tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32582789.post-74675832691508713082008-03-04T08:34:00.003-05:002008-03-04T09:29:29.375-05:002008-03-04T09:29:29.375-05:00Team Bonobo left the house at 7:15 to go vote at Montrose Elementary in Bexley. Early turnout in the rain was light, and there were more machines than voters, and pretty close to as many pollworkers as voters. Thankfully.<br /><br />I held Charlotte while my wife went up to the table. They found her name, checked her ID, took her to the machine, and she commenced voting. While I waited, a mother and son came up to the table, (This is not the important part, but it's necessary for my conclusion) and the son indicated that he was 17 and planning to vote. The two pollworkers at the table conferred for a moment, with one asking whether he could vote for both affiliation and issues. They decided that they remembered that a 17 year old could not vote for both, so they were going to give him an issues-only ballot. I butted in at that point, saying that a 17 year old can only vote affiliation, there's a special ballot. They looked up at me, and conferred again more quietly. Soon, a young female pollworker came over and discussed it with them, explaining that a 17-year old cannot vote on issues, and explaining how to get him his ballot.<br /><br />At this point I wasn't thrilled, but at least the pollworkers seemed to know what they didn't really know, and the 17-year old vote is a bit quirky and particular to primaries. And, of course, a person who was obviously freshly trained and in command of the procedures was on the ball and made sure things worked correctly.<br /><br />Then my wife finished, and I got to go up to the table. I gave my name and they asked for my ID. I gave it to them, and the woman with the book frowned and asked if I had something with my Bexley address. I replied that I didn't need anything with my valid Bexley address, as they had the correct address in the book, and I had a valid Ohio Driver's License. She insisted that the addresses needed to match. I asked the woman next to her - "You know that the address on a valid Ohio License doesn't need to match the address in the pollbook, right?" She told me that I was wrong, they had to match.<br /><br />At this point I pulled out my electric bill, because there has yet to be an election where the pollworkers were trained correctly. With obvious relief, they gave me my slip and sent me to the voting machine. I voted. After I was done voting, I approached the young woman who had known how to handle the 17-year old. I said "You seem to know how things are supposed to work, can you please explain to the other workers that the address on a license does not have to match the address in the pollbook." She just looked at me. "You know that they don't have to match, right?" She replied "We were trained that the addresses have to match."<br /><br />I found that statement to be entirely credible, and I am furious about it.<br /><br />I went over to explain the situation to my wife, and while I was doing so the young pollworker had gone over to consult with two workers, one of whom I'm guessing was the presiding judge. They called me over and asked me to explain my concern. I had a discussion with them, and it took a while for them to understand my complaint. It was first assumed that I misunderstood the rules, but then it became clear that the three of us all understood that when the license address does not match a correct pollbook address, the pollworker is supposed to record the last 4 digits of the license number and provide a regular ballot. Then they were assuming that I voted provisionally, but I told them about the electric bill. Then they wondered what my problem was, since I had voted on a regular ballot. I explained that I was worried about the rest of the day, and that I shouldn't have HAD to have any supporting documents. Finally, one of them said "You would have been forced to vote provisionally if you hadn't produced the bill?" I said "Yes!"<br /><br />"Gotcha. When the line clears out over there we'll clear them up on the rules."<br /><br />So. One polling place in Franklin County now (hopefully) has workers who understand the ID requirements. How many polling places are still holding their ground and trusting their training as they hand out provisional ballots to valid voters complying with the ID law?bonobohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241279987882052237noreply@blogger.com5