By the dawn's early light
posted by Silvana
Not really. I showed up to vote around 9:15 a.m., before heading into work. No significant line, so I was sure it would be easy breezy. But once again, my knowledge of voting laws caused me to raise hell with a bunch of incompetent assholes. Just like 2006.
First, I got asked for ID. I said, you don't have to have ID to vote (even though I have my ID in my wallet--I'm difficult like that). Then they asked for my voter registration card, which I also declined to show (even though it was also in my purse). I say, it's not required! So I give my name and they look me up in the book.
Not there. Like, really not there. "Are you sure you're registered?" "Yes." "How do you know?" "Because I got my voter registration card in the mail a few weeks ago." "Can I see it?"
I tire of being difficult, at least momentarily. So I showed it. Yup, I'm registered. Yup, I'm at the right polling place. So they act confused for a while (like, for five minutes while I am standing there). Then one guy goes, "Oh! We should check the other list!" There's another list? There I am, on the "Supplemental Poll List." Dunno what the fuck that is. But despite the fact that it supplements the poll list, it is not like being on the actual poll list, and I have to go through all this other nonsense to cast my ballot.
First, one woman says "have him give you a ballot and you can fill it out while I figure out this affidavit thing." Of course, the "him" in question won't give me a ballot. I still am trying to figure out why the hell I am on this other list, and I have not gotten an even remotely satisfactory explanation.
I of course am asking a bunch of questions and the woman gets frustrated with me. So she says "Will you just come back later?" Fuck no I won't come back later! When I ask her why she thinks my coming back later is going to make any difference, she stammers that she wants to call the Board of Elections, then claimed she had been trying to get through for two hours and could not. Lovely.
They finally decide to give me a ballot, but then she says "well, I don't know what number to give you!" They all talk for a while about that. They finally decide to make me number 151. Then she starts to fill out this affidavit-thingy, which I had to sign, and has to be signed by two judges, who sign that they "know the voter" and that "s/he lives at xxxxx address." Which is total bullshit, because these election judges don't know me from Adam. But they don't seem to be reading it, and don't seem to know what it's for. She puts the form down and goes to get me a ballot, and I pick it up and look at it. Of course, it's been filled out wrong, with several items left blank. I bring this up, and say look, I'll fill it out myself.
At this point, they are starting to get really annoyed with me. I don't give a shit, so I give them the business about how they are asking everyone for ID and to see their registration cards. And one woman says, well we're not turning people away if they don't have it, so what's the problem? So I launch into my speech about how it creates the perception that people need ID to vote and this keeps people away from the polls who don't have it. Like I said, I'm difficult.
Meanwhile, the woman who told me to come back has just told another woman to come back later, and I don't realize what has happened until she walks out the door. I wish I'd had the presence of mind to do something about that. Because no one should be told to come back later when they show up to vote.
They finally give me a ballot, and I vote. But I don't understand why, despite the fact that I was on a list that said I'd registered, I had to go through all this nonsense, signing an affidavit, getting other people to sign this affidavit, before they would even give me a ballot.
And I get back to work and find out that my co-worker who lives a few blocks away, and registered at the same time as me, wasn't in the book and they didn't even check the list. But she was registered, so she was probably on the supplemental poll list and they just didn't think to look there. And had to cast a provisional ballot. And had to show ID. And overheard another person who came up to the poll workers asking for another ballot because she'd made a mistake, and the poll worker asked if it the mistake was for the one of the judges (which it was) and then told the woman that she should just leave it 'cause it doesn't really matter.
Chicago, man.
First, I got asked for ID. I said, you don't have to have ID to vote (even though I have my ID in my wallet--I'm difficult like that). Then they asked for my voter registration card, which I also declined to show (even though it was also in my purse). I say, it's not required! So I give my name and they look me up in the book.
Not there. Like, really not there. "Are you sure you're registered?" "Yes." "How do you know?" "Because I got my voter registration card in the mail a few weeks ago." "Can I see it?"
I tire of being difficult, at least momentarily. So I showed it. Yup, I'm registered. Yup, I'm at the right polling place. So they act confused for a while (like, for five minutes while I am standing there). Then one guy goes, "Oh! We should check the other list!" There's another list? There I am, on the "Supplemental Poll List." Dunno what the fuck that is. But despite the fact that it supplements the poll list, it is not like being on the actual poll list, and I have to go through all this other nonsense to cast my ballot.
First, one woman says "have him give you a ballot and you can fill it out while I figure out this affidavit thing." Of course, the "him" in question won't give me a ballot. I still am trying to figure out why the hell I am on this other list, and I have not gotten an even remotely satisfactory explanation.
I of course am asking a bunch of questions and the woman gets frustrated with me. So she says "Will you just come back later?" Fuck no I won't come back later! When I ask her why she thinks my coming back later is going to make any difference, she stammers that she wants to call the Board of Elections, then claimed she had been trying to get through for two hours and could not. Lovely.
They finally decide to give me a ballot, but then she says "well, I don't know what number to give you!" They all talk for a while about that. They finally decide to make me number 151. Then she starts to fill out this affidavit-thingy, which I had to sign, and has to be signed by two judges, who sign that they "know the voter" and that "s/he lives at xxxxx address." Which is total bullshit, because these election judges don't know me from Adam. But they don't seem to be reading it, and don't seem to know what it's for. She puts the form down and goes to get me a ballot, and I pick it up and look at it. Of course, it's been filled out wrong, with several items left blank. I bring this up, and say look, I'll fill it out myself.
At this point, they are starting to get really annoyed with me. I don't give a shit, so I give them the business about how they are asking everyone for ID and to see their registration cards. And one woman says, well we're not turning people away if they don't have it, so what's the problem? So I launch into my speech about how it creates the perception that people need ID to vote and this keeps people away from the polls who don't have it. Like I said, I'm difficult.
Meanwhile, the woman who told me to come back has just told another woman to come back later, and I don't realize what has happened until she walks out the door. I wish I'd had the presence of mind to do something about that. Because no one should be told to come back later when they show up to vote.
They finally give me a ballot, and I vote. But I don't understand why, despite the fact that I was on a list that said I'd registered, I had to go through all this nonsense, signing an affidavit, getting other people to sign this affidavit, before they would even give me a ballot.
And I get back to work and find out that my co-worker who lives a few blocks away, and registered at the same time as me, wasn't in the book and they didn't even check the list. But she was registered, so she was probably on the supplemental poll list and they just didn't think to look there. And had to cast a provisional ballot. And had to show ID. And overheard another person who came up to the poll workers asking for another ballot because she'd made a mistake, and the poll worker asked if it the mistake was for the one of the judges (which it was) and then told the woman that she should just leave it 'cause it doesn't really matter.
Chicago, man.
Labels: m. leblanc
Posted at 9:22 AM
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