I tried to vote on the first day of early voting in Illinois, on October 14th. I was turned away, along with many of my friends, which you can read about here. I went back last Friday around 10:30am to give it another shot.
The election judge was friendly enough, and tried to have me start filling out the yellow voter application form. Having moved from the dorms to an apartment this semester, I insisted that he call the county clerk to make sure my change of address form had been processed (which was the problem on the 14th). He called, and they told him I was still registered in the dorms. I insisted I had submitted my change of address form almost seven weeks earlier, and he got put on hold for ten minutes while someone at the Clerk's office searched through a stack of STILL-untouched voter reg forms. Ten minutes later I was informed that my form was nowhere to be found.
They offered me F-11 voting, meaning I would be able to vote in federal elections but not on local elections. I have been volunteering on behalf of local candidates all semester - county board, circuit clerk - and I'm not going to just walk away and not vote for the people I've given so much time to.
There is no doubt in my mind that my voter reg form made it to the clerk's office. I filled it out on August 28th, as did several of my friends, meaning they were all turned in on the same day. My friends' forms have been found (although they still don't have their voter reg cards), but mine magically disappeared. Furthermore, I personally checked and audited every single form we turned in - practically doing their work for them. And they STILL can't get it done.
I wish you could hear the disgust, the impatience, the condescension in their voices when I tell them I registered using a motor voter form. "You don't get a receipt using that like you do with the deputy registrar form." No shit. They treat me like a child, as if they're trying to convince me that if I don't vote it's not the end of the world. Try again next time! We're just not finding your form - why don't you try grace period voting, or an F-11 ballot, or a provisional ballot? They do not understand that they're dealing with an educated, passionate voter.
The McLean County Clerk's office disenfranchised me, intentionally or unintentionally. I suppose I'll use the F-11 form, or else try to vote at my old address in the dorms and hope they don't ask for proof of address. Effectively, I will not legally be able to vote at my current address in this 2008 election, barring some miraculous reappearance of my voter reg form. County Clerk Peggy Ann Milton and her minions have, through their own incompetence, taken away my ability to vote in the most important election in my lifetime.