Most, if not all, states now allow early voting, or absentee voting, without having to give a reason for it, so how many of you vote absentee, vote early, or do you vote at the polling place on election day? I always vote on election day. In Maine at least, election results are usually called on the basis of those who vote at the polls, as early voting and absentee ballots aren't counted until after the polls have closed, and the votes of those who vote on election day are counted by machine. Unless a vote is very close, it doesn't seem like early or absentee votes matter. Some states, I think, count the early votes first, but don't announce them until the polls have closed.
I vote on election day. I have to say that I miss the old style voting machines and still have not adjusted to the paper ballot and scanner. I also miss the small town Election Day voting in the local Grange Hall or Masonic Temple with bake sales or the suppers at the local churches and fire halls that often followed voting. I suppose that it won't be long before we sign on at home with a code/SS number and vote in real time using a smartphone or computer.
I still go on election day. With all the early voting now, there is usually no one left on election day. That's an exaggeration, but if you pick the right time, it can be pretty empty. A benefit of being retired. And here, you have to go downtown to vote early. No place to park.
After the trouble back in 2000, Florida experimented with a 600 lever steam-powered voting machine back in 2012. Wonder how that turned out.
I vote absentee, have since I started working for ES&S 10 years ago. Was never home for elections. I am now but not always.
Here in Alabama, there is no early voting, and absentee voting has to have a verifiable reason from what I read; so basically we just go on Election Day and that is it, unless you are truly going to be gone at that time.
I hadn't voted for 25 years but voted in the last federal election on election day. As Nancy said, it's no problem for retirees as long as they are mobile to pick a suitable time. I'm an early riser and the polling place is nearby and not crowded then. It's still old pen and paper, though, and I wonder when new technology will be introduced. The votes of absentees are also considered only after the polls have closed.
We carry on the family tradition of trekking down to the polls to vote every election. There is something satisfying in making that trip. I'm not too thrilled with all of the "reporting" on how the voting is going. It disturbs me that the press feels a need to invade our privacy by asking how we voted. It's not their business and it may, or may not, sway the way someone else is voting. There are far too many who just go with the flow. Also .. who is to say that they are getting honest answers from those who answer the question of who they voted for? I feel like election night results beginning after all of the polls nationwide are closed should be sufficient reporting.
I voted early. Like I said somewhere else on here, I wanted to be damn sure my vote got counted in case I die before Nov. 6. Go vote and vote Republican!
It will be interesting to see if the Democrats can 'rock the vote' via illegals: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/oct/18/texas-democrats-ask-noncitizens-register-vote/ https://www.foxnews.com/politics/names-of-non-us-citizens-increasingly-found-on-voter-rolls https://fairus.org/issue/societal-impact/noncitizens-voting-violations-and-us-elections We will soon know the answer, and if so, whether or not it can be challenged!
The Dems have used illegal voters to sway elections at least twice that I recall. Traditionally, they have used dead voters, but illegal voters have been used twice in California. The Republicans elected not to challenge either of the election results. Up here (in a primary) 11 voters were documented to have Absentee Voted from one address, all supporting one candidate. She had hired a "Voter Enhancement" expert from California who usually works for Democrats there. This candidate was a Republican who changed parties as soon as she got elected to vote with the Dems, then changed back to run for election again as an incumbent Republican. Of the 11 votes from one address here, only 2 people actually resided there; the other 9 were California residents voting absentee in Alaska. This fraud was uncovered by a local news organization, but the State certified the election anyway. The Republicans asked for an investigation by the State but were refused, so the Republican Party is running a write-in candidate against their own candidate in the General Election. Voter fraud is rampant everywhere and getting worse. It will be the death of the republic.
Another common source of fraudulent voting, I suspect, can be found in college students, who are encouraged to become involved in local and state issues in the place where they are attending college, yet there is nothing that would prevent them from simultaneously voting absentee in their home state. I know that's a problem here in Maine, where a large percentage of our college population are from out-of-state, yet our Secretary of State, a Democrat, refuses to even consider the matter, as he has ignored complaints of people who are registered to vote in multiple addresses in the town they are living in, as well as people who registered (illegally) without a post office box, and no residential address.