Before I start, let me give the TLDR version, so you can decide if you want to read the whole thing.TLDR: Blair and I went to vote in the primaries today. The ballots consist of two sheets of paper, each with two sides. At our polling place, the pollworker was only giving people one sheet.
Full version:
Blair and I both applied for (and received) absentee ballots, but then decided to vote in person instead. Still, having a physical copy of the ballot in advance helped. I was familiar enough with the Presidential candidates, but not with all the candidates in the downballot races. Having a physical ballot gave me added encouragement to research the candidates in these races.
But, more importantly, having seen the ballot and having reviewed it made Blair and me aware that it consisted of four pages (on two sheets of paper). For reference:
- Sheet A contained:
- Civil Court Judge
- Brough President
- Congresscritter
- State Assemblymember
- Female Party Assembly District Leader
- Male Party Assembly District Leader
- Delegates to the Judicial Convention
- Sheet B contained:
- President
- Delegates to the Party's National Convention
At the polling site, Blair and I duly waited in line and got our ballots. We were each only given a copy of Sheet A. As I filled it out, I noticed that Sheet B was missing, but I kind of dismissed this from my mind, figuring that since the presidential race was a fait acompli they may have removed it from the ballot. So I filled out sheet A and submitted it. Then I stood by the exit to wait for Blair. Blair didn't accept her half-ballot with the same sanguine acceptance that I did. She went back and asked about the missing page. "Where's the ballot for President?" I heard her ask. And I heard the pollowrker tell her that this was just the primary -- the Presidential election is in November. After some back and forth, the supervisor came over and found the unopened package of sheets B.
They gave her Sheet B, and she made a point of calling me back so I could have Sheet B. They showed me a Sheet A and asked if that's the one I filled out. I confirmed. They asked about B, and I confirmed that I hadn't been given that one. So they gave it to me and I filled it out. I can only guess that this is a huge breach of protocol.
In the end, I got to vote the full ballot, and only once. But the way it all happened was an invitation to accusations of trouble. And at that point we were the only voters at the site. But if it were crowded, and if the pollworkers had trouble picking me out because they were busy, it could have been problematic. In addition, we weren't the first voters there. When we got there, there was one person ahead of us, getting her ballot. I have no idea how many were ahead of her. Did all those people not get Sheet B? Had I not seen the mail-in ballot, I would not have known about Sheet B. Blair told me she doesn't know if she would have.
The supervisor was visibly furious, though he largely resisted the urge to scold the workers in front of Blair and me. He did ask the one who was handing out ballots "didn't you pay attention during training?" After Blair and I had both submitted our full ballots, a pollworker called us over to talk to the supervisor. But without talking to us, he simply said to her "let's wait until the voters aren't here." And with that we were dismissed. I can only assume there were harsh words after we left.
The kicker? The pollworker who handed out incomplete ballots gave Blair the standard "I Voted" sticker. But she tore it when pulling it from the roll. Instead of pulling off another one so Blair could have an unblemished sticker, she taped it up and gave it to Blair as is (and the tape is holding it to its backing, so it can't be used as a sticker). Of course, Blair got a sticker; I didn't.
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