I saw a Florida voter on TV the other night who was being interviewed about
his experience with the confusing ballot. He said it was the first time this
style used. He said that he was a very experienced voter & was used to the
names being in order, top to bottom, Rep, Dem, then the others.
The arrows appeared to him to be pointing to the center of the ballot where
the punch holes were, not to specific punch holes per name. I could see his
point. So he voted Dem like in years past(he thought) by going to the second
punch hole from the top. He said he had no idea he had even done it
incorrectly until hours later when several of his friends were talking about
the confusion & was horrified to learn he had voted for Buchanan.
Also, he said that where he voted, you were only allowed 5 minutes to vote &
there were a bunch of other things on the ballot, so there was time pressure
to move along fast. Is this true? If so, how can this be legal?
After hearing his explanation, I could better understand how so many were
confused. And I can understand people being afraid to ask for another ballot
or even wondering if they could ask for another ballot.
Because I made a mistake on my ballot too. I erased, only to discover that
it might be made invalid. I tried really hard to make it okay but realized I
would have to go to the County Courthouse to get a new ballot (I was voting
at home absentee the day of the election because our district is too small
to have a polling place).
There was a long line of voters who were having some kind of problem or
another & it took a long time. I was a little embarrassed & worried that I
might be treated like a moron for doing what I did (making a mistake). I
tell you it brought up a lot of old stuff from old school test days & some
anxiety as to whether they would even let me revote. All of this completely
irrational as I got to redo it again & nobody scorned me! But I was very
very careful to make sure I did it the right way.
Lest you think I might be idiotic, I graduated Magna Cum Laude from a top
University.
I don't know all the legal implications but I sure hope whatever decision is
made is on behalf of the empowerment of the individual voters. The most
important issue to me in this whole mess is that each and every one of our
votes is important & should count. Like many Americans, I am already cynical
enough & borderline disenfranchized about our political system. I pray for
some of the wisdom of our forefathers to be bestowed on this situation so
that we as individuals feel like we have some say in our government.
One more story: In spite of the fact that I had to spend a lot of time in
line, it sure made me really happy to see that there were so many voters who
would take the time & trouble to make sure their vote was counted. When I
was walking into the Courthouse, there was an older man who was a little
disheveled & confused about where to go to find the voting office.
I showed him where I thought it was, as I was following the maze of signs &
arrows. When he got up to the registrar, I overheard him tell the woman that
he wanted to vote but he didn't have an address- when pressed he told her he
was homeless. I almost started crying right there, because I could tell that
he was a little embarrassed to have to say this but he was determined to get
his vote in. However he was treated with respect & dignity & it seemed that
they were going to be able to help him out.
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Kate Bennett
featured this month at Taylor Guitars
www.taylorguitars.com/artists/awp/indies/
www.katebennett.com
www.cdbaby.com/katebennett
www.amazon.com
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