Florida poll workers a no show

[musicman65]

https://www.woodtv.com/news/elections/uncertainty-surrounds-democratic-primary-as-ohio-scraps-vote/

[AllaN01Bear]

1. time to do mail in ballots as a national standard.

[RKP5637]

9. Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[rockfordfile]

20. Well the problem with that is corruption in certain states.

[William769]

2. My polling place was just fine.

[rzemanfl]

3. Where? n/t

[doc03]

4. Ohio canceled the election. So this will

prolong the damn primaries.

[LisaL]

5. Florida didn't cancel, but sounds like maybe some local polling places have poll workers not showing

But they are still having the election.

[moriah]

7. I've been saying this forever, but now I'm saying it again...

... we NEED young people to be ready to be poll workers instead of just partisan poll watchers.

I know a lot of county election boards say that all their positions are filled by the time people check. Now is the time to put in your application if you are young and healthy, to if nothing else be a floater should someone call in sick.

As a young person I always was one of the "floating" workers for my county since I started working the polls in 2008, and I've never NOT been called up, even if it was 6:30 AM on Election Day -- and that's in normal years. The population that are the core workers and get priority because they live in the precinct are often frail already, or their family members are.

No one wants to take money from people who need to supplement their Social Security, and I get that. Hence why most people choose to be volunteer partisan poll watchers, especially in GEs.

But young people need to be ready to work these elections, and figure out a way to make them safe for the older electorate to vote.

[SoCalNative]

17. I thought a judge said "Nope"

to Ohio's cancellation?

[LisaL]

18. Judge said no, polls are still closed because of public health emergency.

[Zeus69]

6. If low turnout

This could skew the outcomes in weird ways.

[Blue_true]

13. Too much early and mailin vote is in for that to happen to a

meaningful extent. It may change things around the edges, but not the trend - with one key exception - low turnout may help or hurt Sanders as far as viability is concerned, he could get some delegates, or none.

[Maeve]

8. Ohio was having this problem (before we cancelled)

Too many of the poll workers are retired and/or health compromised (hey, at $135 for a 15 hour day plus an up-to 4 hour training session, there aren't a huge number of takers).
Absentee ballots, people.

[LisaL]

10. Absentee ballots which in OH can be not accepted for any little reason?

Signature doesn't match, wrong date, signed in the wrong place, didn't sign the envelop and such? Not exactly the greatest of solutions for that reason.

[Maeve]

15. I have had my ballot rejected just once in at least 20 elections

And they promptly sent me another. (I forgot to sign it) Many similar cases are addressed and fixed before the election deadline. I can go on-line and find out when it is accepted--they even send me an e-mail to let me know. Or I can go and do in-person early voting.
Yes, there are problems that need to be addressed. As a paper ballot judge (mostly dealing with provisional ballots but also paper-by-choice), I have seen how bad people can be about following directions on filling out an envelope. In the cases I work with, the BOE goes to great pains to train us to help folks get it right.

[LisaL]

19. They are checking ballots for signature matching.

Matching to what? My signature doesn't match itself two times in the row. I know of people having issues of ballots being mailed but not arriving, and such.
I found in person voting much easier. There is really not much you can screw up on a machine.

[Iamaartist]

16. We had absentee ballots in Mich first time for all..no problems

If need a question how to do it ask the city clerk ..will help you....Michigan had no problems first time absentee voting for all..where we voted...simple...

[moriah]

14. A lot of people take off work to be poll watchers, and don't get paid at all for it.

Most of them are far younger than the workers I supported when I've been the floater for my county.

Yes especially in busy precincts it is a grueling day, but it was nice in 2008 to walk out and hear the results, plus an entire day free of electioneering! By the time a GE rolls around, I am soooo sick of campaign commercials...

Admittedly I got started doing it because I was interested in the process and worked a Thursday-Sunday job, so had Tuesdays off already. But they were very happy to have a floater, and sure enough I got called up. Every year that I've been a floater in a primary or general on the day, I've been called up (this year my mom had surgery to set her wrist primary day so I didn't). Because of the already-frail nature of our core workers.

Some changes can't happen overnight, but one is that anyone who was planning on being a volunteer partisan poll watcher in November and has a primary coming up in their state register NOW to be a floating poll worker.

If states hold primary elections on schedule but with the changes a few places had proposed, it would still be far safer for elderly people to do drive-through ballots as some places have done with them being the people in the car/passengers, vs being the ones handling so many drivers licenses/ballots.

And if they don't, this could be worse by the time the primary election actually is held, and those workers may not be there for the rest of us.

Plus, even we get lucky on this and don't overwhelm ICU resources, I hate to say it... but enough of the people who worked the polls in primaries already held may not be here in November to work them to necessitate younger workers taking over this civic duty this year.

[peggysue2]

11. At my own polling station in TN . . .

I'd say the average age is around 70. So yeah, in this circumstance it's a real problem.

[Iamaartist]

12. Michigan had absentee Ballots..early for all no problems...

Of course we have a Dem Governor now....that made sure...of mail in voting..no excuse for Ohio...this is only week after ours....we walked in our city clerk office and turned them in instead of mail .

we shouldn't have polling places any more...


GOP cons...my opinion