obligatory votering update

[keryx]

I got to the polling place (in Manchester/City of Richmond) at 6:45, maybe 7 once I figured out where to park. There were about 50 people ahead of me in line. It took those 50 people nearly 2 hours to vote (on the up side, the prior 150 people got through in an hour or less).

The poll workers were asking anyone whose ID did not perfectly align with their records (including me) to sign an affadavit that they were themselves. This is not required by VA law unless you registered by mail in the past year & don't bring proof of address with you as well as proof of ID; I don't think it's illegal to ask, but I haven't had time to look that up.

They also got stuck on a few people due to what appear to have been last minute errors as people adjusted their voter registration in the last 2 months. SEE?! This is why, when I move in SEPTEMBER, I keep my registration at the old address.

Protect the Vote people were hanging around outside asking questions & had apparently called in a couple of "incidents". Already. At 9am. But no one changed their mind and got out of line. Everyone stuck it out as long as they had to be there. Not even the dude I glared at for joking about the poll staff being "retarded": dude, not acceptable.

Others around the city are reporting long lines and disorganization. Counties, where people tend to lean Republican, seem to be line-free and efficient.

Comments

[tupelo.livejournal.com]

I hear the lines at Maymont Elementary are 5+ hours right now.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

Duuuude. That's a long time to wait to vote.

[mermeydele.livejournal.com]

did you see an older woman with shoulder-length silver/ white hair who was new to poll working as of today? if so, that's my grandma! she lives in richmond and was working at a poll somewhere there today.

[arovd.livejournal.com]

they had me fill out a CHANGE OF ADDRESS form, telling me "it's the only form we have," because my last name was different on my driver's license! (Despite the fact that my old last name is my new middle name and clearly printed on my license, and the address is the same, and I had six other forms of ID with me that showed my old name.) I had to write in 'name change' at the top of the form!