I've lived in Virginia for a year and half now, but as a DC transplant living in Arlington, I'm not a "real Virginian" according to the McCain spokeswoman on TV this morning. But whether I live in "real Virginia" or not, I got to cast a real vote for Obama yesterday at the Arlington County Courthouse, and it felt good.
I arrived at the Courthouse around 12:15 and was surprised to encounter a long line. Virginia does not have "no excuse" absentee voting, so I did not expect to see that many people voting early. When I went to canvass later, someone from the campaign told me that the Arlington election commissioner had taken a fairly liberal view of eligibility for early voting, interpretting it to mean anyone who would be outside the county at all on Election Day, so that anyone who lives in Arlington and works in DC is eligible. I read a report the other day that Virginia elections officials are worried that they do not have enough capacity to handle all the voters they expect to come out on Election Day, so if you live in Arlington County and work outside the county or have to be outside the county for any reason on November 4, I recommend using in-person absentee voting.
I waited in line for over 1/2 hour, which I guess is a good sign, since Arlington is one of the most Democratic areas in Virginia. I wore my Obama shirt because I wanted to see what would happen...I figured since I was voting early, I would use it as a test run to report any problems for other voters. Sure enough, when I was about halfway through the line, one of the poll workers asked if I was wearing an Obama shirt (she was kind of far away, so she couldn't tell). I said yes, and said I would put on my coat, which I had to remove 2 buttons from. When I got into the voting area, I asked her what would have happened if I hadn't had my coat, if I would have been turned away. She said no, they would have given me something to put on.
When I got to the front of the line, I had to fill out an absentee voting application and give a reason for using absentee voting, including putting the name of my employer. I was then asked for ID, which surprised me a little, because it was not my first time voting in Arlington. I had brought my passport and my voter card, so I was fine, but I asked one of the workers about the confusing posters on the wall, one of which outlining the requirements for first time voters and the other with the requirements for all voters, which actually seemed more restrictive than the one for first time voters. I was concerned about the poll worker's response, which I will explain below, but the bottom line is, if you are voting in Arlington, even if you are not a first time voter, bring your voter card or a photo ID (both if you have both) to be on the safe side.
I think the first-time voters poster was based on the federal HAVA act, while the all voters poster was Virginia law. Virginia does not require a photo ID, but there were fewer options for what was acceptable ID. You can use your Virginia drivers' license, passport, social security card, voter card that they send in the mail when you register, or an employer-issued ID under certain circumstances. The poster also said that you had to either have one of these forms of ID or sign a statement. I asked one of the poll workers about the seemingly conflicting signs, and whether I would have been turned away if I did not have my passport. The guy said "probably", did not seem to know what the "sign a statement" option was. Someone else in line corrected the guy and said I would have been able to vote provisionally, but it disturbs me that the poll worker did not seem to know that.
Once I got in the voting room, I was given a choice of paper or machine. I chose paper because you Kossacks have made me paranoid, even though I have used the machines twice and never had a problem. The ballot was a little strange...you fill it in with a pencil and select your options by connecting two brackets with a line. I made my lines extra dark, but the pencil still makes me a little nervous. When I was done, I was told to put it through a scanner, and I saw from the line that something that looks like a receipt comes out the back when you scan a ballot, but when I asked for a confirmation the guy said that it doesn't work that way, so I had no way to confirm for sure that my vote was counted properly. I did not push the issue, because I had already asked a lot of questions and did not want to seem like a paranoid freak, but it made me a little nervous. When I told the Obama campaign about my experience, they said not to worry about it, that in-person absentee voting with a paper ballot was the way to go. I have to admit I kind of like the machines better...voting with a machine in February was more satisfying somehow. But I was glad to hear that the Obama campaign recommended paper. When I left the voting place, the line was just as long, which was encouraging.
I went canvassing in the Clarendon area of Arlington later in the day. A couple encounters were a bit discouraging...2 girls my age (24) said they were undecided and seemed like they might be for McCain, which was surprising. Sure, there are always people who defy stereotypes, but finding two 24-year-old Republicans in Clarendon is pretty rare. Maybe they work for a Republican member of Congress or something like that. Or maybe I misread them and they are for Obama. One woman had an interesting response: she said she was voting for Joe Biden, and Obama gets a free ride as a result. I told her we'll take it and thanked her for her support. The good news is that they seemed to have too many volunteers...when I first got there, they did not have any walk packets left to do. The ones that were delivered a little while later were 2nd pass, meaning they had already been canvassed in the morning and we were going back and knocking on doors where nobody was home this morning.
Despite a few discouraging encounters, I ID'd a good number of supporters, several of whom had already voted for Obama. Most of the ID's that had already been recorded on my sheet from the morning shift were also supporters, and I did not encounter a single person who came out and said they were for McCain. Arlington is definitely Obama Country, and come November 4, we'll show McCain and his spokeswoman just how real we are when we deliver the state for Obama!