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#Post#: 18386--------------------------------------------------
Noise at polling place
DIR By: Lilac
Date: November 6, 2018, 3:34 pm
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Just curious about everyone's response.
I vote at a community center in a function room that has a stage
at one end. Because of the extra-large turnout and an unusually
complicated ballot (numerous proposals in my state) the line was
slower than usual and people at the privacy carrels were taking
longer than usual to mark their ballots.
Numerous children roughly 8 and under were up on the stage
stampeding around and squealing and shouting. As you can
imagine the stage (it''s not a theater stage but could function
as one, also as a dais for presentations etc.) is constructed so
as to project sound. The squeals and shrieks were really
intrusive. When I was at my carrel it was a bit difficult to
concentrate (and for the record I am no stranger to
working/focusing in noisy, bustling environments.)
One of the kids apparently belonged to the couple next to me.
These two people were rather loudly discussing their choices on
the ballot, passing papers forth and back with their judicial
and other picks on it, and occassionally looking over their
shoulder toward the stage. "Oh, he's OK, playing with those
other kids." Eventually the child of about 7 came to their side
and proceeded to repeat something about Pokemon in a loud
sing-song voice. Meanwhile kids came and went on the stage.
I was in the room for more than 30 minutes being processed in,
waiting in line and voting -- and it was really mind-boggling.
When I was putting my marked ballot into the machine I said to
the poll worker "It really isn't fair on voters to allow this
level of commotion in the voting room" and he said "You got that
right" in a pained tone but clearly wasn't going to step up to
stop it.
I am totally onboard with imparting civics lessons by
demystifying the process for children but these kids were not
paying attention and were detracting from others' experiences.
If they couldn't wait quietly at their parents'side by the
carrels, they shouldn't be in the room, is my stance. (These
parents could've taken turns, for example).
Does anyone agree that there should be a certain amount of peace
and decorum where people are casting their votes, or is it just
me? ;D
#Post#: 18390--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: Victoria
Date: November 6, 2018, 3:43 pm
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I definitely agree, but I lack a sufficient enforcement
mechanism.
#Post#: 18392--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: lmyrs
Date: November 6, 2018, 3:44 pm
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Honestly, this is 100% a function of systemic American voter
suppression. There is no reason for voting to take so long. If
this is to be solved it is by ensuring that voting is a quick
and easy process. Not by making it even harder for parents of
children to exercise their rights.
#Post#: 18397--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: Lilac
Date: November 6, 2018, 3:53 pm
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I wish we had more absentee voting; here you have to be over 65
or have a 'good reason.' I've read that in some countries
everyone's ballot is mailed to them and they can mark it at due
leisure, and then turn it in by some deadline.
There are several lounge areas and a snack bar in this community
center, and it's a super, super safe community, so I dont' see
why the kids couldn't have sat on the couch outside the polling
place. Or, again, the parents go to the polling station with
others and take turns or make some arrangement. Having a kid at
my elbow loudly singing and jostling does not seem very
considerate. This child was old enough to be told to be quiet,
in my opinion.
#Post#: 18399--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: Thitpualso
Date: November 6, 2018, 3:58 pm
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It was loud where we voted but our polling place was in a YMCA.
At least kids with their parents could work off energy on the
running track.
Voting was quick but the line for the scanners ran the length
of the place. At least we could watch a basketball game while
we waited. :)
We’re retired so we usually vote about 10 AM after the early
morning rush and before the lunch crowd. We were told that this
large number of voters had been constant since the polls opened
at 6 AM and large it was. When we vote in a mid-term election,
we’re usually in the 30 or 40 at our sign-in table. Today, we
were voters 229 and 230. With about a dozen sign-in tables at
our polling place, you can imagine how slammed the place was in
the early morning.
I don’t believe it’s ‘systemic voter suppression’. In NYC there
are almost 14.6 million registered voters. Making voting quick
and easy with child care would be well-nigh impossible.
#Post#: 18409--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: Lilac
Date: November 6, 2018, 4:42 pm
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I voted mid-morning too and was wondering why so many children
were not in school. Perhaps they are home-schooled or their
parents thought it worthwhile to keep them out today. I work
from home but a number of my neighbors (young parents in their
30s/40s) appear to have taken the whole day off.
I was voter 1048 in a precinct where at that time of morning in
a mid-term I might be voter 250. Turnout was amazing.
#Post#: 18419--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: Lula
Date: November 6, 2018, 5:48 pm
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Schools are closed during elections in my area, and I can't come
up with a single good reason why. Kids can't vote. Parents
don't need to be wrangling kids at the polls. Teachers and
staff can vote before or after work like everyone else has to.
Maybe I'm just crabby because my store was a zoo today.
#Post#: 18420--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: LeslieF
Date: November 6, 2018, 6:08 pm
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--- Quote from: Lilac link ---
>
> ...Because of the extra-large turnout and an unusually
complicated ballot (numerous proposals in my state) the line was
slower than usual and people at the privacy carrels were taking
longer than usual to mark their ballots.
>
> Does anyone agree that there should be a certain amount of
peace and decorum where people are casting their votes, or is it
just me? ;D
>
--- End Quote ---
I always find my local ballot before hand and familiarize myself
with what is on it so I do not have to think about it when I get
there. If you are thinking about it on the spot, how can you
make an informed decision?
Also I think that the poll workers should have done something
about the rowdy children. I think it's awful that the parents
let them run rampant instead of keeping them under control.
#Post#: 18421--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: lakey
Date: November 6, 2018, 6:13 pm
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I don't view this as an issue of "voter suppression", but of a
general problem of some parents thinking they can take their
children to public places and let them run around, be noisy, and
bother people. I see the same problem in stores, on cruise
ships, and in restaurants. If parents want, or need, to take
their children to the polling place, to a store, on a cruise, or
to a restaurant, then it is their job to keep their kids with
them and keep them from yelling.
I used to go on cruises for vacation and stopped because
unsupervised children were all over the place, including using
the stairways and elevators as playgrounds. This problem is all
over the place, and it is getting worse. No matter what changes
we make in voting, there will still be the parents who don't
think ahead to get an absentee ballot, and haul their noisy kids
to the polling place. The guilty parents don't think that their
children are a problem.
#Post#: 18423--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: sandisadie
Date: November 6, 2018, 6:28 pm
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A noisy polling place has nothing to do with voter suppression.
If the people running the place that day wanted to curtail
children being noisy I can't imagine why they couldn't put up a
sign or something to keep it from happening. Imagine having to
be confined in that environment for a whole day and trying to do
important work!
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