Joy and Austin 24

[Carm_88]

I don't think I have ever taken more than a minute to vote. I know who I am going to vote for beforehand, go in, check the box, fold it, tear it off, and out the door. I swear getting my ID out of my wallet takes more time then voting itself.

Not thrilled for back to back 2019 elections either.

[libgirl2]

4 hours ago, Shadoewolf said:

Unfortunately here in the US, voting day is often in the middle of the week. Then the lines are long which makes many people miss work. Some employers are cool about it but most aren't. Then you have voter suppression tactics that mess it all up. People blocking polling stations, machines that are "broken", whole chunks of 100's of voters being purged from the system when they shouldn't be. Then you have the electoral college which needs to just go away. 

A couple of elections back, I asked if I could leave work an hour early to go vote. I was told the polls are open late enough that I don't need to leave early. Now I early vote. My workplace, a library, has early voting so I just stroll on in when its quiet. 

[Bad Wolf]

Happy Nevada Day, where we can vote early. Still waiting to take my citizenship test, so no voting for me. Watch out 2020. I will be ready. Mr. Wolf just showed his sample ballot and sign in. Wolf girl had to show ID because she changed her name after marriage.

Pence is visiting Nevada tomorrow, messing up our many celebrations. Boo.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

42 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

A couple of elections back, I asked if I could leave work an hour early to go vote. I was told the polls are open late enough that I don't need to leave early. Now I early vote. My workplace, a library, has early voting so I just stroll on in when its quiet. 

I've found that most places of business don't allow people time off to vote, unless you use pre planned pre approved vacation time.  It goes with the theory of not making it easy for people to vote. It is easier to buy a gun in America than it is to vote, in many states to buy a shot gun you only need the money to pay for it. No IDs needed, to forms to fill out and exact match too, no standing in line for hours to buy one, nothing, just walk into a gun show hand over your cash and leave with your gun.

[HarleyQuinn]

51 minutes ago, Carm_88 said:

I don't think I have ever taken more than a minute to vote. I know who I am going to vote for beforehand, go in, check the box, fold it, tear it off, and out the door. I swear getting my ID out of my wallet takes more time then voting itself.

Not thrilled for back to back 2019 elections either.

I think for many it's *where* you have to vote. For instance, I got in trouble with my job during the 2008 election because I had to drive clear across town to vote in my district, and I didn't make it back in my allotted lunch time. I was at the poll itself for maybe 3 minutes but the drive time got me. And my shift started before the polls opened and ended after they closed. ? 

[singsingsing]

The law here is that you have to have three consecutive hours off to vote and your employer can't dock your pay. Of course, that only applies if your work shift doesn't allow you those three hours anyway. So if polls open at 9 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. and you're scheduled to work 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., I think your employer would either have to let you leave an hour early, or give you three hours off in the middle of the day to vote. Sadly voter turnout is usually low and there's no danger of being stuck in line for three hours.

[libgirl2]

8 minutes ago, HarleyQuinn said:

I think for many it's *where* you have to vote. For instance, I got in trouble with my job during the 2008 election because I had to drive clear across town to vote in my district, and I didn't make it back in my allotted lunch time. I was at the poll itself for maybe 3 minutes but the drive time got me. And my shift started before the polls opened and ended after they closed. ? 

They should have been able to work with you on that. 

[mango_fandango]

I do usually vote in elections, but with the state of politics right now, if a snap election was called tomorrow I don’t think I’d be able to vote. Brexit is an utter shitshow, nobody has a fucking clue what they’re doing. I was abroad for the Brexit vote and got my mother to be my proxy. 

Last election was weird for a number of reasons. My constituency’s candidate for my usual party had been revealed to be dodgy tax-wise or something, his law business was closed or something like that (my mother is a member of the party and gets emails) so we voted for another person. My mother, brother and I stayed up pretty much all night to watch the results; it was odd enough that the predicted result was that the Tories would lose seats and therefore their majority. Then it got to Theresa May’s constituency... You often get complete nutters standing alongside the serious candidates. First of all there’s this dude: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Buckethead. When his name was read out Theresa May just rolled her eyes  Then, one of the candidates was... wait for it... A BLOKE DRESSED AS ELMO. When his name was called we all fell about laughing.

This was Maidenhead’s lineup in 2017 (Theresa May’s constituency). May on left in red suit (odd considering she’s a Tory, blue is Tory colour and red is Labour), Lord Buckethead in middle and Elmo on far right. 

 

Spoiler

 

[zygote373]

It infuriates me how hard it is to vote in some parts of the country. I live in a big city, and our polls are open from 6 AM to 9 PM. Even someone working long shifts can hopefully vote at the very beginning or end of the window. Plus there are so many polling places that I've never once waited in line. Mine is right on the way to the train, and I'm always in and out in under 5 minutes.

I do wish we had early voting and more flexible registration deadlines. I grew up in a state with same day registration and I don't understand why it's not like that everywhere.

[fluffernutter]

I lived in northern VA about 15 years ago, voting was awful there. I stood in line for almost three hours with a baby and a toddler. Now I live in a small town and it's walk in and walk out in 5 min. 

[singsingsing]

We just had a municipal election and the polls were open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., which is ridiculous if you ask me. Yes, there is the law about employers having to give you time off, but a lot of people don't know that or don't feel comfortable asking for it. Most people start work before 10 a.m. Even if you get off a 5 p.m., a lot of people have to pick up their kids, run errands, make dinner, etc. I strongly believe in prioritizing voting by any means possible, but I can also understand why some people decide they don't have enough time and it's not worth it in situations like that.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

8 minutes ago, fluffernutter said:

I lived in northern VA about 15 years ago, voting was awful there. I stood in line for almost three hours with a baby and a toddler. Now I live in a small town and it's walk in and walk out in 5 min. 

I haven’t checked all the jurisdictions, but early voting is very much a thing here now. Mine started it in September.

[karen77]

WA is 100% vote by mail, and has been for a while. I love it.

 

My ballot is sitting on my kitchen counter waiting for me as we "speak"

[Screamapillar]

4 hours ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

It various from state to state and county to county in the U.S. My sister is PISSED she can't vote this year, they are in the process of moving from TN to Iowa. TN doesn't allow for early voting or voting via absentee ballots unless you are out of the country, being out of town is not a good enough reason to get an absentee ballot. 

You can vote early in Tennessee! I just did it this morning. And my only reason for voting early was that I wanted to avoid the long lines in election day with a newborn and a toddler in tow.  

Early voting started last week and the cutoff date is four or five days before election day.

[seraaa]

10 hours ago, victoriasponge said:

As much as I hate who they vote for, I wish every other group in the Western world managed to get their young people as engaged to vote as the fundies do. Voter apathy in that age group is huge and then people wonder why candidates like Trump get in - by having people willing to vote (usually older, but also groups like this who do, regardless of anything else, push their kids to vote).

Here in the UK, we're at 40% of young people who believe neither of our current options would make a good Prime Minister. Wish I had as much faith and self-confidence in something as they seem to have in the Republican Party, but then I'm also not a one or two issue voter.

Electoral politics is much easier to engage with once you accept that you're unlikely to agree with anyone 100% and all of the time.

Regardless, someone has to do the job, so just pick the person or party you can agree with the most or disagree with the least. 

What would be good is if the media compiled and promoted more of these voter guides, so that people who don't follow it closely or feel that they don't know enough have a rough idea 

[TuringMachine]

I've never actually voting in a polling place. Only by mail

[Gobsmacked]

31 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

I do usually vote in elections, but with the state of politics right now, if a snap election was called tomorrow I don’t think I’d be able to vote. Brexit is an utter shitshow, nobody has a fucking clue what they’re doing. I was abroad for the Brexit vote and got my mother to be my proxy. 

Last election was weird for a number of reasons. My constituency’s candidate for my usual party had been revealed to be dodgy tax-wise or something, his law business was closed or something like that (my mother is a member of the party and gets emails) so we voted for another person. My mother, brother and I stayed up pretty much all night to watch the results; it was odd enough that the predicted result was that the Tories would lose seats and therefore their majority. Then it got to Theresa May’s constituency... You often get complete nutters standing alongside the serious candidates. First of all there’s this dude: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Buckethead. When his name was read out Theresa May just rolled her eyes  Then, one of the candidates was... wait for it... A BLOKE DRESSED AS ELMO. When his name was called we all fell about laughing.

This was Maidenhead’s lineup in 2017 (Theresa May’s constituency). May on left in red suit (odd considering she’s a Tory, blue is Tory colour and red is Labour), Lord Buckethead in middle and Elmo on far right. 

 

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I'm in Scotland but remember laughing at that. We stayed up all night too. Sleep was not going to happen. The Brexit fiasco will make future political historians scratch their heads in total bewilderment. 

[seraaa]

Do any of your respective regions/countries allow for proxy voting? (Where instead of sending in a postal vote, someone else who will be there on election day can fill in a ballot on your behalf). In the UK it's not as flexible as postal voting - there are certain condition etc - but it's an option

eta: do you call it a proxy vote?

[Mama Mia]

3 hours ago, SassyPants said:

I ALWAYS absentee vote, early.

Being on FJ and hearing some of the  stories from other states, reminds me how fortunate I am to live in California. Sure we have a shit-ton of issues (including some very sketchy voting issues in the ‘16 primary) , and you have to sell your blood to afford a tent in someone’s backyard — But overall our state seems to run on the premise that people should have rights, and make it easy to vote. I had always assumed that the requirement for your work to give you time off to vote was federal- but I guess it’s state by state.

Here’s a guide to early and absentee voting by state: 

http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx

[seraaa]

34 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

I do usually vote in elections, but with the state of politics right now, if a snap election was called tomorrow I don’t think I’d be able to vote. Brexit is an utter shitshow, nobody has a fucking clue what they’re doing. I was abroad for the Brexit vote and got my mother to be my proxy. 

Last election was weird for a number of reasons. My constituency’s candidate for my usual party had been revealed to be dodgy tax-wise or something, his law business was closed or something like that (my mother is a member of the party and gets emails) so we voted for another person. My mother, brother and I stayed up pretty much all night to watch the results; it was odd enough that the predicted result was that the Tories would lose seats and therefore their majority. Then it got to Theresa May’s constituency... You often get complete nutters standing alongside the serious candidates. First of all there’s this dude: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Buckethead. When his name was read out Theresa May just rolled her eyes  Then, one of the candidates was... wait for it... A BLOKE DRESSED AS ELMO. When his name was called we all fell about laughing.

This was Maidenhead’s lineup in 2017 (Theresa May’s constituency). May on left in red suit (odd considering she’s a Tory, blue is Tory colour and red is Labour), Lord Buckethead in middle and Elmo on far right. 

 

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lmao I do like an election night broadcast.

It does not look like we're getting an election before Brexit, but honestly who can tell these days

[fraurosena]

Hey guys, great to see you all talking about the elections and voting. Do you know we have a voting check-in thread in Quiverful of Politics? 

There are also other interesting threads about the midterms and all the shenanigans going on with voter-suppression (and what you can do about it). 

[BachelorToTheRapture]

This thread makes me so glad to live in Minnesota. It's insanely easy to vote, you can register online until 3? weeks before the election, or same day register, you can early vote, there are TONS of polling places (and if you end up at the wrong place people are helpful and redirect you), there are sufficient machines and people working them that even with record turn outs you never have to wait more than 5 minutes. I'm also proud to live in a state that generally has some of the highest voter turnout in the country. 

 

As a side note, the 2016 primaries (when I lived in WI) are the only time I ever had to wait in line. Short version, it was about the only time that the state, being after super Tuesday, was able to vote in a presidential primary that wasn't already decided. Naturally, it was snowing that day and I had to wait in lines out the door...

[SapphireSlytherin]

1 hour ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

In many states to buy a shot gun you only need the money to pay for it. No IDs needed, to forms to fill out and exact match too, no standing in line for hours to buy one, nothing, just walk into a gun show hand over your cash and leave with your gun.

I swear - it seems like I'm picking on you, but I promise I'm not. I do, however, want to clarify what you've posted here. The link at the end of my post will take you to a website that contains clear and accurate information regarding this. I've quoted two partial paragraphs here. Bolding is mine, for emphasis.
 

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Under federal law, federally licensed gun dealers, importers and manufacturers must run background checks for sales to an unlicensed buyer. Specifically, a potential purchaser must show identification, complete a federal document known as a Form 4473, and pass a National Instant Criminal Background Check System check.

An unlicensed buyer is someone like me, who doesn't have a Federal Firearms License (A Federal Firearms License (FFL) is a license in the United States that enables an individual or a company to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture or importation of firearms and ammunition, or the interstate and intrastate sale of firearms.)

 

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unlicensed private sellers are exempted from having to complete the background check process. Commonly, such unlicensed sellers operate from gun shows or flea markets, although a licensed dealer selling from a show would have to run the background check.

The gun shows I've been to have ZERO unlicensed gun sellers in the event venue. Where you run into the point I believe you were trying to make is:  JimmyJoe GunSeller sits in his pickup in the parking lot, selling guns to gun show attendees who don't go inside the building.

The fact is - the vast majority of gun purchases are from licensed dealers. I've bought two guns in one day at the SAME STORE from the SAME SALESPERSON, and still had to fill out a 4473 for the second purchase. 

 

https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/feb/22/viral-image/fact-checking-meme-id-requirements-buying-guns-vot/

[Rachel333]

I stood in line for well over an hour before I even made it inside the building when I voted in 2016. Then it was at least another hour before I actually voted.

[adidas]

21 hours ago, JordynDarby5 said:

Wait there are proposals to be bridesmaids? 

I was asked to be a bridesmaid recently. She gave me a pretty box with a card - the card simply said ‘Adidas will you be my bridesmaid’ and the box had the robe to wear while getting ready on the morning of the wedding.