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#Post#: 18427--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: guest657
Date: November 6, 2018, 6:43 pm
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I think it's a very good thing for parents to take their kids
with them to vote, and I think it's reasonable to have some
level of noise and kid activity. It's not a worship service or a
restaurant - nobody is there for the "experience," or to
meditate or have a deep, personal conversation. We go to
accomplish a very specific, practical task.
It is the public square, and kids are a normal part of society.
In this case, it sounds like the noise at OPs precinct was
excessive. It would have been good for the clerks to shoo them
off the stage and/or ask them to quiet down.
Or, OP, if they were jostling you it would be totally reasonable
to ask the children to give you some more space. It's always
better to speak up for yourself than to seethe and wonder why
"they" don't do anything.
Just like voting, actually.
I'm just thankful that I can vote without the sounds of bombs.
Or attack dogs. Or a white-sheeted mob waiting for me outside.
Laughing playing children at the polls are a healthy sign for
freedom and democracy, in my book.
#Post#: 18442--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: nbajads
Date: November 6, 2018, 8:32 pm
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--- Quote from: Lula link ---
>
> 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.
>
--- End Quote ---
Schools are closed because they use schools as polling places,
and in a lot of areas laws state that school cannot be in
session while the building is being used for voting. They also
can't close just a few schools in a district, so if one or two
need to close, all of them do.
#Post#: 18462--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: NewHomeowner
Date: November 7, 2018, 5:23 am
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I signed up for an absentee ballot weeks ago. It saved me
standing in line, and noise. I voted from the comfort of my
living room, and mailed it in.
But...when I did go vote in a polling place, I don't remember
any kinds of disturbances like that. They were not allowed.
I'm so old.
#Post#: 18467--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: DCGirl
Date: November 7, 2018, 6:27 am
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--- Quote from: nbajads link ---
>
> [quote author=Lula link=topic=796.msg18419#msg18419
date=1541548101]
> 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.
>
--- End Quote ---
Schools are closed because they use schools as polling places,
and in a lot of areas laws state that school cannot be in
session while the building is being used for voting. They also
can't close just a few schools in a district, so if one or two
need to close, all of them do.
[/quote]
Where I'm from, the elementary schools (but not the middle and
secondary schools) are used as polling places, and the schools
do not close. Since voting takes place in the multi-purpose
room (combination cafeteria, gym, and auditorium), the students
eat their lunches in their classrooms. Those who need to buy
lunch go through the cafeteria line to get it but exit right
back out to their classrooms without passing through the area
where people are voting. When I was growing up, we used to
think it was a fun and exotic novelty to eat in our classrooms
instead of going to the cafeteria. I also remember being told
by teachers to be extra quiet going between classrooms and,
especially, going through the cafeteria line to get lunch.
#Post#: 18484--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: betty
Date: November 7, 2018, 12:00 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote ---
> 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.
--- End Quote ---
Some states have this! I'm in Colorado. Vote by mail is
wonderful. There are also drop off locations (many available 24
hours) in case you miss the mail deadline. There are also
polling places for voting in person both before and on election
day. You can also register to vote and update your registration
on election day.
There may have been lines (and possibly unruly children) at some
of the polling places. Keep in mind that the poll workers are
usually only working that day (plus training) so they don't have
lots of experience. At my training, we were told to stick to our
own area. So I only worked a computer: keeping the line in order
and asking people to keep quiet was not one of my tasks. If the
person responsible for that wasn't doing their job, there was
little I could do.
#Post#: 18495--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: KimodoDragon
Date: November 7, 2018, 2:28 pm
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This is one of the reasons I Early-Vote. I cannot imagine
having to vote with all that raucous behavior going on.
#Post#: 18502--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: BeagleMommy
Date: November 7, 2018, 3:01 pm
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When BeagleBoy was little I took him with me when I went to
vote. However, he stayed next to me. I took him into the
voting booth with me and he saw how the voting operates worked.
I believe the poll workers even gave him a sticker.
Children should not have been allowed to run rampant at a
polling place. The parents should have kept them corralled.
#Post#: 18514--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: NbyNW
Date: November 7, 2018, 3:53 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: betty link ---
>
> [quote]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.
--- End Quote ---
Some states have this! I'm in Colorado. Vote by mail is
wonderful. There are also drop off locations (many available 24
hours) in case you miss the mail deadline. There are also
polling places for voting in person both before and on election
day. You can also register to vote and update your registration
on election day.
[/quote]
We do this in Washington, too. It’s so much easier than having
to go to a polling place to vote.
#Post#: 18520--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: QueenFaninCA
Date: November 7, 2018, 5:41 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Lilac link ---
>
> 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.
>
--- End Quote ---
I'm from Germany and there it's easy to request an absentee
ballot: First of all, there is no voter registration. You have
to register your residence at the local city hall or equivalent.
You do this once (or if you are a baby your parents do it for
you) and you have to do it every time you move. However, there
is no fee attached to it and you don't need to renew it or
anything unless you move. So the government knows where you
live. Something like six weeks before an election you will get a
postcard letting you know about the election (e.g. if it is
federal, state or local) and where your polling place is. If you
prefer to vote by mail, the postcard is also your application
form for that (fill it out and mail it to city hall or drop it
off). You will then get an absentee ballot, an instruction
sheet, a form (or the instructions might be on the form) and two
envelopes. You fill out your ballot. Place it in the provided
grey envelope and seal it. Fill out the form (stuff like name
and date of birth), sign and date that you filled out the ballot
yourself. Place form and grey envelope in white envelope. Drop
in mailbox (no postage necessary) or drop off at city hall. It
has to arrive at city hall by the time the polls close to be
counted (being postmarked before then is not sufficient).
This is also the way how people who need assistance filling out
the ballot can vote: The form has two parts, one if the voter
filled out the ballot themselves and one for voter had
assistance. In that case the assister needs to fill out the same
info for the voter and also list their name, address and DOB and
sign and date that they filled out the ballot according to the
wishes of the voter. The rest is as described above. I once did
that (as an adult) when my grandma needed help as she lost her
eyesight late in life.
#Post#: 18523--------------------------------------------------
Re: Noise at polling place
DIR By: Jane7166
Date: November 7, 2018, 6:42 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: nbajads link ---
>
> [quote author=Lula link=topic=796.msg18419#msg18419
date=1541548101]
> 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.
>
--- End Quote ---
Schools are closed because they use schools as polling places,
and in a lot of areas laws state that school cannot be in
session while the building is being used for voting. They also
can't close just a few schools in a district, so if one or two
need to close, all of them do.
[/quote]
I always assumed it was a security issue. Schools used to be
open during voting days in my state but not anymore - anyone
with any kind of weapon can walk in.
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