Voters wish that going into the polling place was less of a pamphlet-strewn minefield, and one person found the new machines tough to use.
Joann Leszczynsky, of Fairmount, writes:
When I went to vote [at the Bache-Martin Elementary School], I was surprised to see an orange traffic cone apparently blocking the entrance to the polling place. Not very welcoming, from a distance. On closer inspection, it was being used to prop open the door so voters could enter.
I actually had to request assistance from an election judge this morning – when I voted on the ballot questions, in each case, the little red light appeared centered in between “yes” and “no” for all three questions, so I couldn’t tell if my vote was being registered correctly. The judge quickly over-rode one of my votes (so quickly I couldn’t see what she had done), leaving a wrong vote that I couldn’t get rid of. So I had to call her back. To me, it is counter-intuitive that if I accidentally push “no” the way to get rid of the vote is to push “no” again, and there don’t seem to be instructions in the booth that explain this. I wonder how accurate any of the ballot question votes will be – but I guess we’ll never know, since there’s no way to check. Bring back mechanical levers!
I had expected to find the usual deluge of “Get out and vote” messages on my home voicemail last night, but all I had was two personal calls and a lonely message from Ed Rendell. Could this be due to “micro-targeting”? Had someone decided that I was already a lock to vote for their candidate – or a lost cause – based on my credit report or what books I purchase on Amazon.com? And I had really been looking forward to hearing Bill Clinton’s soothing voice at the end of a tough workday…
Sandy H., of Pottstown writes:
I just have to vent about those over-friendly idiots with the piles of literature they try to press on you as you go in the door. Do they really think I'm going to read anything between the door and the voting machine that will change my mind? And if I didn't already know who I was going to vote for, why the f--- would I be there??? Also, it would be interesting to know how many donuts the average poll worker consumes on Election Day.
A voter at the polling place located at Fleischer Art Memorial in BellaVista reports:
My only concern was that the polling place, at 11:30 am, didn't seem crowded and excited enough. I sort of expected not only a line, but to overhear people in the booth yelling "Die, Santorum, die!" when they cast their ballots. I just hope people don't think that the stake has already been put into this guy's heart by the polls--you have to line up and give the stake a whack yourself to make sure it stays in. Not only weren't there crowds inside the voting area, but there was only one politico standing outside the area. What are people doing with their Walking Around Money this year, just walking around?
I also was a little stunned by the civil service related question. why the hell would losing a parent in the line of duty qualify someone for a job--rather than, say, a family pension? or, maybe give them the walking around money. but not jobs for which they aren't qualified. don't we have enough incompetent civil servants already?
But, at least the weather is nice.