Well, I just got back from early voting in Summit County, Ohio (where Akron is located), and I'm proud to say that I just cast my ballot for change!
I got there an hour before the doors closed, and walked out 2 and 1/2 hours later. Details after the jump...
When my wife and I got there, a packed parking lot told us that this wouldn't be quick. On our way into the buiilding, we were greeted by a Democratic worker handing out sample ballots (which were great for down-ticket Judicial races...in Ohio, a Judge's party affiliation isn't listed on the actual ballot). There were no Republican activists in sight.
Inside, it was easy to see why the waits were so long. A county ill-prepared for a historic turnout had cordoned off half of a warehouse-sized building for numbers that would have justified using the whole space, if not more. First stop was a long row of tables where we filled out paperwork for in-office "absentee" balloting, which took only a couple of minutes. Then wer were told our names would be called when our ballots were ready.
This is where the wait happened. A random poll of those finishing up the process told those of us who were waiting that we were in for a 2 to 2 1/2 hour wait, and they wern't wrong. Spirits were high, however, and nobody I saw gave up and left early.
My biggest complaints were that:
A.) There wern't enough workers to do the job quickly. The bloke calling out names never stopped once...call a name, 2 second pause, call another name, etc...and the other workers were working as quickly as they could. Two lines, with two sets of workers in opposite halves of the building, would have been great.
B.) There were not enough chairs. There were a lot of older folks, as well as others with medical problems (like me, under two weeks after heart surgery, with a bad back to boot) for whom a multi-hour wait was not easy.
C.) There were no provisions for drinks. A water fountain would have been a godsend!
D.) Mis-communication on Restrooms. With a long wait, restrooms become important. And yet, there were no clearly defined public restrooms! My wife was told by one poll worker that there were none (!), but she was then told by a security guard that people had been using the "employee" restroom all day, and waved her in. Again, with elderly people, children, and pregnant women in attendence, this could have gotten ugly.
All in all, however, it was worth it...my vote for Obama is cast, and beyond the reach of election-day shenanigans.
Barak the vote, everyone!
- Taliesin Athor Govannon