Letters
The West Wing: Reunion This Thursday!
Dear Kay,
The other day, I asked folks on Twitter what their plan was for voting in the upcoming election. In person? By mail? Early voting? Election Day?
Wow! There is a lot of planning going on. So glad to see I’m not the only one who relishes the prospect of casting a vote.
Turns out, the stars of that beloved White House drama The West Wing are also thinking about how to get out the vote, so much so that they are staging an unprecedented performance featuring the cast of the show.
It’s coming up this Thursday, October 15, on HBO’s streaming channel HBO Max. There’s a 7-day free trial if you want to tune in for free. (Wondering if you already have access to HBO Max? Me too. Here’s how to check.)
They’re tapping into all the West Wing luv out there to raise money for When We All Vote, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization on a mission to increase participation in every election and to close the race and age voting gap by changing the culture around voting.
Every state has its own schedule and rules for voting, so be sure to check with Vote.org for your state’s requirements, especially if you’re thinking of voting by mail.
My plan?
I’m going to mask up, anoint myself with a gallon of Purell, and vote this week, in person, at the least busy early voting site in town. (I happen to know this because of my work on a campaign a few years ago.) I’ll go midmorning on a weekday.
I’d originally planned to vote by mail, but I want to see my vote show up on that big map on election night. No doubt about it.
What’s your plan? If you write it down, it’s real—so please feel free to memorialize your plan to vote in the comments below. Please, no campaigning in the comments—just your plan!
Love,
Ann
Already voted—- drop box not mail.
I voted by mail. I checked, it was received!
I voted in person
I hand delivered my ballot to the election board.
This West Wing special episode would be worthy of tuning into however I just learned that HBO Max is only available in the US. Darn!
I wish you the best luck with all of your voting efforts.
Your Friend!
In-person voting in my Pa township. Going early in a mask and a football poncho!
BTW: Instructions include bring your own pen.
I plan to go in person. Will bring knitting and a book as there will be a line.
I requested a mail in ballot but early voting here starts Sunday; next week I’m going to surrender my mail in ballot and vote in person – masked up -at my local library. I’m also going over to my dad’s later this week to help him with his ballot He’s 97 with macular degeneration so needs help (or he would be going in person) – fortunately we agree so will be easy
Voted last week. Placed ballot in drop box inside City Hall.
I had planned to vote by mail but now I’m voting early. I’m waiting until more sites open this week, mask on. I’ll take your midday suggestion!
Already voted by mail. Tracked my ballot…it’s been accepted!
We using absentee ballots, but plan to hand deliver.
I filled out my ballot yesterday and I am dropping it off at the SoE office today. My county has a website where you can track that your ballot has been received and then counted. (Does everybody have that website? I just learned about it and I am impressed!)
For the primary, my county actually emailed me when the ballot got there, and again when it had been tallied, which was nice (But it’s a small county).
I dropped off my ballot at an official drop box in front of my town’s police station yesterday morning. Don’t send me a ticket but I didn’t feed the meter for the 30 seconds it took to pop out of the car, read the box three times and drop in the ballot.
Oregon has voted by mail for many years- ballots are coming out this week. I will mail my ballot and receive confirmation by text message. ( My birthday is November 3)
I hope you have a very happy Election Day birthday.
I am an Oregonian, too, so we are going to fill out our ballots soon as we get them and drop them off in person.
Early voting starts next Monday here in Florida. I plan to go to my local library branch, and vote. I wore a mask and took my own pen when I voted in the primaries will do the same this time.
Already voted, left it in our town box last week!
In NJ voting by mail is preferred because of Covid 19. My husband and I delivered our ballots to a secure collection box in our town. I have checked online and they have been received. Now all we do is wait and hope for the best.
Same!
Planning to vote with mail-in ballot, but have not received it. It has been lost. Waiting for Affidavit of lost ballot form, will return it to get replacement ballot to then mail. If all does not go well, I will vote in person. Will be my 1st time out since March. StL, MO.
I’m masking up, armed with hand sanitizer, and heading to my local polling place on Nov. 3! Like you, I want my vote counted on election night.
Already voted in person Felt a TINY
In person. On Election Day. As I always have and always will. This year- wearing a mask.
Me too, in person, on Election Day as usual, but masked. Never had to wait more than 15 min, small town, but we shall see…
Always vote by mail (no restrictions in Nebraska so easy to request a ballot), but this year we dropped them in the box at the Election Commission office and they’ve been accepted.
I live overseas, so I had to vote either by mail or by fax. I voted by mail–sent it off a week ago.
Hubs and I voted last night by mail. Dropped it off at the township voting office. We were in a line of cars to drop off at 7:30 in the suburbs! I hope this means people are actually voting this year!!!!
Dropped my ballot in our town’s ballot box. My husband and I are working for our town’s election for the first time. We live in Connecticut.
Already done. Even got notice from PA that they’ve received my ballot. Wish the ads would stop!
I’m an elections site chairperson here in NY, so will be voting on our first early day, bright and early. County only has one early voting site (yes, we are small and rural), so off to the county courthouse on Oct. 24, with husband and son in tow! Make your mama proud, go vote!!
I plan to vote early the day before my 79th birthday. It is my gift to myself. I once read in the NYT this slogan, “Aging is a privilege”. What greater privilege than to have a voice . A child of WW .
I’m with Ann and all the others who have decided to forego my mail-in ballot in favor of Early Voting, heavily masked and with rubber gloves! I always love to vote!
With mask on and hand sanitizer in my purse, I have decided to vote at my designated polling place ( we must vote according to precinct in MA). The reports that my mail in ballot has a possibility of being thrown out motivated me to vote in person.
Early voting in our little town starts on Saturday. I hope it is as remarkably quick and easy as it was for the Primary. The 3 of us in our family “pod” have 3 different plans: 1 mail-in, 1 mail-in in a secure drop box, and 1 vote early in person. In preparation for Thursday’s event, we rewatched the original “Hartsfield Landing” from West Wing. It could make you weep for its intelligence, scope, hope, and dedication to service relative to what happens in the real West Wing today.
Mailing it at the main post office today. My polling place is 1200 miles away, ballot was ordered 2 months ago, came last Friday!
I voted early in person yesterday in deKalb Co. Georgia. It was pretty fast. Lots of people. All masked. Pretty good social distance and not a lot of time actually indoors. Feels so great to have this one recorded and done. Thanks!
Voted in person yesterday. Waited an hour but most people wore masks and everyone kept their distance. I felt safe–and relieved to have my vote cast.
I watched the trailer and wanted to cry- The West Wing, one of my all time favourite shows. But I live in the UK so no HBO Max. Try not to tell us too much how good it was.
We will vote early at our village hall after Mass, some upcoming Sunday. We did this for the primaries and only a few people were there. Hopefully there will be more this time, but it seemed like a very safe option.
I love voting on election day, but this year will be an exception.
Last Friday night Steven Colbert had the cast of West Wing on (virtually) to talk about this stage show and reminisce.
I dropped off my absentee ballot at my County Board of Elections office on Oct.3rd (then went to stand on line for my flu shot!)
I am headed to vote this morning, with a buddy. Early voting started yesterday in GA. First day, lots of kinks. By afternoon all was smooth but still long lines.
I voted in person in Northern Virginia the morning after the first debate – it took only 15 minutes – and felt so good!
Already voted like I do every time. I use the absentee ballot and drop it off at my township office at my leisure. It also allows me to have my ballot and computer in had for the state elections which is very difficult to decide who to vote for.
I opted for voting by mail. I received my ballot last week and I already marked it and dropped it off in a mail box. It all took less time than my usual vote-in-person process, but I do miss the virtuous feeling of standing with my neighbors and voting at our town hall.
Going on election day to our village elementary school to vote, probably mid-morning, with my husband. Masks are required.
Early voting starts today in Texas. Will choose a weekday when I hope the lines will be small and masking up. I want to make sure my vote gets counted. Love The West Wing!
Dropped off my ballot yesterday at the town hall–even though I’ll be at the polls as a volunteer ballot clerk on election day.
Putting my ballot in the mailbox this AM! Voted by mail for the primary and it worked smoothly. But when the pandemic is over I plan to go back to in person – I like the ritual of the polling place, and the church ladies always have a bake sale….
Already voted!
I hand delivered my ballot last week. I’ve never been so anxious about voting,
We will vote early by drive through voting. Our County Clerk in Kentucky developed this for primary. You stay in your car, wear a mask, sign in, drive up and get a ballot, drive up and they roll the machine covered in pool noodles to you car and you feed the ballot in. Not every county in Ky does this but it’s a great system.
Your county clerk sounds like a great can-do kind of person!
Early voting starts on Saturday here. I plan to go right after Karate (if I smell bad perhaps people will stay away from me)!
I have requested a mail in ballot (OH), but decided I prefer to do early voting. I feel more comfortable if my ballot starts and stays in one place.
Proud to be Voting in person on Election Day.
I won’t be watching the Left Wing Reunion on Thursday.
We took out ballots to an early voting center last week, and watched them go into the drop box. So easy.
Planning to vote early, in person. My Husband, adult son and I will go mid morning on a weekday. There have never been long lines, at the single early polling place, in my county, It will be interesting to see if this election makes that change. Voting in person as I want to be certain my vote is counted!
Voted early already. Our county set up a drive through system in a parking ramp near the county offices.
I dropped our ballots off at our county Board of Elections.
My ballot should arrive in the mail today (according to the state’s ballot tracker it was mailed on Saturday). I plan on filling it out right away and taking it to one of my town’s drop boxes, just like I did for the state primary in September and the town elections back in April – it’s really increased voter turnout here and it’s waaaaay more convenient for me than my actual polling place.
SO FREAKING EXCITED for TWW!!! (But as Aaron Sorkin said on Stephen Colbert Friday night, it is NOT a reunion. 😉 )
Our ballots arrived yesterday so we’ll vote today and take them to a designated drop box.
My state is a vote-by-mail state. We got our ballots Friday, marked them Saturday, and dropped them in one of our local drop boxes Monday. I’m signed up for text alerts, so I know when my ballot is received and when it’s counted. Why don’t more states make it this easy to perform one of the basic duties of citizenship?
I have already voted by mail and used my (Florida) county’s tracking system to make sure that it was received. I hope everyone makes their voice heard!
voted last week; drop box at City Hall. Now I can skip all “debates” in good conscience.
I have received my mail in ballot but will be dropping it off in person at the county courthouse on Saturday. Then will follow up to make sure it gets recorded.
Colorado has had mail in voting for several years now. We just received our ballots and will review and vote this week. We will drop them off at the local county office drop box.
Already voted. In NJ every registered voter received a postage paid ballot – and my town has a dedicated ballot drop off box. Even if you vote in person it’s a paper provisional ballot. It worked for the primary … and should keep all safe.
Youngest in WI has to vote in person, Eldest who moved back home to work and will receive absentee. They have always voted and had disagreements w friends who never did.
And I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE WEST WING REUNION! Did you see the cast plus Sorkin on Colbert last week? I recommend it to the young, as it can be a great lesson in civics.
Signed, original Wingnut.
I live in a vote-by-mail state and ballots are mailed this week, expected to arrive by Friday. I will complete my ballot this coming weekend and then drop it in the mail or an election drop-box next Monday morning.
Went in person a week ago, the first day it opened) and was surprised to find that Iowa City has a drive through which was really amazing. I didn’t use their pen but they made me take their’s anyway as protocol.
I had a plan, and I executed it! I had my absentee ballot completed with the intent of leaving it in the drop box if the early voting site was crowded or surrendering and voting in person if it did not look too crowded. There was only one person in line so we opted to vote then and there.
I had a chance to talk to the county registrar when I was there, apparently in our county the drop box votes are picked up twice a day, processed (validated, opened, and fed into the voting machines) and, just like the in-person ballots in early voting machines, they sit in the machine counted but not tabulated until Election Day. Had I known that, I would not have hesitated to use the drop box. But, it is important to note that every state does it differently. Apparently in some states they are not processed and opened until Election Day, and in our state mailed ballots are valid if postmarked on Election Day. The outcome will be a long wait, the more people who make a plan and get it done early the better.
Same plan. Same reasons.
I voted by mail a week ago. Yippee!
Today is the first day of early voting here! My purple empower people bandana I knitted (yay! for finishing a project) and I will go in person later this week!
(with my mask on, of course!)
Hubby and I voted in person two weeks ago. Just one other senior person in line. I too wanted my vote on that big board election night! And YES, mid-morning on a Thursday. There was also a steady stream of people dropping off ballots❣️
We voted yesterday. Four of us in my family drove to our county Election office and deposited our ballots in the monitor Dropbox. It was very busy, but took less than 3 minutes.
I received a confirmation later that afternoon.
In Mississippi, there is no early voting, no drop boxes, no confirmation (grr!). But since my husband and I are over 65, we were able to get absentee ballots and put them in the mail already (30 plus days before November 3).
I live in Illinois. Limited early voting has been happening since 9/24. I have a mail-in ballot but will relinquish it at an early voting site when they all open on 10/19 and vote in person. Mail-in ballots cannot be counted until election day (IL) so figure voting in person will reduce that counting burden on election day.
I’ll be voting early and in person next week. I will also be a first-time election judge Nov 3, to help others vote.
I’ve already voted by mail. Loved The Princess Bride reunion a few weeks ago and looking forward to the West Wing reunion Thursday!
We live in Washington state, which has had Vote by Mail for everyone for years. I’m hoping our ballots will come today and we can vote ASAP!
I’ve already voted. Hand delivered to the election board. We’ve been voting by mail or drop box since budget cuts in 2008 did away with our rural in person voting. VOTE excersize your right as a US citizen.
VOTE!!!
I vote by mail, but this time I masked up and delivered my ballot in person.
Grateful for Washington State’s long-standing mail-in ballot process. Received my ballot Friday 10/9 and dropped it off the next day. There are 29 ballot box sites in my county alone for that purpose. Again, grateful. It’s a privilege and a duty to vote–I’d even say it’s a sacred duty.
Already voted, by mail, as I have done for years. Tracking is available now and it’s been received.
Voted early as absentee
Already voted- use drop box and saved the County 60 cents.
Filled in my vote by mail yesterday (I had to do research on the local referendums). Driving them to the Elections office later today. Will check obsessively that its been approved. (I don’t trust the post office, as I saw them just throwing them in open baskets on the counter and my neighborhood voted 95% for Ilhan Omar). Praying without ceasing that we Save Democracy!
I voted and used the drop box.
Already voted. I got my ballot by mail as I Iive in Vermont, filled it out right away and drove it to our Town Hall and plopped it in the outdoor ballot box. Easy Peasy.
I am going to do the same as you! Mask up, douse in purell, and vote in person. Hoping to go on Thursday this week. I also just found out that elderly voters in Georgia can cut to the front of the line, so my 80yo mother is planning to do the same thing! Unfortunately, we’re in different counties so it’ll be 2 trips, but I’m taking her tomorrow!
When we lived in Tennessee I always early voted. That’s not an option in Alabama.
Since we moved to Alabama we always went to the polling place on the day. Our Secretary of State announced masks would NOT be required to vote in person so we absentee voted this year. We turned our ballots in to our local election board office, and the state tracking system told me our ballots were accepted.
I live in Oregon, where we always vote by mail, and it works great. I sit on my couch with all of my notes and my voter’s pamphlet, fill out my ballot, put it in an inner envelope, which goes into another envelope, which I sign on the back. I can mail it back, take it to a drop box about a mile from my house, or even turn in the ballot in person downtown at the clerk’s office. In 2018 I received text messages informing me of the progress of my ballot through the system as it was received, accepted, etc. I haven’t stood in line to vote in over 20 years, since I left California.
Ditto. What she said. It works like a dream,
Just completed my mail in ballot. I plan to take it to a drop box today. I’m also mailing my son’s ballot. He sent it FedEx from Beijing!
I dropped off my ballot and my husband’s this morning at a drop off ballot box (a real one) at the Boulder County Colorado Fairgrounds.
Mickey Moore. Made a Dissent sweater during quarantine and wore it to vote ,in person, on the first day here in Ohio !!! RBG is my hero !! Mask on always…
I’m voting early, while the weather is nice to stand outside in line.
Voted, dropped ballot in drop box, and just received text it’s been received!
My husband and I filled out our absentee ballots at home. Then we took them to our County Auditor’s office to drop off in person. Feels good to have cast our votes!
Hubby and I mailed ours in earlier this week!!
We will vote in person on an early voting day. Thanks for the pointer on mid morning.
Already voted by mail. Just hoping it will be counted. I tear up every time I watch West Wing … will definitely watch on Thursday with my box of kleenex
I already voted! We have dozens of official drop boxes here in Sacramento County, CA and with the mail being questionable, I didn’t want to chance it. I voted last week and dropped my ballot in an official drop box to be sure it’s received and counted.
Early in- person voting starts this Saturday in NY. I will go mid-day on a weekday. I’m so thankful there are options and so excited to make my voice heard!
I’m logging on to my state’s site from Costa Rica and printing out and mailing my ballot. I will arrive home on November 2 and check if it has been received. If not, I can vote in person at the county courthouse. Take no chances.
Just want to say how much I appreciate the time and effort that people are committing to make their voices heard. I know that voting in person is invigorating, but too often it can be punishing. Thanks for putting up with our messy democracy.
Mailed at the post office last week
I’ve mailed in my absentee ballot.
I will vote in person on Nov 3rd. Masked and social distanced at my local elementary school. I can’t wait to watch that ballot go in.
I voted in person at my registrar’s office two weeks ago! It is always a privilege and a joy to be able to vote and I never ever miss it
I’m an Oregonian and when I receive my mail-in ballot, I look forward to returning it either by mail (postage already paid for by my state) or taking it to a ballot drop site.
We voted! Drop box, not mail box. Then took a selfie of ourselves with our
“I voted” stickers on our shirts and posted it on FB. It’s important, everyone, that you vote……
Vote by mail is the only option in Oregon. Easy peasy!
I’m an old man and might be taking a chance on contracting covid but after hearing the accounts of mail slowdowns and chicanery, I’d rather vote on the 3rd and die than take a chance my vote against trump won’t be counted.
Bravo, Conrad!
Hey, Conrad, I hear ya! Yay Democracy.
I will vote in person on Election Day!
Colorado votes by mail every election–but there are drop boxes. My ballot came on Friday, and I will vote this week after reading through “the Blue Book,” the state issued resource detailing the background and positions regarding the propositions, amendments, etc. on the ballot. Then I’ll walk to the nearest drop box two blocks away to drop it myself.
Voted in-person yesterday!
Voted absentee and mailed it at the PO.
Voted by mail last week and dropped it off at the post office.
Already voted, put in drop box, and tracked. It’s been received #newjersey
Will vote in person, early. But am waiting til after the local candidate forum, to learn more about prospective city council candidates.
My state (NV) has mailed all voters a mail-in ballot this year, so I have already sent mine in & seen from our state’s tracker website that it has been received (state cannot start counting these til Election Day).
We also have the option of in-person voting during an early voting period & on Election Day. This year, I decided to sign up to work at a polling place during these periods, since I’m in my 30s, have no conditions that put me more at-risk for severe covid, and currently live alone. My grandmother used to do this once she retired, and I always admired this. I know many of our retirees staff the polling places, but covid would make this riskier for them to do this year, so once I confirmed I had some scheduling flexibility with work, I am determined to do my part to keep more polling places open for everyone to be able to vote as quickly and safely as possible.
I’ve been really impressed with the breadth of people in my training group for this work, too. Everyone from several college students to stay-at-home moms to quite a few who are out of work due to the tourism & hospitality industry being so damaged by covid. I love seeing how determined we all are to make voting as seamless as possible for our fellow citizens. It gives me the same feeling as watching The West Wing— yes, it’s often cheesy, but it gives me hope about what our country is capable of at its, and our, best.
Well said!
I voted in person at my voter registrar’s office on September 18, the day the polls opened for early voting in Virginia. My husband and I were voters 7 and 8 in our rural county. Now over 1,000 of us have voted early. If we all vote we will win!
By mail, and posting it inside my local post office. Having been a poll worker in the Before Times, I know firsthand the security and accounting measures in place. No worries and a lot of joy to be able to do this.
Am placing mail-in ballot at polling drop box today! Will take advantage of the tracking offered in CA.
I’m in Washington, an all-mail vote which has happened each year since 2011 with no problems. I plan to vote soon after receiving my ballot which will arrive after 10/17.
I will vote as soon as I receive my ballot and will drop it in the mailbox the following day, likely to be this coming week-end, October 17. (WA state-100% vote by mail or dropbox)
I understand this is a hot issue, but can we keep the daily MDK centered in knitting & yarncrafts? The weekend “Knit to This” posts give a nice balance as they explore other areas of interest.
Thanks.
Voted in-person earlier today. Was surprised to see how many people were there to vote.
I’ll vote early as soon as early voting opens here on Long Island, masked and gloved.
I’m voting in person on election day, as I always do, at my neighorhood Rec Center. I think vast numbers of people have voted early, so I don’t anticipate a long line. If there is, that’s good too! I’ll take my knitting with me. I know it will be civilized, everyone will be masked, and we are Minnesotans, so we usually social distance by default, HA.
Jokes aside, there will no intimidation, no unauthorized people “supervising” or any hanky panky. I hope the rest of you in the US are just as fortunate to be able to freely exercise your right as I am, in Saint Paul.
In Washington State, voting entirely by mail has been going on since 2011, so that is my plan! Wish the ballots were here, but I guess they’ll be coming I. Another 3 days. Once filled out, there’s a ballot box to place them in, right downtown neat the Court House.
Requested my early ballot, and turned it in at my township clerk’s office last Friday! So glad to have it out of the way.
I dropped my ballot in the drop box today – MD is making it very easy to vote in whichever way works for each voter.
Waiting for polling place to open. Election night going to have a great Mexican dinner (it’s local) then a drink at local distillery, then home to sleep.
I live in California and we have mail-in voting this election. I completed my ballot yesterday, signed up to track my ballot and mailed it today. Yay for me!
I’ve never done mail-in voting before, although anyone can request it. I always enjoyed going to the polling place, casting my ballot, and getting the little sticker that says “I voted” which I would proudly wear the rest of the day.
My son just turned 18 and it is his first chance to vote. We are going through the sample ballot this weekend and picking our candidates. Then we’ll head to the polls on a week day morning next week to vote early in person. That way he gets to vote before leaving for boot camp (Go Navy!) And he can be sure his vote counts.
Lots of masks and hand sanitizer will be used. But I just didn’t feel like I could risk voting by mail. Not this specific year.
I already voted. In VA got my ballot sent to me and I walked into the county building and dropped it in the box. Checked online and yay I voted!
Like you ,Ann, I will be masking up and voting in person on Friday. I like the feeling of feeding my vote into the machine and knowing it will be counted.
Vote submitted by dropbox. Am finishing my batch of “why I vote” letters to be mailed Saturday 10/17. You too can send a simple, personalized letter to 5 or 20 registered but inconsistent voters. Check out Vote Forward at votefwd.org
My vote will go to a drop box soon – I’m clear on candidates, but need to study propositions a bit more. I’m mailing a batch of “why I vote” letters for the Sierra Club on the 17th.
I’ve requested the day off from work, just to be absolutely sure I have time to vote. My polling place is usually pretty quiet mid morning and mid-afternoon, so I’ll first try midmorning. If busy, I’ll return midafternoon, and at that point I will wait as long as it takes. I’ll wear both my mask and a face shield, with purell in the car for before and after voting. I just have to physically see my ballot go into the machine!
I took the day off after voting day too – I think the news will be so overwhelming after the election, I will not be able to concentrate on work.
Voting from Italy! Ballot already in the (international) mail! #vote
I might be crazy, but my plan is to vote at the school at the end of my street, where I have voted in every election for the past 25 years, on November 3. I, will mask, purell, wear weather appropriate clothing (this is New England – it could be shorts or snowpants, we’ll just have to see) and wait as long as it takes to cast my vote in person.I have nothing else on my schedule that day except therapy – and frankly, at this point voting is probably more important for my mental state than therapy!
Everything else in the world is upside down – I would like to vote on election day as I always have, since I cast my first vote in 1976! If I have Covid on that day, (God forbid) I will have my husband wrap me in bubble wrap and bring me to the voting booth, with just my right hand exposed to fill out the ballot.
In person.
I have already voted by absentee ballot and hand delivered it to my township office! I will be counted!!
We voted absentee, but we took our ballots directly to our city clerk’s office and put them in the locked box. I was too afraid of the virus to go in person, but I wasn’t going to trust the mail.
early, in person. in our small North Country of NYS town, there’s little or no wait. so glad to have the early option!
I planned to vote by mail, too. Then I planned to vote by drop-off.But I live in a state whose remote voting rules change daily with the whim of our governor and assorted federal courts. Today I voted in person, early, armed with sanitizer, a mask, and rubber gloves. The polling place had rubber “fingertips” and hand sanitizer, too, and enforced the 6-foot rule, so I felt safe and confident that my vote would be counted.
Four years ago I had to wait in line (for the first time ever that it took more than 15 minutes) one and a half hours just to get in the voting room. With COVID-19, and the need for distance, I can’t even imagine what that would be like.
Luckily I was able to qualify for Absentee voting. I got ballots for my senior age parents also. I called the county election board, and found out I can return all 3 ballots in person at the county election board office.
This should point to my state not making this type of voting easy. Yes, I could mail them, but I didn’t see any tracking information. Since this is the first time I have not voted in person, I need to be extra vigilant in making sure the ballots get to the right authority.
Good for you, Lori! My state is easier, but I also dropped mine off at a drop box rather than mailing it.
My husband and I made a day of it…
We got our flu shots and then dropped off our completed absentee ballots at the Election Board.
I feel relieved (and just a tiny bit virtuous) to have completed those vitally important tasks.
Our state has all voted by mail for several years. It works great, although we do use a drop box near our home instead of mailing them in. Voting this weekend when we have time to review all the measures on the ballot. Hubs mentioned he might be getting a cold. I told him he better sign his ballot right now. No room to mess around this election. Every vote counts.
I would also like to note that I get emails at each step letting me know what’s going on. When it is mailed, received, accepted, counted. Cha-ching.
I voted 2 weeks ago by absentee ballot and deposited at local Clerk’s office ballot box.
Our state is by mail-only for years now (Washington), so that’s it, but I plan to deliver it to a drop-box near the courthouse rather than mail it (now postage-paid for the second time).
I dropped my mail-in ballot at the dropbox in front of the Baltimore Museum of Art. Received email next day-the Election Board received it! Yay!
The spousal unit (aka my husband) & sat down at our dining table with ballots, markers, beverages. My web browser was open to vote411.org, the League of Women Voters website. It has candidate info on all of ’em – local school boards, state judges, national offices. We made our choices, marked our ballots, then took the dogs with us for the stroll up to the city hall. Votes cast.
Next, I’ll serve as an election inspector (aka poll worker), or . . . that nice person who verifies that you’re a registered voter, then hands you your ballot on Election Day. Predictions are that lines will be L-O-N-G on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd because a record-breaking turnout is expected.
Thanks, Ann & Kay & all citizens of MDK world for urging all of us to vote. You all are The. Best.
Early voting on Monday
Done!!
In Washington, everyone votes by mail…Been this way for many years. Voted yesterday and will take my ballot to the ballot box today
I voted in person the last week in September. I tracked my ballot online. It’s been counted. Easy-peasy. Glad I live in a state where this is possible AND encouraged.
For anyone who has a mail-in ballot but decides to vote in person: take the ballot with you to your polling place and surrender it. Otherwise you may have to vote provisionally.
(Got my mail-in ballot 2 days ago-9 weeks after applying for it. I’ll complete it and drop it off at the county building.)
Drive-through voting! I live in Houston, which is all about car transportation. I did the drive-through yesterday, and it was great – a 25-minute wait in the car – less time then it takes to get out of the parking lot at a Texans game – then you head into a little individual tent with a friendly volunteer who takes ID and hands you a portable tablet. Thus is every day, and some locations are open 24 hours!
I voted by mail 2 weeks ago and have received the email verification that it was received.
Overseas voter here! Our votes have been counted! Long live JotNot Fax app!
Got my ballot in the mail, voted, then dropped it in the official box at the countt courthouse.
This household has voted, a couple weeks ago, by mail. We live in a small town of 1400 souls and the officials have a great plan set up, but we trusted the mail because of our age. It was very exciting as we sat at the kitchen counter carefully reading the instructions(NH). Afterwards we had the impulse of ripping the envelopes open to check one more time, but no, we drove to our Town Hall and handed our votes to the Clerk. Whoopie!
Early voting! The best way to get it done! I voted this past week and it feels so good to have that checked off my list!
Live in Scotland, but registered in Maryland, both my daughter and I sent our votes by the post!
I’m really sick of seeing your political bias. I guess you can’t help yourself. Can’t unsubscribe fast enough.
Belatedly, I want to thank you for reminding me of The West Wing and also to recommend to you a Danish series on Netflix. Like The West Wing, its about politics both gritty and idealistic. Good performances, excellent writing, and strong themes make the Danish series as powerful and thoughtful. There IS a lot of reading, and I can’t KNIT while I’m watching. The series takes too many brain cells!