February 5, 2008
SFist Votes
Hey, look! The SF "I voted/Ya Vote/Wo Yi To Piao" stickers are on the front page of cnn.com! So are you proudly sporting a red sticker? How was your voting experience this beautiful primary Super Duper Wowie Zowie Tuesday? Any good stories to pass along?
Here's some of ours, over here at SFist HQ! And hey, if you don't know where you vote, check here. Polls are open until 8 p.m.
Here's SFist Leanne -- she's voting after work today!
My experience should be interesting -- I stupidly ripped up my absentee ballot, since I hadn't declared myself a Dem and learned that I have to go to my precinct anyway... I hope they don't give me a hard time for not handing it over...
Hey Leanne -- we just looked this up for ya. You can either say you made a mistake on the ballot, bring the two ripped up pieces to your polling place, and vote on a regular ballot, or you can say you lost your ballot and vote on a provisional ballot.
And while we have you here, Decline To Staters, don't forget that you have to specifically request a Democratic ballot if you want to vote for Barack or Hillary (or Mike Gravel or John Edwards). There are some sporadic reports that Decline To Staters are having some trouble getting Democratic ballots, but you do have the right to vote in the Democratic election, so stand firm if someone says you can't do it, ask to see a supervisor, or call your local Dept. of Elections. (SF's is 554-4375.)
We love people's voting stories! More after the jump, and tell yours in the comments if you're so inclined!
After the jump: SFist Dan's idyllic trek to his voting booth, a question raised about suffragette martyrs, and SFist Deborah's name change issues!
Here's SFist Deborah's harrowing name-change story in the wilds of Sunnyside:
I gave the volunteer my last name - spelled it out and everything. I told him my first name was Deborah and he said, "Yes. Here you are. Sign here please." He was pointing to my husband's name (who is not named Deborah). My name was nowhere to be found on the page. Although I had updated my surname a few weeks ago, the change was not yet reflected in the book. So, I just signed under my maiden name, after another volunteer gave the previous volunteer another job to do. I really can't complain though, since there was no line and someone was gracious enough to volunteer his/her garage.
Our tale isn't so exciting, alas -- we showed up at the voting booth this morning at around 8:15 a.m., whipped through the shortest ballot ever in recent memory, and were the 30th person to vote in the precinct.
We do have a more exciting tale of a friend of ours, though, who ran into someone voting at 7 a.m., who said she was voting for Hillary Clinton because "women died to get the vote." Is that true? We looked online and the only woman we found described as a suffragette martyr was Emily Davison, a woman in England who repeatedly attempted to commit suicide on behalf of the women's voting movement. Are we missing any American suffragists who were killed in the cause? Let us know -- now we're curious.
And finally, SFist Dan's paean to the franchise, on a beautiful San Francisco February.
I went running this morning out to Golden Gate Park and up through the Presidio, passing six polling places on my seven-mile trek. All of them had people voting, but there were no lines (it was about 9:30). When I had come home and showered, I went to my polling place. Things there were quiet, except for the really short guy (five feet, maybe) who had a boom box on a little cart and was dancing to a reggae song while kibbitzing with a few friends. His cart was full of incense; perhaps he was going to sell it on the street. My voting room was empty; I filled out my ballot in a minute or two, got my "I Voted" sticker, and headed out into this absolutely beautiful day.
America's a great country and we live in its greatest city!!! GET OUT THERE AND VOTE, EVERYONE!!!
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Have you ever seen a line at a SF polling place? I haven't.
Only at City Hall.
True, only for early voting at city hall have I waited in line.
Tell Leanne to bring her spoiled ballot with her to exchange for a new one - regular ballots get shoved into a machine and counted right in front of your eyes; the provisional ballots don't get counted at all - they get put in an envelope marked "Provisional Ballots" (what else) and either get counted at some later date or tossed in the bay.
The poll workers at my polling place are three high school students, bright and polite as can be. They get time off from school to do this - a terrific civics lesson!
I saw lines in 2004 during the Presidential Election when I went jogging that Tuesday morning. LOOOOONG lines. They weren't too bad when I voted around 10:30 that day, but that was the one memorable time I've seen voting lines.
I'm still mad they moved my polling place from Dawdyiak Motors down the block to Ellis Brooks Chevrolet. Looking at antique Ferraris is a nice way to pass the time when you're stuck behind a group of geriatrics trying to understand this voting thing for the 400th time.
If someone tries to deny me a DEM ballot tonight I'm gonna get medieval on their ass (in a respectful, non-violent and civil manner, of course).
I allowed myself to feel a little twinge of hope while voting this morning. The Noe Valley Ministry was filled with smiling volunteers and a huge stack of Democratic Ballots, with only a few dusty Republican ones. I voted in about 4 minutes, got my sticker, got a happy "You just voted!" from the guy manning the polling machine, and even got a "Thanks for Voting!" shoutout from the guy with the Obama '08 sign outside the BART station. American Flags were unfurling in my mind.
Lines? Mail it in!
I ended up being able to turn in my ripped absentee ballot, which was in a hundred pieces, by the way. I also asked for a Democratic ballot, which means I had to vote provisionally -- I believe you have to vote provisionally anyway when forfeiting your absentee ballot. (I worked the polls last year.)
Atthebeach -- I kept my stubs, so I'll be sure to check whether "my vote counted!"
i totally screwed the pooch. i was in line with my absentee ballot for the state props only, someone said you can drop it in the box. i said i'm waiting to get my democratic ballot for prez. i'm registered independent so i didn't get one in the mail. i was kinda impatient, no surprise, and dropped my ballot in the box but then got back in line. guess what. i needed to mark it surrender to get my democratic ballot and start over. so i did not get to vote for obama. if he loses by one vote, it is all my fault.
:(
Did anyone else get propositioned by the 12 year old Chinese girl in North Beach at the corner of Filbert and Stockton to sign the petition to recall Peskin? She was intentionally being disingenuous by simply asking "Would you like to sign my petition?" I had to stop and ask her "For what???" She started in about the "evils of Peskin" and I told her that I thought Gavin had nice hair but Peskin is out soon anyhow. Let's elect one of these old timer cigar chomping Italians to the BOS to protect North Beach from Gavin and his plan to turn NB into Disneyland. I wonder how many feet the corner of Stockton and Filbert is from the polling station at the Fire Station on Stockton...hmmm...
Leanne: I brought in my absentee ballot in its mailing envelope, which they marked "surrendered" and then gave me a new ballot, which I voted right into the counting machine (not provisional). You should have been able to do the same, even if you asked for a Democratic ballot. Sounds like they screwed up. Here's a link to the relevant Elections page:
http://www.sfgov.org/site/elections_index.asp?id=59159
The page also tells you how to find out if your vote ever gets counted, "no sooner than 40 days after the election." Better late than never, I suppose.
So, is it weird that they didn't even ask me what I was registered as, and just gave me a democrat ballot? Aren't you supposed to tell them before they hand you something?
There was no line at my place, but there were some very bossy poll workers. I also completely missed the presidential candidates on my ballot at first, thinking they hadn't given me all the ballots I needed...derrr!
I hear you, RobinSF. Seems I read some Alioto is going to run, don't know if he's young or old, but he's definitely Italian.
I've been noticing big color posters saying "recall Peskin" taped to poles everywhere. What's up with that?
Atthebeach -- darn! My situation was confusing though. My absentee ballot was almost unrecognizable, since I ripped up the bar code and my address and stuff... Plus, when the student clerk started to get all flustered after I showed it to her, I prompted her with the phrase, "provisional ballot." According to the link you posted, that was a good assumption.
I guess my vote will only count if the candidates are neck-and-neck...
Rain, I was very confused too. A one-page ballot is a rarity...
If you're registered under a party, it is indicated on the sign-in sheet and you automatically get that ballot. If you're decline-to-state, your line has all the options -- DTS, DTS-DEM, and DTS-AIP(?) -- listed, and the worker marks which one you take. You definitely are not supposed to vote provisionally if there are no other problems.
I worked for the polls. My precinct in Berkeley had a total of four Republican ballots, and I think one provisional Republican. Of the ones counted in the machine, McCain was the winner (two votes, one for Paul, one for Romney). Obama cleaned up in the Democratic race (over 100 votes to 30-something for Hillary) and McKinney won in my Green Party vote (4 votes, compared to my lonely one for the guy with the picture of the dog on his website...Mesplay was his name-O).
It was pretty decent work, but a LONG day (show up at 6 AM to setup, and ended at 9:30 PM after cleanup) for money that fell way short of minimum wage. Provisional ballots will be counted, if there are no problems, it just takes a while. Most provisionals (almost 50) were for people who didn't bring in their absentee, and some for people registered in other precincts. Good times had by all, and the bake sale outside the doors was a nice touch.
HappyChandler: I hear ya. I did it last year for the same hours, and it was indeed a LONG day.
Rain: Even if they neglected to glance at your party affiliation on the register, the poll worker might have just been on auto-pilot, especially if there was a rush of voters. If they'd been handing out Democratic ballots all day(morning, afternoon, whatever), as I'm sure they were in the City, it might have gotten to the point where it became an automatic action.
I voted at the fire station on Sanchez. All was fine and well, voting was simple and fun!, until I went for the "I Voted!" sticker. The poll worker, who must have been in his late 70's, insisted on placing the sticker directly on my breast and then decided to leave his hand lingering there for a few moments. But hey! I'll let him cop a feel for democracy! I can only hope people do me the same courtesy when I'm nearing my grave.
Love this city.
hi there,
can someone clear up my confusion. i'm registered independent, my polling place is steiner and oak, i get my ballot and head to the booth, i notice no obama and clinton for pres, but rather names i've never heard of, i realize i have the 'idependent party' ballot, i leave the booth and ask the folks running the place if i could have a democratic ballot, they check my name and say no, i tell them i was under the impression that independent voters could vote democratic in the primary, they say no. i walk back to the booth and don't vote for a presendential candidate (i've never heard of em' before)...
does that jive with you? was i totally off the mark with thinking i could vote democrat pres as a registered independent?
thanks for your help sf'isters.
Merkoneus - You should have been able to vote a Democratic ballot if you declined to state a party.
hi bri,
damn, that's janky.
Merkoneus -
You may in fact be registered as a member of the American Independent Party (AIP). It's a very common mistake. Previously, voters who were not affiliated with a party were called independents, but with the advent of the AIP, the terminology used for a person unaffiliated with a party became Decline to State (DTS). Many voters have mistakenly registered as AIP when their intentention was to remain unaffilated.
In this primary, only if you DTS, did you have a choice of ballots. Two parties opened their primary to DTS/unaffiliated voters: The Democratic Party and the AIP. Additionally, a DTS voter could get a non-partisan ballot.
If you were in fact registed as AIP, you were only eligible to get their ballot. These are Party rules, they choose who may or may not vote in their primary.
hi portrero hill,
thanks so much! this is exactly what happend. i guess i registered AIP by mistake...sha-tree.
on the bright side i still got to snicker and vote no on the retarded 'alcatraz as peace center' doohicky.
thanks again for clearing things up.
In other words, once again the fringe elements took votes away from the rightful candidates. How ever will Ms. Clinton steal this election, let me count the ways...