After hearing many (happy) tales of long lines for early voting, I decided to try my luck on Election Day Proper. I vote in 1/3 at Bigelow. Lines were longer than most elections, as expected, but not exactly much to speak of.
I waited maybe 2 minutes to get to check-in, and as always patiently explained i lived not on “Street” or “Road” but “Place” (there is one of each in my case). Of course, everyone in line was in the back half of the alphabet, leaving the check-in volunteer in charge of the other half of the alphabet with nothing to do (somehow that rarely if ever fails).
There were secrecy envelopes available, but I personally did not see the need so didn’t ask for one. It doesn’t occur to me to keep my vote secret any more than it occurs to me to blurt out loud my voting choice, but I can see where some people might prefer to use them, or perhaps some thought they were supposed to use them and did without thinking about it. I don’t know anything but suspect the truth is not as interesting as trying to guess why.
I did notice volunteers un-sealing envelopes on site to feed the ballots into the voting machine, so saying I was voter #267 is probably underestimating the total of voters so far.
Adding: I did not take a ballot selfie. I thought about flouting the law against them (which will probably come off the books in the near future), but remembered that I rarely take selfies period, so why start now?
I always wake up on election day with an extra bounce in my step. And today I’m feeling especially optimistic.
But it was very weird driving past my usual polling place (the Hyde Center) and not stopping because I cast my vote last week. I miss chatting with the super nice folks at the check in and check out tables as well as the sign holders outside. Oh, well.
Wearing white today. Mexican for dinner tonight, for sure!
Carry
on November 8, 2016 at 9:16 am
Number 224 in 2-2 at 9:00 with no waiting.
Truly one of the most satisfying votes I’ve ever cast. The electoral college washed out my previous Presidential Election efforts when I voted in AZ, UT, TN, and TX.
Go get your sticker!
Tom Davis
on November 8, 2016 at 11:06 am
Zero line at Horace Mann at 7:30am. Very impressed. Unfortunately, the electronic counter wasn’t working and they had multiple people working on the ballot box, so no idea how many had yet voted.
Andy Levin
on November 8, 2016 at 11:21 am
There are very few people out holding signs…. at least none at the library, Countryside and Spaulding, as of this morning. There are some people at the Centre.
Terry Malloy
on November 8, 2016 at 1:02 pm
No signs at the Waban Library either! Absolutely none. Kind of odd considering the cacophany of activity that used to greet voters when 5/4, 5/3 voted at Zervas.
At noon the count was 550 (5/4), 480 (5/3).
Jane Frantz
on November 8, 2016 at 1:37 pm
My husband held a sign from 7-9 at Waban and I was there until 10:30. Must have just missed you.
I’d decided to get a flu shot after voting, so I procrastinated shamefully: number 1044 at 6/4 (Mason-Rice) at about 2:45. Re the absence of signs, according to the messages I got from the local Democratic campaign, they were just looking for people to cover the morning rush, 7-9. I guess the thinking is that after that, it’s a waste of volunteer labor to have people standing around Newton holding signs when they could be calling Ohio or traipsing around New Hampshire one more time. I understand, but to people accustomed to a little more communal buzz than that, it certainly makes Election Day seem blah.
Gail Spector
on November 8, 2016 at 5:16 pm
I voted last week. I missed the thrill casting a ballot on Election Day, but I made sure my husband supported the Countryside bake sale!
TheWholeTruth
on November 8, 2016 at 5:29 pm
Voter number 1022 at Ward 1/1 at 4pm. Bountiful bake sale going on, no sign holders to be seen anywhere.
Amanda Bryan
on November 8, 2016 at 6:10 pm
Voter fraud at Franklin School.
Here is the back story:
Over 3 years ago my sister and I moved into neighboring houses in Newton formerly rental properties. In 2014 I missed a census and my name had some form of an asterisk next time I went to vote. I filled out a form and provided ID and was allowed to vote. On occasion I still receive former tenant mail and when I went to vote today some of their names were listed under my address with asterisks on their names. I didn’t think anything of it because I knew if they came to vote their ID would be checked and the officials will see they no longer live here.
Here is where the fraud comes in- my sister lives alone and fills out her census indicating so. Today when SHE went to vote a former tenant of her house was not only listed there BUT ALSO voted today! She told the officials at Franklin and they said basically said oh well. This tenant hasn’t lived at her address for over 3 years and my sister fills her census out as living alone. I have no idea where this tenant now lives and whether they voted at that precinct and ward as well.
TheWholeTruth
on November 8, 2016 at 6:20 pm
Hoping someone can give me an explanation on this…
Newton PD just tweeted out a photo of a gentleman who became a citizen of the US at 3pm today and then promptly voted. How is this possible? Did he not need to be registered to vote weeks ago? Can you register and not be a citizen?
Any idea????
Jane Frantz
on November 8, 2016 at 6:52 pm
I missed the sign holding camaraderie sign holding this election year as well, but I understand the need to focus attention on phone banking.
There are certain cultures that grow up around annual events – sign holding at all the polling locations, bake sales, etc. We’re in a transition phase with early voting changing things up a bit. I bet we figure out how to merge our old favs into the new system in the future. Also, David Olsen reminded me today that early voting does not apply to municipal elections, so bake sales galore in 2017!
My favorite campaigners today were a group of Brown MS students at the Hyde Community Center. They were there to urge voters to buy from their bake sale because the money raises funds for students who need rides home from after school programs. Gotta love ’em! I saw lots of voters leaving the polling place with goodies in hand. Restores one’s faith in humanity.
Max Goldsmith
on November 8, 2016 at 7:29 pm
Voted ward 1 precinct 3 at Bigelow around 6:40pm. Ballot #1367. (+/- 90%?) No line, but steady arrivals. They ran out of “I Voted” stickers much earlier.
The only “electioneering” was a school custodian handing out information opposing privatization.
Bruce Henderson
on November 8, 2016 at 8:53 pm
Can someone explain to me how, with early voting, the ballot can remain both anonymous and secure? As I understand it, early voters fill out a ballot and put it in an envelope with their name and address on the outside. These are held at City Hall and then delivered to the polling stations for processing on Election Day. In that Election Day processing, someone is opening each envelope and could see the ballot and the address, potentially violating anonymity. But they need the address on the envelope to check off each voter, to prevent double-voting or voting by ineligible people.
One way to ensure anonymity and security could be to: 1) check and record the addresses on the sealed envelopes and then 2) have a blindfolded person open the checked envelopes, remove the ballots, and shuffle them. I didn’t see that at my precinct. What’s the procedure?
Groot Gregory
on November 9, 2016 at 10:21 am
@Bruce, I was a clerk at 6-3 and handled many of the early voting ballots. I think we had around 800 including absentees. To answer your question, basically its trust in our system. The process, similar for both early and absentee, is take a handful of envelopes to the checkin table to “check in” the voter, then to the checkout table, while the envelopes are sealed. We would open the envelopes to remove the ballots, with the blank side of the envelope facing us to preserve anonymity. Then send the lot into the machine. In my case I started on early ballots at 9:30 am and did not finish with the last absentee going into the machine till 8:15 PM. So can someone see how you voted? Sure but we are there to support a system that allows secret balloting.
I imagine that had I been blindfolded I would still be feeding ballots into the machine to be counted 🙂
Bruce Henderson
on November 9, 2016 at 3:20 pm
Thanks, Groot. That makes sense. Glad to know how it works.
After hearing many (happy) tales of long lines for early voting, I decided to try my luck on Election Day Proper. I vote in 1/3 at Bigelow. Lines were longer than most elections, as expected, but not exactly much to speak of.
I waited maybe 2 minutes to get to check-in, and as always patiently explained i lived not on “Street” or “Road” but “Place” (there is one of each in my case). Of course, everyone in line was in the back half of the alphabet, leaving the check-in volunteer in charge of the other half of the alphabet with nothing to do (somehow that rarely if ever fails).
There were secrecy envelopes available, but I personally did not see the need so didn’t ask for one. It doesn’t occur to me to keep my vote secret any more than it occurs to me to blurt out loud my voting choice, but I can see where some people might prefer to use them, or perhaps some thought they were supposed to use them and did without thinking about it. I don’t know anything but suspect the truth is not as interesting as trying to guess why.
I did notice volunteers un-sealing envelopes on site to feed the ballots into the voting machine, so saying I was voter #267 is probably underestimating the total of voters so far.
Adding: I did not take a ballot selfie. I thought about flouting the law against them (which will probably come off the books in the near future), but remembered that I rarely take selfies period, so why start now?
I always wake up on election day with an extra bounce in my step. And today I’m feeling especially optimistic.
But it was very weird driving past my usual polling place (the Hyde Center) and not stopping because I cast my vote last week. I miss chatting with the super nice folks at the check in and check out tables as well as the sign holders outside. Oh, well.
Wearing white today. Mexican for dinner tonight, for sure!
Number 224 in 2-2 at 9:00 with no waiting.
Truly one of the most satisfying votes I’ve ever cast. The electoral college washed out my previous Presidential Election efforts when I voted in AZ, UT, TN, and TX.
Go get your sticker!
Zero line at Horace Mann at 7:30am. Very impressed. Unfortunately, the electronic counter wasn’t working and they had multiple people working on the ballot box, so no idea how many had yet voted.
There are very few people out holding signs…. at least none at the library, Countryside and Spaulding, as of this morning. There are some people at the Centre.
No signs at the Waban Library either! Absolutely none. Kind of odd considering the cacophany of activity that used to greet voters when 5/4, 5/3 voted at Zervas.
At noon the count was 550 (5/4), 480 (5/3).
My husband held a sign from 7-9 at Waban and I was there until 10:30. Must have just missed you.
I should add that I saw no signs at Bigelow
I’d decided to get a flu shot after voting, so I procrastinated shamefully: number 1044 at 6/4 (Mason-Rice) at about 2:45. Re the absence of signs, according to the messages I got from the local Democratic campaign, they were just looking for people to cover the morning rush, 7-9. I guess the thinking is that after that, it’s a waste of volunteer labor to have people standing around Newton holding signs when they could be calling Ohio or traipsing around New Hampshire one more time. I understand, but to people accustomed to a little more communal buzz than that, it certainly makes Election Day seem blah.
I voted last week. I missed the thrill casting a ballot on Election Day, but I made sure my husband supported the Countryside bake sale!
Voter number 1022 at Ward 1/1 at 4pm. Bountiful bake sale going on, no sign holders to be seen anywhere.
Voter fraud at Franklin School.
Here is the back story:
Over 3 years ago my sister and I moved into neighboring houses in Newton formerly rental properties. In 2014 I missed a census and my name had some form of an asterisk next time I went to vote. I filled out a form and provided ID and was allowed to vote. On occasion I still receive former tenant mail and when I went to vote today some of their names were listed under my address with asterisks on their names. I didn’t think anything of it because I knew if they came to vote their ID would be checked and the officials will see they no longer live here.
Here is where the fraud comes in- my sister lives alone and fills out her census indicating so. Today when SHE went to vote a former tenant of her house was not only listed there BUT ALSO voted today! She told the officials at Franklin and they said basically said oh well. This tenant hasn’t lived at her address for over 3 years and my sister fills her census out as living alone. I have no idea where this tenant now lives and whether they voted at that precinct and ward as well.
Hoping someone can give me an explanation on this…
Newton PD just tweeted out a photo of a gentleman who became a citizen of the US at 3pm today and then promptly voted. How is this possible? Did he not need to be registered to vote weeks ago? Can you register and not be a citizen?
Any idea????
I missed the sign holding camaraderie sign holding this election year as well, but I understand the need to focus attention on phone banking.
There are certain cultures that grow up around annual events – sign holding at all the polling locations, bake sales, etc. We’re in a transition phase with early voting changing things up a bit. I bet we figure out how to merge our old favs into the new system in the future. Also, David Olsen reminded me today that early voting does not apply to municipal elections, so bake sales galore in 2017!
My favorite campaigners today were a group of Brown MS students at the Hyde Community Center. They were there to urge voters to buy from their bake sale because the money raises funds for students who need rides home from after school programs. Gotta love ’em! I saw lots of voters leaving the polling place with goodies in hand. Restores one’s faith in humanity.
Voted ward 1 precinct 3 at Bigelow around 6:40pm. Ballot #1367. (+/- 90%?) No line, but steady arrivals. They ran out of “I Voted” stickers much earlier.
The only “electioneering” was a school custodian handing out information opposing privatization.
Can someone explain to me how, with early voting, the ballot can remain both anonymous and secure? As I understand it, early voters fill out a ballot and put it in an envelope with their name and address on the outside. These are held at City Hall and then delivered to the polling stations for processing on Election Day. In that Election Day processing, someone is opening each envelope and could see the ballot and the address, potentially violating anonymity. But they need the address on the envelope to check off each voter, to prevent double-voting or voting by ineligible people.
One way to ensure anonymity and security could be to: 1) check and record the addresses on the sealed envelopes and then 2) have a blindfolded person open the checked envelopes, remove the ballots, and shuffle them. I didn’t see that at my precinct. What’s the procedure?
@Bruce, I was a clerk at 6-3 and handled many of the early voting ballots. I think we had around 800 including absentees. To answer your question, basically its trust in our system. The process, similar for both early and absentee, is take a handful of envelopes to the checkin table to “check in” the voter, then to the checkout table, while the envelopes are sealed. We would open the envelopes to remove the ballots, with the blank side of the envelope facing us to preserve anonymity. Then send the lot into the machine. In my case I started on early ballots at 9:30 am and did not finish with the last absentee going into the machine till 8:15 PM. So can someone see how you voted? Sure but we are there to support a system that allows secret balloting.
I imagine that had I been blindfolded I would still be feeding ballots into the machine to be counted 🙂
Thanks, Groot. That makes sense. Glad to know how it works.