Texas voter says he waited 'a little bit over six hours' on Super Tuesday to vote

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Washington (CNN)A Texas man said he waited for "a lit bit over six hours" at a polling center to participate in Super Tuesday, holding that although the long line deterred other voters, he felt it was his duty to cast a ballot in the Democratic nominating process.

"I figured like it was my duty to vote. I wanted to get my vote in to voice my opinion. And I wasn't going to let nothing stop me. So I waited it out," Hervis Rogers told CNN's Ed Lavandera early Wednesday morning after casting his ballot at a polling center located at Texas Southern University, a historically black college in Houston.
Asked how long he had waited for to vote, Rogers said: "About six hours. A little bit over six hours."

Rogers was among scores of voters who experienced long lines at some polling centers in Texas, where the state has shut down hundreds of polling sites in the last decade, contributing to the long lines at some of the remaining locations. Unusually long lines were also reported at some polling centers in California.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/04/politics/texas-voter-hervis-rogers-long-line/index.html

Related issue:
Black and Latino voters were hit hardest by long lines in the Texas Democratic primary

With fewer polling sites available, it’s not surprising that voters in Harris County were facing long wait times on Tuesday night. It’s a problem for candidates relying on turnout among Latinos, who make up about 30 percent of the electorate in Texas, and African Americans, who account for about 13 percent.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has been polling well among Latino voters in Texas: He led the field with 26 percent support, 6 points over his rival former Vice President Joe Biden, according to a February 28 Univision/University of Houston poll. But it’s been a tight contest in Texas between Sanders and Biden, for which Sanders needs significant Latino support to win. Sanders has been trying to appeal to Latinos with a progressive policy platform that speaks to their core interests — health care, jobs, and, for some, immigration — and has invested heavily in spreading his message, in both Spanish and English, to Latino communities in Texas and other states.

Biden, meanwhile, has been drawing significant support from African American voters, who powered his comeback that began in South Carolina and continued through other Southern states Tuesday night.

The lack of access to polling stations and the ensuing chaos on Super Tuesday also isn’t good news for Democrats who are hoping to flip the state blue in 2020 for the first time since 1976. That will require capitalizing on a shift to the left among college-educated voters, as well as getting Latino and African American voters to turn out, despite the shortage of polling locations in their neighborhoods.

https://www.vox.com/2020/3/3/21164014/long-lines-wait-texas-primary-democratic-harris

Emphasis added. We've been hearing about this issue now for decades and it's not just Texas. When is it going to be solved? The 2020 General Election is going to be impacted by it which is going to be difficult enough but when you can't even count all your support, you are risking a win big time. The Democratic Party should maybe have bought more voting machines rather than new apps and $300 million new technology in California. Put the extra machines in problem areas for elections?

 

[Keith&Co.]

Emphasis added. We've been hearing about this issue now for decades and it's not just Texas. When is it going to be solved?

Solved? You're acting like it's a 'flaw.' But clearly it's a 'feature.'

 

[ZiprHead]

I saw one say he waited seven hours and finally voted at 1:30am.

 

[southernhybrid]

I voted yesterday here in Georgia during early voting. There were only 2 people ahead of me, but it took much longer than usual because we have new voting machines. There was a man teaching each person how to use the new machines. Plus, we had to wait for the paper ballot to come out of the machine. After that, we had to put the paper ballot in yet another machine, which was being managed by one woman. There weren't nearly as many machines as my early voting place usually has. I can't imagine how long it will take if there are a lot of people in line. The last time I voted early there were about 20 people ahead of me and it didn't take long to vote. If people don't vote in our primaries, and if they don't vote early, the lines in November will be unbearable. I did like getting a paper ballot though, so maybe it will be worth the wait.


We have another primary election in May for the House and Senate. I worry about how long that will take. The people who were voting yesterday all looked a lot older than us and we are both over 65. WE only had to vote for one person. How bad will it be when we have to vote for many people and then wait for the paper ballot to print! I sure hope there will be more voting machines by then.

 

[Jayjay]

Are the primaries in the U.S. arranged by the state or the parties? I thought it was the latter, in which case you'd think that Democrats who've been complaining loudly about voter suppression shouldn't be having these issues in their own primaries.

 

[PyramidHead]

Are the primaries in the U.S. arranged by the state or the parties? I thought it was the latter, in which case you'd think that Democrats who've been complaining loudly about voter suppression shouldn't be having these issues in their own primaries.

Unless they had a vested interest in a particular outcome that could be tilted by allowing things like this to slide in communities where their least favorite demographics hang out

 

[bilby]

I worked for the Electoral Commission at the last federal election here, and while it did take a few seconds per voter to explain the changes in the way the senate papers should be completed, the only "machine" required was a pencil, and not even the slowest voters required any instruction on its correct use.

Voting machines are bloody stupid.

 

[Treedbear]

In CT we just need one machine per polling location into which everyone inserts their ballot just before they pickup their "I Voted Today" sticker and walk out the door. There are about 20 easles each enclosed by cardboard panels on three sides spread out across an elementary school gynmasium, each equipped with a tethered marking pen and a plastic magnifier. The only part that might hold people up is finding a parking space at times and having the two people at one of the two tables look at your ID and check your name off on the list. They give you a ticket that you present at another table and get back a manilla folder with your ballot inside. Wqlk over to any unoccupied easle and you can take as much time as you want to read it and fill in your choices. Takes about 5 minutes once you enter the building and get past the kids' bake sale. You don't get any kind of paper back and the ballot gets saved in the machine after it's scanned. And there's nothing touching any kind of network during the process. Actually it's far easier than the clunky machines we stopped using about 16 years ago iirc. Mainly because they were so ancient and couldn't be maintained.

 

[Gun Nut]

My ballot was mailed to me a month ago and I have had it available to me to send in or drop off anytime. I waited until the last second to walk over to the closest ballot box (there are like 5 in walking distance) and drop off my ballot. It was a 10 minute walk through a lovely park.. and I saw a hawk hanging out on a low branch of a tree... which distracted me for a few minutes.. so the whole event was a pleasant 30 minutes; which I had a month to do.

States are free to arrange voting however they want. If you have a bad experience, its because they WANT you to. Colorado wants you to have a good experience and encourages voting. unlike elsewhere.

oh, and there is a tag you rip off the ballot they mail you to hold onto and can use to lookup the status of your ballot online... status goes from "not received" to "received" to "counted" (or "rejected" - and you can fix it online, by mail, or in person).

 

[PyramidHead]

One way that power maintains itself is by placing such logistical concerns as voting systems, schedules, polling places, and methods of counting, "outside" of politics, as if it were possible to de-politicize the material process by which power is granted in society. It casts these issues as problems of scarce resources rather than deliberate withholding of plentiful resources, unavoidable delays rather than entirely anticipated and desired ones, lack of ingenuity rather than the presence of manipulation. And it then completes the circle of unaccountability by labeling any analysis of these tendencies as conspiracy theorizing.

 

[Gun Nut]

Voting machines are bloody stupid.

ya.. mail-in ballots work perfectly and make voting 100% available to anyone that has a permanent mailing address.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

In CT we just need one machine per polling location into which everyone inserts their ballot just before they pickup their "I Voted Today" sticker and walk out the door. There are about 20 easles each enclosed by cardboard panels on three sides spread out across an elementary school gynmasium, each equipped with a tethered marking pen and a plastic magnifier. The only part that might hold people up is finding a parking space at times and having the two people at one of the two tables look at your ID and check your name off on the list. They give you a ticket that you present at another table and get back a manilla folder with your ballot inside. Wqlk over to any unoccupied easle and you can take as much time as you want to read it and fill in your choices. Takes about 5 minutes once you enter the building and get past the kids' bake sale. You don't get any kind of paper back and the ballot gets saved in the machine after it's scanned. And there's nothing touching any kind of network during the process. Actually it's far easier than the clunky machines we stopped using about 16 years ago iirc. Mainly because they were so ancient and couldn't be maintained.

Yes...but there's a law that purges you if you haven't voted in N years. If you keep your nose to the grindstone working and just vote in elections you deem critical, you may get a surprise...have to get paperwork and drive to city hall to straighten it all out while there is time.

 

[Treedbear]

My ballot was mailed to me a month ago and I have had it available to me to send in or drop off anytime. I waited until the last second to walk over to the closest ballot box (there are like 5 in walking distance) and drop off my ballot. It was a 10 minute walk through a lovely park.. and I saw a hawk hanging out on a low branch of a tree... which distracted me for a few minutes.. so the whole event was a pleasant 30 minutes; which I had a month to do.

States are free to arrange voting however they want. If you have a bad experience, its because they WANT you to. Colorado wants you to have a good experience and encourages voting. unlike elsewhere.

oh, and there is a tag you rip off the ballot they mail you to hold onto and can use to lookup the status of your ballot online... status goes from "not received" to "received" to "counted" (or "rejected" - and you can fix it online, by mail, or in person).

I'm against voting by mail except for special circumstances such as being away or being disabled. It's too easy to be coerced into revealing your vote by someone such as a boss or spouse, or even selling your ballot. I know it seems unlikely to become a big problem but it undermines the principle advantage of democratic elections. In some cases a vote can become an extremely valuable commodity.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I worked for the Electoral Commission at the last federal election here, and while it did take a few seconds per voter to explain the changes in the way the senate papers should be completed, the only "machine" required was a pencil, and not even the slowest voters required any instruction on its correct use.

Voting machines are bloody stupid.

How many people/issues were on the ballot?

 

[Gun Nut]

My ballot was mailed to me a month ago and I have had it available to me to send in or drop off anytime. I waited until the last second to walk over to the closest ballot box (there are like 5 in walking distance) and drop off my ballot. It was a 10 minute walk through a lovely park.. and I saw a hawk hanging out on a low branch of a tree... which distracted me for a few minutes.. so the whole event was a pleasant 30 minutes; which I had a month to do.

States are free to arrange voting however they want. If you have a bad experience, its because they WANT you to. Colorado wants you to have a good experience and encourages voting. unlike elsewhere.

oh, and there is a tag you rip off the ballot they mail you to hold onto and can use to lookup the status of your ballot online... status goes from "not received" to "received" to "counted" (or "rejected" - and you can fix it online, by mail, or in person).

I'm against voting by mail except for special circumstances such as being away or being disabled. It's too easy to be coerced into revealing your vote by someone such as a boss or spouse, or even selling your ballot. I know it seems unlikely to become a big problem but it undermines the principle advantage of democratic elections. In some cases a vote can become an extremely valuable commodity.

selling a vote versus disenfranchising voters.. hmm.. not a hard choice for me.
Theoretically, anything is for sale. The, "It might make selling things easier" concern is not anywhere on my radar...for anything.

 

[Treedbear]

My ballot was mailed to me a month ago and I have had it available to me to send in or drop off anytime. I waited until the last second to walk over to the closest ballot box (there are like 5 in walking distance) and drop off my ballot. It was a 10 minute walk through a lovely park.. and I saw a hawk hanging out on a low branch of a tree... which distracted me for a few minutes.. so the whole event was a pleasant 30 minutes; which I had a month to do.

States are free to arrange voting however they want. If you have a bad experience, its because they WANT you to. Colorado wants you to have a good experience and encourages voting. unlike elsewhere.

oh, and there is a tag you rip off the ballot they mail you to hold onto and can use to lookup the status of your ballot online... status goes from "not received" to "received" to "counted" (or "rejected" - and you can fix it online, by mail, or in person).

I'm against voting by mail except for special circumstances such as being away or being disabled. It's too easy to be coerced into revealing your vote by someone such as a boss or spouse, or even selling your ballot. I know it seems unlikely to become a big problem but it undermines the principle advantage of democratic elections. In some cases a vote can become an extremely valuable commodity.

selling a vote versus disenfranchising voters.. hmm.. not a hard choice for me.
Theoretically, anything is for sale. The, "It might make selling things easier" concern is not anywhere on my radar...for anything.

The easy solution isn't always the best one.

 

[Patooka]

I worked for the Electoral Commission at the last federal election here, and while it did take a few seconds per voter to explain the changes in the way the senate papers should be completed, the only "machine" required was a pencil, and not even the slowest voters required any instruction on its correct use.

Voting machines are bloody stupid.

How many people/issues were on the ballot?

Here's a sample if you lived in NSW and you're voting for the senate,

Bilby can definitely clarify, but the hard and fast rule is you either pick one candidate above the line, or label all the candidates below the line in order of preference. I've only met a handful of people who have done the latter, but they do exist. House of Representatives is a little more straightforward. Depending on the electorate, you would have your usual suspects (Labor, Coalition, Greens), possibly a couple of Independents and minor parties. Usually around six and you just number in order of preference.

 

[bilby]

I worked for the Electoral Commission at the last federal election here, and while it did take a few seconds per voter to explain the changes in the way the senate papers should be completed, the only "machine" required was a pencil, and not even the slowest voters required any instruction on its correct use.

Voting machines are bloody stupid.

How many people/issues were on the ballot?

Here's a sample if you lived in NSW and you're voting for the senate,

Bilby can definitely clarify, but the hard and fast rule is you either pick one candidate above the line, or label all the candidates below the line in order of preference. I've only met a handful of people who have done the latter, but they do exist. House of Representatives is a little more straightforward. Depending on the electorate, you would have your usual suspects (Labor, Coalition, Greens), possibly a couple of Independents and minor parties. Usually around six and you just number in order of preference.

There were 83 candidates on the Queensland senate paper (and I, as always, numbered every box below the line). BTW numbering a single box above the line was technically not a valid vote in 2019 - though ballots so marked were counted (at least in the preliminary count, which I know because I did it). It's now necessary to number at least six above the line OR at least twelve below; However failure to number every box in either case risks your vote exhasting, which wasn't possible under the 'one box above the line' system.

The election was for one of six candidates for the House of Representatives (in my district), plus six of the 83 Senate candidates for Queensland.

The election of civil servants, judges, city officials etc., and the direct voting by citizens on proposed law, are also bloody stupid. The point of representative democracy is to elect people to make those calls. Why are you keeping a dog, and barking yourself?

 

[Patooka]

I knew I did something different this election, but for the life of me I couldn't remember what. I honestly thought it had something to do with oniongate (I wish I was making that up).

The election of civil servants, judges, city officials etc., and the direct voting by citizens on proposed law, are also bloody stupid. The point of representative democracy is to elect people to make those calls. Why are you keeping a dog, and barking yourself?

Yeah, I've never understood that. Make appointing Judges a popularity contest and how the fuck do you expect them to be impartial?

 

[bigfield]

I've only met a handful of people who have done the latter, but they do exist.

I used to vote below the line when we were only allowed to number a single box above the line. I planned my votes in a spreadsheet and took a printout so I didn't make any mistakes. (So civic, very democracy, wow.) Now I can effectively do full preference voting above the line.