On provisional ballots and ID's

[Atman]

I volunteered to work the polls Tuesday, in the 'burbs of Hartford. We have no electronic machines, just the antiques crank-lever jobs. Tonight we had to do an orientation. Lots was discussed, obviously. First off, those old mechanical machines have so many fail-safe measures and redundancies which must all jibe, I'll never vote a BBV machine, paper trail or not. There is something to be said for the engineering of those old clunkers...three sets of counters that all must match up exactly to the number of people who came through the door, blah, blah, blah. The machine will lock and become unusable if any of three keys to open it or reset it is turned. But, to the point of the subject line...

The provisional ballots were a big issue. Anyone and everyone -- everyone, they told us, even if it is your brother -- MUST present a photo ID, with a signature on it, or they may not vote, and are to report to the registrar. This goes for all votes, not just provisionals. The provisional ballot kit comes in a locked/sealed orange bank bag, to be opened only as the polls open in the morning. To cast a provisional ballot, they fill out a form with an afidavit, again on bright orange paper, with all their pertinent information. At the end of the day, these ballots ARE NOT TALLIED into the vote count. They are placed back into the orange bag, which is then locked and sealed again before being sent off to the elections supervisor for verification. The whining about it being "too easy" to cast provisional ballots is bullshit. It seems hardly worth the trouble. The voter still has to present ID with signature, the ballots will compared against a master list, and the registrar informed us that they really don't expect that many of them.

I recall going to the wrong polling place once when I moved to a new town...they simply looked at my address and said, "Oh, you need to go over the school on Elm Street." Which would have been way easier than going through all the crap of casting one of these ballots.

However...we ARE dealing with the GOP here, and their goon squad thieves will certainly try anything.

[goclark]

1. The rukes in CA are so different

Anyone can vote with a Provisional Ballot.

As I recalled, brand new voters that mailed in their registration, must have two forms of ID.

Other than that it is pretty much a choice for everyone.