Voting

The Core RPGC Main Forum
1

Yesterday was election day for my state, for senator. It was a pretty close and important election for my county, because it was the first time in over two centuries a democrat actually had a chance at winning (and it looks like he did :o) a seat in the state senate. But this story is not about that.

This story is about what happened to me today in government class. Our teacher asked us if anyone had voted. Only two people raised their hands because voting isn’t cool i guess. One of the people who raised their hands was a volunteer on the democratic campaign, and the other was some kiss-ass who is always trying to get on the right side of our teacher. I hate him but thats not important to this story.

Our teacher calls on the guy i hate and says “oh, drew, you voted?” to which the kid replies:

“Yep, even though i’m only 16! My mom was working the polls so she was able to pull a few strings and get me a ballot :D”

The teacher told him he did a good job and everyone else in the class seemed impressed. Aside from me. WHAT THE FUCK. Not only does this mean that he cast a vote that should not have been cast in the election, it means that he committed <i>election fraud</i>. This alone would piss me off, but it gets better! Apparently his mom was <b>in charge</b> of the local polling station and gave him an absentee ballot to vote on. Then, he filled it out and she added it to the absentee pile.

Now what does that imply? Aside from the fact that he is a big enough moron to admit to a class full of 30 people and one adult that he VOTED WHEN HE SHOULD NOT HAVE, it implies that an official put in charge to ensure that all votes are counted in a fair way, and that there is only one vote for person, didn’t do their job. This person whose entire fucking purpose is to ensure that nothing unfair occurs under their watch, decided it was ok to let an extra vote slip on in :smiley:

So, what prevents her from doing something else to the election? If she doesn’t think its a big deal to let her uneducated, unregistered, and underage son vote, what morals keep her from doing something more serious? As soon as this kid told us his story, i at first felt angry that he had even opened his mouth >=(, but now i just feel kind of depressed that someone in charge of something so important would do something like this :frowning:

I guess i just had to tell someone about what happened. Am i right for being so outraged? Your thoughts? Feel free to freepost? Also, sorry for the vague title, i can never think of good ones :frowning:

2

My votes probably didn’t count in 2004 because my voter registration card had been partially chewed by a dog. Mine was the only one too. :x

3

Fucking report her for that.

4

I thought it was just the state primaries. Crap, my aunt Pat is going to be annoyed if she found out I forgot to vote in the primaries. Dear sweet goodness we need to get rid of Santorum this fall.

5

It might be, you’re probably a <strike>more informed</strike>better citizen than i. I didn’t vote because i forgot to register in time :x

6

What the hell, the idea that a polling official would openly commit voting fraud is ridiculous, and it’s even more ridiculous that a government teacher would be impressed by it. I just can’t comprehend what is going in these people’s heads. I can’t and I probably won’t ever be able to.

7

Did you not make a fuss about in class? It would have seemed like a perfect opportunity to state your case. Of course, he could have been kidding around, in which case the government teacher being impressed is doubly hilarious.

BUT if you’re worried about “uneducated” people voting, it sounds like you disagree with the republican system of government to begin with.

8

That’s disgusting. You should report her so that she’ll NEVER work polls again.

9

I uh, amn’t really sure how it SHOULD work over there (is it 18 or 21?), but yeah, fraud is fraud. Go report it.

10

Seems he’s worried about unregistered and underaged people voting.

By the way why does one have to register to vote? Isn’t it an extra barrier to “casual” voters?

11

It’s a measure designed to try and ensure that only qualified people vote and only vote once. By qualified, I mean being 18, being a citizen of the US, being a resident within the voting district, not being a convicted felon, etc. Registering is actually rather lax (or should be) with the Motor-Voter Act since it mandates that every state shall include the ability to register at any DMV. I’m not sure if that includes DMV satellites, mainly the ones found in some grocery stores that only handle renewing driver’s liscenses. Some states even have on the site registration; you register when you vote and cast a provisional ballot. The state then goes and makes sure you registered lawfully, and if you did, your vote is counted. That’s partly why it takes a little while to certify vote totals (that and absentee ballots).

But I agree. Go report her, Dev. I mean, you do have 30 other people who heard the same thing you did.

12

I totally agree, go get her ass canned.

13

I didn’t really make a fuss about it in class, because i didn’t really want to say anything. Everyone else was like “wooooow cool” so i kind of didn’t want to burst their bubble i guess. I was also kind of astounded that he would even say it.

I dunno if i’d report it. I know i should, but even just thinking about the process i’d have to go through intimidates me. Also, trust me, he was not making this up, or if he was, its highly believable. His mom is the kind of woman who is always involved and volunteering, etc etc, so it really doesn’t suprise me that she’d be in charge of a polling station.

14

I dunno how much of a hassle it would be. In… 2002, Georgia switched to electronic voting for the first time. My dad had a problem with the voting software in which if he pressed too low on the electronic button, it voted for the lower option. He showed it to me and the poll workers. When we got home, he called the Secretary of State’s office to report the irregularity. Took maybe five minutes of his time.

Yours would obviously be a bigger case because it deals with actual fraud; however, I’d say it’s worth the hassle. A woman like that should not have any authority over the election system. She’s already knowingly allowed on case of voter fraud. It would be in the best interest of the already delicate system to make sure she can’t allow any more cases of fraud. Even if she doesn’t get removed from her position, you would at least be attempting to maintain the integrity of the system by reporting her.

15

Seriously, report this to your local board of elections or whomever is appropriate. Don’t worry about being intimidated, because working to prevent voting fraud is important. I’m glad that you’re concerned about at least trying to have our political process working lawfully.

16

Could she have just given the kid a ballot and not actually counted it to make him happy?

17

I don’t know, I wouldn’t report, cause I don’t like to get other people in trouble unless its like murder or burglary… On the other hand, voting fraud is a big deal, I guess :stuck_out_tongue: Well, maybe not, afterall it happened on a mass scale in Florida.

18

That’s exactly why it’s a big deal! :smiley:

19

On the site registration sounds like a good idea. In Greece, voters’ list are issued by the state, i.e. for citizens over 18 who haven’t had their political rights revoked. I guess my question was, why have you got to register instead of being registered automatically. Then again I have no first hand experience how the register-to-vote system works.

20

hahahahahaha!

He could have also been lying to get attention. You did say he was a teacher’s pet.