomorrow—as demonstrating that more resources are needed to reach early voting's potential for making voting more convenient for everyone, and expanding effective access, rather than condemning it as "denying voting rights" or a "poll tax".

Now, if it turns out that the same areas are understaffed on election day and people are really denied an opportunity to vote, and its not just unexpectedly high demand for early voting that produces the huge lines, then I think there is something to complain about.

That being said, even though I think Rachel's characterization is a bit premature, I think its a good thing to draw attention to early, and I am glad she is making noise about it.

I think starting the conversation by accusing the guy or gal of vote fraud is probably claiming the ass title in this case.

Oh deary me, someone hiding in the shroud of anonymity thinks I'm an ass for pointing out what might actually constitute vote fraud committed by someone who thinks people should have just voted absentee instead of waiting in line, even though several commenters have pointed out that this isn't possible in every state.

Actually, the 'ass title' goes to all of the people blaming the voters, of which the particular commenter I was addressing was one, but thanks for you substantive addition to the discussion, nameless wonder.

From what I've seen, vote fraud was committed. Why does pointing that out and questioning it make me an ass? Clearly, the individual I was addressing has some misunderstanding of the process or they would have already known not every state allows absentee voting for any reason. I never accused them of intentially defrauding Washington State, but they could have easily misrepresented their old address as maintained residence.

Frankly, I find it ironic someone would malign people waiting in long lines to vote while admitting to voting in local elections without maintaining a local residence.

Like I said before, if I'm mistaken, please let me know, but from everything I've looked up concerning the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot is that citizens abroad who do not maintain a US residency cannot vote in local elections. Perhaps this is a Washington state specific exception and I can't find any information on it?

I'll await your anonymous and informative response with bated breath, and in the mean time, you can kiss my 'ass title.'

Those of you triumphantly sharing your workarounds with getting absentee ballots through the mail, etc., are totally missing the point. This is America, and this is a general election. No one should have to resort to a workaround. I'd suggest you putzes start thinking about why you find this necessary, rather than ragging on your fellow Americans who may not be quite so clever as you.

I've lived in Europe. They vote on Sunday. You want to increase turnout and make it easier for folks, get off workday voting. Or is Sunday voting something else the Jesus crowd won't like? Where is Jesus in the Constitution?

I don't even get how the lines can be this long if the number of voters is only maybe 20-30% more than it was in years past. And can it really be the fault of people running the polls, if all those people show up at a given time, and pill up outside if the process inside is as fast as usual and the poll workers are doing their best (are they?) I do agree, we need something better. One thing is to get rid of election "day" which is very risky for people who might have an issue on any one day. It should be spread out over a week, and/or with no obstacles for voting early in every state.

First, this is not a new problem in some states. Underfunded election boards, particularly in poor areas has been a problem for a long time and Republicans specifically resist doing anything about it because a) it means spending more money and b) it helps them if people don't vote.

Second, the increased turnout is not evenly distributed. The biggest increases in both real numbers and relative to previous elections has been happening in the areas that had the lowest turnouts previously. And remember, these are the ones that already had inadequate resources for the previous voting levels.

Third, many state or local ballots are longer than usual due to initiatives, large numbers of local races, etc. So each person takes longer to fill out their ballot.

Finally, the HAVA was supposed to provide resources to local election boards to reduce lines as well as improve the tabulation process. However, the money frequently hasn't gotten where it needs to go and a lot of it has gone to purchase expensive, poorly-designed voting machines from Republican-connected companies. Even if you don't believe there is a conspiracy to rig the election, this waste of time and money should be a concern.

[...] my understanding per the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot is that citizens abroad who do not maintain a US residency cannot vote in local elections. -- doubtful, @18:13

In Virginia: American citizens domiciled abroad but registered as voters in their erst-while home towns... get a little tale-tell letter next to their name in the poll book: F. Which means they can vote (absentee, or in person, if they happen to be visiting on Election Day), but *only* in Federal elections -- President, Senator, House of Delegates for the District. *Not* in: local council, sheriff, referenda/propositions, State Senate or House.

If they appear in person, they get a different ballot (federal candidates only) presented to them on the screen. If they had requested an absentee ballot, they get *two* sets of letters next to their names: AB (absentee) *and* F (federal). There are all sorts of different notations in the poll book, which tell us how to deal with all kinds of situations...

Ooops... 22:10 was me

Personally I find all the comments about "no big deal, just get an absentee ballot" a tad half-baked. Why should there be any kind of voting besides vote by mail? It removes virtually every impediment to voting and to accurate vote counting that there is, defuses the whole "last week robocalls & slime" thing to a great degree, and despite some arguments seeming to the contrary here, has proven to increase voter participation. And it's CHEAP! You can discuss the issues with family and friends as you vote. Any registration issues are detected weeks in advance, in plenty of time to fix them. I cannot understand why all these benefits-and more-aren't seen as overwhelming arguments in favor of making such a system universal. There is simply no comparison.

It only makes sense to me that their should be seperate lines for elderly and handicapped people.It is unjust to make the elderly stand in lines for 10 hours or more. I voted in Pasco Co, FL on Saturday and they allowed the elderly to move to the front of the line if they had walkers or were otherwise incapable of standing in line. People standing in line should also have the courtesy to allow those elderly to go in front of them. Early voting in FL was 7 days a week for almost 3 weeks this year and 12 hours a day.

Ha -- I missed the sticker and then a friend of mine who is an election official in another state, mailed me some of his stickers. So I'll wear mine tomorrow anyway!
evmaroon.wordpress.com/2008/10/26/i-voted-and-all-i-got-was-this-lousy- sticker/

...You can discuss the issues with family and friends as you vote...

Posted by: President LIndsay on November 4, 2008 at 12:45 AM

In many households this means the dominant spouse can dictate the votes of their spouse and children. While there is no evidence it has happened on a widespread basis so far, it makes it much easier to buy and sell votes or for churches, nursing homes, employers and other authority figures to 'help' people vote correctly.

There are reasons we have a tradition of the private ballot in this country and vote-by-mail throws all of that away. I am not convinced the benefits outweigh the potential risks. I would prefer to be more restrictive about allowing absentee ballots and be much more creative about simplifying in-person voting.

Oregon has vote by mail.
In CA, you can be a permanent absentee voter.

Do some states not allow this? That would seem to be the answer.

Tho I can see making Election Day a holiday (give back Columbus Day or Cesar Chavez day or something), abolishing touchscreen voting, and yeah-- have way more voting booths and voting locations.