South Carolina
Related: About this forumI'm starting to think it was intentional
I did not vote yesterday. I am not really disabled, so I did not think I qualified to apply for an absentee ballot. I also don't drive, so I had to make arrangements in advance to get to my polling place.
When I got there, the line wrapped around the building. Now, when things are working well, if the space inside fills up, and can be seen from the outer doorway, that means that the wait will be over an hour. There were so many people there are 9:15 am, that I estimated at least a three hour wait. I could not do that. It wasn't a matter of not having the time, it was just that I cannot stand up for that long.
I called my local Democratic Party helpline, but I could only leave a message, and they never called back.
Just now, I saw in the local news that state law required that my voting district requires a minimum of 22 voting machines (although I don't think I have ever seen that many). Yesterday, it seems that there were only three machines working. This same kind of problem was reported all over Richland county.
No one in state government has an answer, but I do live in the bluest county in South Carolina. I cannot help but wonder if this was a deliberate attempt to keep as many of us from voting as possible.
2pooped2pop
(5,420 posts)And this is one of the first things Obama needs to change. We should not have to pass through a republican gauntlet of underhanded obstacles in order to vote. We are simply not a democracy if we don't have a fair vote. Preventing people from voting in this way, to me is treasonous.
I would have had a hard time standing for any length of time as well. I am sorry that this happened to you.
OffWithTheirHeads
(10,337 posts)rosesaylavee
(12,126 posts)ReRe
(10,775 posts)So sorry you didn't get to vote. Moral is, get an absentee ballot for every election
from now on. Our election system is so screwed up. Heads should swim for all of the
dirty tricks they pulled this time to disinfanchise voters.
lunasun
(21,646 posts)SouthernLiberal
(408 posts)Not by me, though, since I never got even close to the room where the machines were. The Republican appointed people running the election are, of course, denying that there was a shortage of machines. Of course, they are not claiming that my location had 22 machines as the law requires. No, but they are really sure there were 'enough'. According to the local news, they are also hedging a bit about whether or not they ever intended to be in compliance with the state law.
SCantiGOP
(14,238 posts)Some folks with connections say that there is talk of criminal investigations, not just incompetence.