Anecdotes From The Polls

Rachel Joy Larris

November 07, 2006

I’m a little worried that staring at the Election Incident Reporting System map—which shows real time reports of election problems—all day today will horribly depress me with the thought that every voter (or every poor, non-white, progressive voter) is experiencing problems. Because once again, it’s my home state of Ohio that is the “dunce” state of electoral competence.

Seeing Ohio turn “red”—not for Republican but for election problems—so early in the day is rather alarming and I’m holding on to hope that other states aren’t going to “go red” on the EIRS map. (By the way, I suspect the map, run by a coalition of groups including People For The American Way, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the NAACP, is being overloaded today, but rest assured it is working even if it loads slowly.)

Rather than watching cable news for election stories, while certainly not scientific, reading the voting experience open threads at DailyKos (of which they’ll be multiple ones throughout the day) is also an interesting way to skim individuals’ real experiences voting today.

Here’s my own non-scientific example. My roommate voted today in Northern Virginia (I voted absentee) and sent me a quick e-mail that she had to wait an hour to vote and that of the five touch-screen voting machines, only four were working. Now she and I have office jobs with bosses who were understandably forgiving if their employees were late to work today. But I’ve wondered about the people who don’t have understanding employers or who are paid by the hour and aren’t allowed to saunter in late; how do they justify standing in line today? Voting is not as fun as a ride at Disneyland but is so much more satisfying when it’s over.

Here’s hoping everyone has the patience (and the patient employers) to bear with the election “snafus” today.