and other "lessons learned today" in the Elections Office.
Yes...it's true. Some folks think it's funny to send in a slightly "roasted" ballot. Some go even further with thier hijinks by using a cigarette to burn holes instead of "filling in the bubbles"
No...ballots don't drink coffee. They don't drink juices, either. Ballots that want to be read actually try to stay away from liquids.
Don't let your kid sign your ballot unless you want to teach them how to get your vote thrown out. Besides, it's really not that cute seeing signatures in crayon covering everything on the envelope...and sometimes even the ballot.
Don't have your mommy call up the Elections office and try to beg ignorance on your part for not registering to vote.
Don't have your mommy call up the Elections office and try to defend your thinking that because you are out of state going to school automatically entitles you to vote.
Don't send money along with your ballot. It won't get it counted any faster nor go to any of the candidates you are endorsing.
Don't send letters complaining about the robo-calls inundating your answering machine. Not the Elections Office's fault.
Filling in all the bubbles except for one is not the proper way to vote for a candidate.
Don't have hubby sign the entire family's ballots.
Know who you are going to vote for before you fill out your ballot. Is the filled in bubble with the X the one you want to vote for or is it just the plain filled in bubble.
Colored ink is great for letters where you put a "heart" over the i's...it's not that great for voting. Computers tend to spit the things out.
Don't call the Elections Office 5 days before the Election and ask "When's the Election? Where can I register to vote? Who's running?"
Teeth marks on ballots are not pretty. One can expect to see an occassional kitty or puppy knawing (as one commentor told me on another posting), but come on...human teeth marks are just pretty gross.
If you have investments in 3M/Scotch...using three levels of tape to entomb your ballot is not going to drive up your stock prices, and, quite frankly, makes it almost impossible to pry the ballot out without ripping it.
Don't pile in the whole family's ballots into one envelope. Doesn't work that way.
DON'T FORGET TO SIGN YOUR OWN ABSENTEE BALLOT ENVELOPE BEFORE MAILING IT IN.
And, if you do, when someone (i.e., an elections worker such as myself) takes the time to hunt down your number to let you know you forgot to sign it and give the the location and the days and hours you can stop by same to sign your envelope to have your vote counted, DON'T TELL THE WORKER IT'S JUST TOO INCONVENIENT...AND YOU JUST DON'T FEEL LIKE TAKING ANY ADDITIONAL TIME OUT OF YOUR DAY TO COME IN AND SIGN THE STUPID THING.
Try telling that to the widows and widowers, mothers, fathers and families of those that have given their own lives for that privilege to cast your vote. I dare you.
That was my 10 hour day. How was yours?