Early Voting

[Grace]

I was curious - how many of us live in states with early voting? I know Florida, North Carolina, Texas and Ohio are voting now - any others?

If you live in one, do you take advantage of the process? I read that in Florida, there have been 3 hour waits in some places. Part of that is due to fewer polling places open now than on November 4th.

I'm in Michigan, and the only way we can vote early is by absentee ballot. There are about 6 different reasons they will accept. I vote absentee because of age. I don't mind going to the polls for the off-year elections, but standing in line for several hours is not my thing

I handed in my ballot yesterday.

[Freckles]

Oregon is "Vote by Mail" and I received my ballot earlier this week. I'll complete and mail my ballot next week. Don't want to complete it too early, in case there is some last minute disclosure that might affect my ballot opinions.

[RICHARD]

I voted today and plan to vote once a day until the contest is over.

[Grace]

Oregon is "Vote by Mail" and I received my ballot earlier this week. I'll complete and mail my ballot next week. Don't want to complete it too early, in case there is some last minute disclosure that might affect my ballot opinions.

I think Oregon's system is fantastic!! Have there ever been any real problems with it? I wish Michigan would come up with a similar system.

I voted today and plan to vote once a day until the contest is over.

Sure you will - you're in La-La Land

[Pam]

I voted today and plan to vote once a day until the contest is over.

Thanks be to Acorn!

[Karen]

No early voting here, unless I wanted to vote absentee, but I don't want to do that, as sometimes those don't get counted, I have heard.

[lizbud]

Indiana has early voting. The polling sites have been overflowing with people who can't wait to vote on the 4th. I usually wait till THE day to
vote. I lke to meet up afterwards for lunch with friends.

http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=9228768

[RICHARD]

Thanks be to Acorn!

I'm allergic to those kind of nuts.

Staying up late again tonight?

[Edwina's Secretary]

Thanks be to Acorn!

And the Orange County Republican Party. When I registered to vote at one of their booths at the grocery store (didn't have to show anything for residency!) they registered me...without my knowledge...as an absentee ballot voter. I do not want to be but it is a hassle to undo.

So I voted last week.

I sure hope ACORN does a better job than the OCRP!

[Grace]

No early voting here, unless I wanted to vote absentee, but I don't want to do that, as sometimes those don't get counted, I have heard.

Fortunately, that is not something we have to worry about. We live in a small township, and know most of the election workers. All the votes get counted.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Yes we've had early voting here since Monday. I voted today with no wait- sometimes on election day things can get pretty hectic. Last major election (2 years ago) some people in Denver waited 5 hours to vote on election day. So more people are taking advantage of early voting- so far about 15% of registered voters in Colorado have already voted.

[JenBKR]

Oregon is "Vote by Mail" and I received my ballot earlier this week. I'll complete and mail my ballot next week. Don't want to complete it too early, in case there is some last minute disclosure that might affect my ballot opinions.

That would be so nice! I wish we could do that here....

No early voting here, but I live in a small town so on election day there's really no wait. I think last time there were 2 people in front of me

[Grace]

There are 34 states allowing early voting - plus the District of Columbia.

According to the Early Voting Information Center (Reed College, Oregon), these states are:

Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, North Dakota, Utah,
Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Ohio, Vermont,
Arkansas, Illinois, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Washington,
California, Indiana, Nevada, Oregon, West Virginia,
Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Florida, Kansas, New Mexico, Tennessee, Wyoming,
Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas

Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia permit "no excuses" early voting in the office of elections official, but require an excuse for mail ballot absentee voting.

New Jersey and Washington State permit no excuses mail-in voting, but do not allow early voting at the elections office.

The State of Oregon is unique in that all voting is by mail-in ballot. There is no machine voting of any kind (this is also true in two small California Sierra Mountains counties, Alpine and Sierra). Also, in 37 of the 39 Washington State counties, there is no machine voting of any kind. Only King County (Seattle) and Pierce County (Tacoma) use voting machines, and in 2009, King County will switch to all-mail balloting.



The Other 16 States:

Alabama, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia,
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, Rhode Island,
Delaware, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Carolina,
Kentucky, Minnesota, New York, Virginia

In the other 16 states not on the above list and the District of Columbia, an excuse is required for either absentee voting by mail or early voting at the elections office. Typical excuses that allow for mail-in absentee voting or early voting at the elections offices are: documented required absence from the voting precinct or county on Election Day November 4, or a personal or family medical emergency.

If you live in any of these 16 states, check the state elections official's website for absentee voting or early voting instructions.

Note that in these states (except Kentucky, Minnesota and the District of Columbia), there is no early voting, only mail-in voting by persons with the approved excuse. In the District of Columbia, Kentucky and Minnesota you can either vote early in the county clerk's office or vote absentee, if you have the appropriate excuse. In Kentucky, you can vote absentee only if you are absent from the county on Election Day plus all days on which early voting takes place at the county clerk's office.

[CathyBogart]

I voted by mail a week ago.

[Pam]

Staying up late again tonight?

Don't even mention it. Hopefully Saturday night will be better!