What is the point of registering to vote? Why can't I just show up with a passport or SSN/State ID and vote. I tried to vote earlier today, and the people at the poll could not find me as being registered. I registered at UH when they had a registration drive. I am quite furious that I was unable to vote due to this stupid flawed system of having to register to vote. There was a lady in front of me who was not allowed to vote because apparently they sent her some mail 2 years ago to verify her first/last name and she never responded. Even though she and her husband registered a few months ago, the volunteers said she would not be able to vote. (Her husband on the other hand was able to vote) I think this is absurd and ridiculous. Now I know why people don't even bother voting. Its too much of a damn hassle. Registering, Lines, dumb volunteers, difficult to use polling machine, No real verification system once you do register to vote... Im pissed
In national elections there is probably no reason to register, however, in local or state elections you have to prove that you live in the district where the person is running. No fair voting for New York Senators or Chicago City Council if you live in Houston, right?
What makes you think I would vote for Obama? The worse part is that when they couldn't find my information they basically told me to go home. I was like, can't I do a provisional vote, and the people running the polls were very VERY hesitant to offer it to me. I made them give it to me and they let me finally cast my vote, but still its frustrating to think that this is the "easy" system of voting. Also, they didnt offer the provisional to the lady in front of me.
What would prevent folks from showing up at different precincts with their ID and voting more than once? Currently, voting software/hardware is not set up to handle that. If you are registered in a particular precinct it is easier to verify if a voter is valid or not. I do not see the big deal with registering at all. Elections do not sneak up on us. Generally, once you are registered you do not have to register again unless you move out of your precinct. Did you get a voter registration card once you registered? It's always a good idea to carry that with you on any election day so you don't run into the situation you did.
No I never did get a card. As a regular American who does NOT know that he is even supposed to register to vote, what makes you think I knew that I was supposed to get a card once I did register. No one told me that, heck I even asked the dude if this was all I had to do, I dnt have to take anything to the polls right, and he said, yep... This information is not really told to the public either.
Why are the elections for Senator/ City council even linked to the national ballot? I think its quite dumb, most people don't even know that there will be other options once you go into the poll. I was expecting a blue box and a red box with Obama on one and McCain on the other...
Did you vote provisionally? Sometimes, depending on the competency of your County Clerk/District Clerk, the poll workers/election judges get out-dated copies of the voter registration log. If that's what happened, vote provisionally, and the early voting/provisional ballot board will sort it out. If you're not registered, someone screwed up wherever you registered.
For most people, who your Local and State Representatives are affects you much more than who the President is. You should really read up on them and make an educated vote.
Assume you are registered in Precinct 5. When you go there to vote, your name is on a list. You sign the list indicating that you have voted. If you are not registered in a precinct, and you show up there to vote, your name is not on the voting rolls and they don't let you vote. Of course, folks can use nefarious means to subvert the system and attempt to vote multiple times, but registering helps prevent fraud.
Why do you think MOST people don't even know there will be other options? If folks pay attention to the news, they should know there will generally be local and state elections as well. It is certainly not dumb. Elections cost a lot of money and time. Having separate elections would be a huge waste of both.
