Will G

Voted early in person last week. I've lived in Hood County TX for 20 years and have early voted every year. Up to this time, it's been walk up with maybe 4 or 5 people in front of me. This time, the line wrapped around 3 sides of the building. The process is hand them your drivers license and your license is scanned by an iPad which pulls up the precinct you live in which determines the items that will be on your ballot and prints your precinct information. They hand you the printout and a sterilized stylus. You hand the printout to the people running the electronic touch voting machines and they set up the machine to pull up info for your precinct. Touch the things you want to vote for, press review, press vote. Drop the stylus into the bag hanging in front of the voting booth. Took about 35-40 minutes.

FBOATSB 

We voted absentee by mail weeks ago. We've been voting this way for probably over 30 years. Simple to do here in IN. Just call the County Clerk, get applications mailed to us, mail them back, get official ballots, mail them. That's four trips through the mail. Call the Clerk to verify they have the ballots in custody. Never had an issue with the USPS.

genec

Interesting, individual precinct printed ballot... do you get any voter information before hand? And is that more general?

We get voter pamphlets here that cover the state and is county specific.

DiabloScott

7 political offices
12 state propositions
2 local tax measures

almost done with the conclusions, should be visiting a drop box this week.

FiftySix

If Hood county is like Harris county (both in Texas), it's up to the voter to find who or what is on the ballot before the election starts.

I've gone into polling places with my homemade "cheat sheets" where I have all my preferences written out so I remember what I decided during my research.

The internet makes that a bit different than long ago when I would find ballot info in the local newspaper.

Will G

The printout is used by the poll worker to pull up the precinct specific ballot on the touch screen voting machine. The local paper runs information regarding all the candidates and propositions both state and local but I can't vote for some of them. For instance, I know I can vote for county commissioners but not in city races since I'm outside city limits so I don't pay too much attention to those and those items do not appear on my ballot.

chewybrian 

I put my ballot I the big mailbox at the post office this morning, signed, with two stamps, in black ink, with no stray marks, no hanging chads that I could see...

chewybrian 

Remember--NO POLITICS!

It looks like either Michigan or Georgia might turn out to be what Florida was in the "hanging chad' election. Trump is saying we should stop counting on election night, though it seems unlikely that he could force that to happen. As the counting goes on, it seems likely that the mail-in votes will end up in favor of Biden, since Trump urged all his supporters to vote in person, and Republicans tend to do that anyway. So, there are likely to be photo finishes in those states, and a long battle through the Supreme Court and the press before things are decided once and for all.

jack pot 

there were very few lines and no delays in SE Tex ... most in ameriKa voted early and non verbally

Hondo Gravel

I voted for myself.

RubeRad

I voted for myself, and three of my closest friends, and 17 dead relatives

JonnyHK 

That's the spirit!

Doing your bit for democracy. Vote early, vote often.

FiftySix

I voted for you in every race that had a spot for a write in candidate. I'm countin' on you to keep all your campaign promises, dammit.

Hondo Gravel

I couldn’t decide between Darth Vader or Darth Sidious then I was thinking Porky Pig or Donald Duck but then there is Bugs Bunny. But I was good and voted for the candidates listed. All Dumb and Dumber. I’m going to smoke some sausage and have a beer. So some Falls City, Texas, Pollocks Polish sausage and some Bush’s Black Beans. Now to the Hemi to go 80 mph to the Beer Cave for some beer and a bag of ice. Can’t smoke sausage and water grass without a beer. I have tried but can’t do it, won’t do it. The will power of a moth to a bright LED light.







Sexy legs

chewybrian 

Looking again, the picture seems clearer. Wisconsin is called for Biden (though Trump already demanded a recount!). So, we might assume that Biden's lead in Michigan will hold, and the three eastern states where Trump leads will stay in his favor (Pennsylvania, where he should hold, and NC and Georgia, where it is closer). Alaska should not be a factor this time around.

But, key will be the 6 votes from Nevada, which are exactly what Biden would need to win if the rest holds. Biden leads there with just 2/3 of the vote counted, and the lead is just about 7,500 votes. Nevada decided to stop counting until Thursday, so by then, their count might be a really big deal!

On a related note, here is a picture of me on my last trip to Vegas:



And here is the hotel I stayed at, for obvious reasons:

Hondo Gravel

Rolling down the road at 82 mph ...



The local beer cave... I kept my promise I will be a great beer emperor for everybody LOL...

Hondo Gravel

I knew Wookiees were real! I told everybody and now I have proof! I said Chewy rides a bike and posts on Bikeforums. And he gambles in Las Vegas! I have seen Wookiees on hikes and fishing trips and on bike routes. Now after all my friends that said I was full of BS can see for themselves.

genec

Man good thing you didn't hit 88MPH on that... tomorrow you might not be here yesterday.

Hondo Gravel

108 mph max it’s has a governor .. had to see if it worked and it did. 108 is all the computer will let me do. Good thing. Otherwise I cruise the speed limit since it’s 70-80 here there is no reason to speed. Yes time travel is mathematically possible but my truck will never achieve that speed.

chewybrian 

A very surprising update:

Biden looked too far behind to catch up in Georgia, but he now leads by about 900 votes. Nevada took so long to count that they may have missed their chance to cast the deciding votes. I guess metro Atlanta must have had a major impact, because other than Atlanta, Georgia strikes me as one of the reddest states out there. Of course, all of this looks to be contested for a long time, as Trump does not seem likely to concede any time soon.

BHG6

We dropped our ballots in the box at City Hall.....then we went drinking

ooga-booga

the mail-in ballot acceptance by the masses phenomenon of 2020 is one of those likely covid-19/coronavirus/pandemic changes
that is likely to stick. having been an absentee voter for over two decades, comfort of your own home when you want to go about it.
i get that many people are better being tasked with a date/time/schedule. i just prefer taking my time and making a date of going thru
all the candidates/propositions/measures and filling out the ballot in an unhurried way. this time, took about 1.5 hrs for all the candidates
and about the same for all the props/measures. 3 hours of my time to make a (semi-reasonably) informed vote every two years isn't a big ask
but then again, i actually enjoy jury duty...

wgscott

This is a non-partisan video made by the New York Times with observations from people outside the US about how our unusual voting system works. It gives some comic relief.

Link to New York Times video.

I think one thing has become clear from all perspectives: We really do need to repair or improve some logistics.

ooga-booga

wondering if america would generally get better turnout for elections if the dynamics were flipped and absentee voting/mail-in ballots
were the norm and voting in person was the exception...the whole lost/destroyed/forgot/couldn't be bothered/dog ate my ballot scenarios
would possibly be a wash with the omg no time to vote gotta pick up cj from school and drop him off at krav-maga then pick up flowers for
sheila's father's wake, hit costco, then pick up cj and get the car washed before heading home. oh bleep. the election was today?!

chewybrian 

Every American should watch that!

In more shocking news, Biden has gained a slim lead in Pa. It's amazing how many of the mail-in votes that got counted later went to Biden across several states. Trump urged his supporters to vote in person, and Republicans typically do, but even so the late advantage for Biden is crazy. Trump evidently knew it would play out this way, as he has been campaigning against mail-in votes in numerous ways for months.