Having looked at a sample ballot on line, I knew how I was going to vote. I didn’t realize until I was halfway to the creek that I’d left my glasses at home. The poling place is the firehouse, which is exactly where I walk most mornings. Going back would be too much trouble, so I walked on, hoping I’d be able to see well enough to vote. I couldn’t really read the paper I signed, indicating I was legally eligible to cast a vote, but I have read it before. The woman pointed to the line for signing, and I scribbled my name there. Another volunteer handed me the ballot. Scurrying to the booth, I put the paper down. Whew! I could read the names. I couldn’t clearly see the round bullets I needed to fill in. I’m sure it looked like a two-year-old’s coloring, going outside the lines, but hopefully the machine would read it correctly. I held my breath as the ballot was sucked into the voting machine. Good! It was not rejected.
Voting Blindly
Published by Anne Mehrling
I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina. View all posts by Anne Mehrling
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Good for you! Here in Ft Worth, we still have automated voting where you just select your candidates and press a button until you’ve voted on all issues, etc.
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We used to have efficient voting machines in NY. I miss them, but maybe there were security issues. ??
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More than likely it was not as easy for the system to be cheated. It’s all a farce now, but I do my duty anyway. 😉
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Yes, I’ll keep playing the game, even if it is rigged.
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😉
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Yeah for you! I am getting ready to go now!
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Every vote counts….hopefully
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We did mail in ballots a few weeks back. It was good to get it over with but we were still subjected to weeks of political ads.
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I didn’t hear the ads, so I stayed happy.
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I used to love going to the polling station to cast my vote. Now, we do it by mail and it can be tracked when received and counted. They do put an ‘I voted’ sticker in the ballot envelope, but it just isn’t the same.
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I am glad we still have in-person voting.
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Yay! You did it despite obstacles. Women everywhere need to show up to vote, especially this year.
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I may have missed voting in one election when we lived in England, but I’m pretty sure I’ve voted in all other elections since I was 21 years old. I’ll know I’m old when I no longer vote.
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Very nice did yourself. Good for you here is automated voting mechine where you just select your candidate and press a button 🔘!.
Women everywhere need to show up to vote, especially this year.
Tack care
God bless you!
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Well done!
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Democracy lives on, Well Done Anne.
Huge Hugs
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Congratulations on getting there eand being able to see well enough to vote. I worried about filling in those circles correctly too. We had paper ballots here too. It felt good to vote, and just as good not to be glued to the television tonight to listen to the speculation, etc. Gong to check a few more posts and then grab my book.
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I found a site on my phone with election results. They are silent!! I flip back to it every once in a while to see how things are going.
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Would re-title this post Voting BRAVELY.
I would most likely have turned around.
Our experience was with different machines. Very BIG, BOLD print, and no lines to color, just press the dot. The old school/new school “kicker” was we weren’t allowed to touch the screens. They gave each of us a Q-Tip for the sake of keeping everyone safe. So…they’re not safe to stick in your ears, but you can “touch” your favorite politician with one. Hmmmm.
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That is most amusing.
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You did voting without a hitch – yay you Anne. I’ve never voted so I’d be a babe in the woods about it.
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I think I may have missed one year of voting since I was 21 years old. John and I always did it together, but it wasn’t difficult to go by myself this time.
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That is admirable Anne. I guess I will never vote unless I become a citizen.
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Even with my glasses I could not read it easily so the helpers had a magnifying glass which is what I used. I was attacked by the vote swayers. My ballot was rejected 3 times even with fixing over and over- they finally wrote spoiled on my ballot and gave me a new one. That one went through without a glitch! I think it was much easier in Pennsylvania than Florida.
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What a story! I’m glad you were finally successful.
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Anne, we are two peas in a pod. Walking into the library to vote I rummaged in my purse and realized I forgot my glasses. Bah! We have machines so I could see okay with the lights on the voting buttons. My problem was signing with my finger. So much is computerized now. I can tell you signing with my finger does not match my penned signature at all. They accepted me though. It took so much longer than just flipping through the voter registration and letting me sign with pen. Progress…I’ll have to say another ‘Bah,’ to that too.
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I’m glad I didn’t have to sign with my finger. Luckily, my original signature was messy.
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Voting is both a privilege and responsibility we are SO lucky to have!
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Ha ha, I did the same thing! Forgot my reading glasses when I voted, but could just make out the names enough.
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I’m glad you could see well enough to vote the way you intended.
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