February 12, 2008
Fenty Breaks Electioneering Law and Other Polling Tales
We've been pulling together our collective polling place experiences for a little round-up of the Potomac Primary Thus Far, but Josh Levin over at Slate's Trailhead blog has the scoop of the day: he caught Mayor Adrian Fenty pressing the flesh for Obama right in-between two signs prohibiting electioneering outside an Adams Morgan polling place.
And what’s Mayor Fenty’s likely punishment? “A person who violates the provisions of this paragraph shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than $50 or more than $500 or imprisoned for not more than 30 days, or both.”Classic! We hope the Mayor heeds your warnings, Dena.Fenty’s press secretary, Dena Iverson, told me that the mayor would be out all day today encouraging District residents to vote for Obama. When told that the mayor had been encouraging this reporter right next to a pair of “no electioneering” signs, Iverson sighed, “Oh, great.” She continued, “The only other polling place I saw him at, he was doing it outside the signs. I will make sure he will not accidentally cross any lines he’s not supposed to.”
Below you'll find some of our voting experiences from this morning - more than one of us encountered broken optical scanners, but otherwise voting seems to be going smoothly across the region. Feel free to add your experience in comments.
Photo by KCIvey
At the Boys & Girls Club in Columbia Heights: I went after the morning rush hour, at 9:45 a.m., but there was still a short line of people waiting. Only Obama signs could be seen outside the building, with a jovial woman in an Obama sweatshirt doing a little shuffle to keep herself warm. She was all by herself and only smiled, never spoke to anyone going in or out. All in all, it was pretty uneventful -- I waited about 3 minutes and was in and out. Though I'll add -- I love that D.C. still uses paper ballots. - Heather Goss
At Precinct 87 (Payne Elementary, 15th and C SE): I went early this morning (about 8:50 a.m.), with my two kids in tow. It did not seem particularly crowded at that point, although there was a healthy turnout, it seemed. We waited about ten minutes to get my little card, but that was only because just about everyone there had a last name from A to G. There were few supporters outside, although one man was handing out Obama flyers at the edge of the canvassing limit. - Charles Downey
At The James at the Riverhouse in Pentagon City, 8:32 a.m.: The line snaked around the corner in the basement of the Riverhouse in the Pentagon City neighborhood. Virginia is an open primary state, which meant voters had to register with both the Republican and Democratic registers before selecting a ballot, to prevent voter fraud. I waited more than an hour, and the Republican registry was empty as voter after voter asked for the blue card. One man, overheard talking on his cell phone in the hallway, remarked that he was "OK with both Obama and Hillary" and that he was voting for Huckabee because he "thought he would be easier to beat in the general election." -Stephanie Taylor
At precinct 84 (Stuart Hobson Middle School): The amount of early morning voters was normal. The hiccup was that the optical scanner had jammed and two poll workers were trying to make it work again. Some people ended up turning their ballots upside down and leaving them in a pile on a piano next to the scanner. Eventually someone in line spoke up about them needing to unlock the slot in front of the scanner so people could vote while they fix it. They did unlock it and everyone put their ballot in the slot. Not sure how these unscanned ballots will be counted. On top of all that, they didn't hand out "I voted" stickers. - Kelly Rand
In Falls Church: There wasn't a huge turnout when I was there around 8:30 a.m., but there was a pretty steady flow of people. The only signage or volunteer presence anywhere near my poling place was for Obama. - Amanda Mattos
At Shiloh Baptist Church in Shaw: There were a number of signs for both Clinton and Obama near the polling place (including several green ones I hadn't seen before that read "Clinton Country") when I went around noon. Two Obama supporters holding signs were standing just beyond the electioneering line, but they weren't talking to many people heading inside. They did get a number of honks from passing cars, however. The wait for the middle of the alphabet was significantly shorter than the beginning - I got my voting card and ballot within 3 minutes of entering. The blue stack of ballots for Democrats was predictably about 10 times larger than for other parties. - Sommer Mathis
At Miner Elementary (15th St. NE): I wish my surname started with A-G because there was no wait in that line, as opposed to my H-O line which probably had a queue of about 20 people by the time I got to the front of it. After I spent all of 10 seconds connecting my line I went to the optical scan machine just to discover it had a paper jam and I would have to deposit my ballot in what looked suspiciously like a recycling bin at the bottom of the scanner. - W. Jacarl Melton
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9:15 a.m. - Reeves Center. Steady flow, huge line for A-G; luckily I'm an "M" and had no line. Chose the paper ballot. Why are we using touch screens? Love my "I voted" sticker. For once it meant something.
8:00 AM - Hine Elementary School at Eastern Market. Took about 5 minutes all in all and went smoothly. Mostly Obama people outside the voting center with a couple of Hillary signs around the metro. Used the touch screen and was in and out in a hurry. Didn't notice if people were grabbing more democrat cards than republican ones. The A-G line was empty, as most people were crowded into the other two lines.
8:45am at Shiloh in Shaw: Stood at the back of the single line of about 20 people before the person who walked up next noticed it was just for A-G. I went to my corresponding end-of-the-alphabet section and then became second in line, but before I got my ballot I asked the lady, "Want my voter registration card, or ID?" She replied that she didn't need either.
Huh? No ID needed to vote, I guess I never realized that. My non-US-citizen friend wishes she had come with me ;)
Anyway, the scanner took my ballot and most importantly I got my "I Voted" sticker. I mean, voted for my candidate.
I was also surprised I did not need an ID to vote this morning either. I said my name and they asked my address and that was it.
8:00 AM, Precinct 127 (King-Greenleaf Recreation Center, 201 N Street SW): Obama had one person standing on a traffic island and waving a sign on M Street (the back entrance to the center, but where most voters I saw were actually entering from) and a few people handing out fliers on the N Street side; Clinton supporters were nowhere in evidence. Turnout seemed to be about the standard for a general election. Long lines for every section of the alphabet except for P-Z, where there was no line at all. Lucky for me, that's my chunk of the alphabet and I breezed right through.
this morning i overheard a volunteer telling someone they only needed to show ID if there was a "flag" by their name on the list.. i'm guessing that was for people who registered awhile ago? maybe there is a certain amount of time that passed that only some people needed to re-verify...
i just recently registered in DC so i didnt have to show my ID
I was told you had to be registered with a party 30 days prior to an election, specifically this primary which is what I called about..since my card unfortunately does not list my affiliation..i was told I could NOT vote. Is this not the case? can i go and register with a party tonight at my polling place in SE, so i can do the obama/clinton thing or whomever i choose?
You people don't pay much attention to what's going on in the world, do you? Voter ID laws are very controversial and not generally supported by people who like democracy and think people who aren't rich should be able to vote. See, e.g. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/us/07identity.html
I voted at Lafayette Elementary in Chevy Chase. What is it with A-G? I waited about 10 minutes in line while the other two lines were much shorter. I never knew civic participation was a function of one's place in the alphabet.
I found the ballot itself really funny. There is a broken arrow next to each candidate's name. Take a number two pencil and fill in the blank space between the two pieces of the arrow to "complete" the arrow. I guess it was an appropriate exercise for an elementary school.
Didn't see a lot of electioneering out front (although I think I walked in the back of the school.)
One sign I did see inside the school, however, cracked me up. "Celebrate No Hateful Speech Week."
8:45 a.m. - precinct 19, dunbar high school.
someone was reporting from WHUR out front, but there was no electioneering going on out there, no signs either (i distinctly remember a TON of signs/people/tables during the last election in '06).
once inside in the entryway, there were some dunbar high kids yelling out "vote for clinton" and "vote for obama".
in the gym, the line for L-Z was about 10 people, and no one in the A-K line (which was fine by me, since that's my group). got a card and ballot, voted, and was out of there in under a minute.
stopped and talked to the kids on the way out, told them they couldn't legally electioneer there, and they moved on. seemed quiet there overall.
Taking my toyota out for a night on the town. Guess comments are disabled above to prevent comments like mine? Anyway, that branded sponsorship is new. haha.
Wow, mgt, you don't pay much attention to common courtesy, standards of discourse, or proportionate response, do you?
Good article and good point, but more flies with honey than with obnoxious disproprotionate ranting that makes people want to slap you in the face. (see how angry and not listening to me you are now?)
The optical scan machine was also broken in my precinct, and people were using the little slot in front, which was getting full. Sounds like they may all be failing at the same time. It worked in previous elections so I'm not sure if they can't handle volume or are just old.
The "I voted" stickers were DIY on top of the machine. I took three.
Voted at 8:30 at the 2D Police Station in Cleveland Park. Waited about 5 minutes in the A-H line and then voted. No issues with the optical scanner, and we had 1 touchscreen machine that didn't seem to be very popular. My ballot was number 150 as it went through the optical scanner.
I appreciated the big chart that listed all the presidential contenders that had dropped out, but were still printed on the ballot. I hadn't realized Dennis Kucinich was out of the race.
And I got my nifty I Voted sticker. Chicks were totally checking me out on the Metro this morning because of it.
seems kinda bad for the community that comments are disabled on the post above, since we can't discuss the events tonight. am i wrong?
yeah, i hate to hijack this thread, but the toyota ads are pure crap. kudos to you guys for getting the money though, i'm sure that's rather nice.
i suppose gothamist doesn't want to scare the sponsor away by letting us say potentially nasty things about their horrible ads (corolla the X, WTF??).
What a fair and intellectually rigorous description! :P
Mayor Daley could tell you (as could ACORN) it's all a conspiracy against the poor! Yeah!
mgt:
Funny, working at an international news outlet, I probably know more about "what's going on in the world" than you do.... but to be more specific, I meant I was surprised that they didn't want to see the voter registration card I had in my hand (something poor people and anyone else can get and will get once they register to vote) nor even my address or any verification that might have shown I am who I said I was. I'm not saying I think govt-issued photo ID should be mandatory to vote, or that I wasn't aware of the controversy -- simply commenting at my realization that my non-citizen friend could have walked up, said "I'm Mary Smith," and cast a ballot.
Try not immediately assuming ignorance on the part of whomever you're addressing, maybe.
7:05, Precinct 82, Sherwood Recreation Center.
My husband and I stood in the A-K line for a few minutes before we realized that there were two lines, though our glee at the shorter L-Z line was quickly squelched when we were still a few people back while the woman who'd been in front of us in the other line was already voting. It turned out that the woman checking names in our line was having trouble with alphabetizing names - I had to convince her that Winslow comes neither before Williams nor between Williams and Wilson - but she was very sweet (and appreciative when my husband told her that his name was right under mine) and the wait wasn't really that long, so it wasn't particularly upsetting.
Our scanner was also jammed - people left their ballots in a stack facedown, and we were promised that they would be scanned as soon as the machine started working.
No representatives of either Hillary or Obama outside - too early and cold even for them, I suppose!
instead of sponsors, maybe dcist can start charging commenters. it would sure cut down on a lot of the extraneous whining around here. i mean really, do television commercials or magazine ads send you off the deep end? to me, it's really a big "who cares?"
on topic: any reports from the mt. p library? planning on heading over after work....
8:32, Macarthur Elementary, Alexandria VA
20 minute line for the L-Zs - guy behind me waited 5 minutes, decided he couldn't wait any longer and left. Voted on the Diebold machine, left and then got to wait for 10 minutes in the cold for my bus. One guy shilling for McCain, about 4 shilling for Obama, plus 3 more standing around King Street Metro reminding people to vote.
I'm think I'm on the wrong thread but maybe someone can help anyway: I'm in the market for a new Japanese sedan. Something affordable and not too flashy.
Anyone know where I can find out which one is the hippest?
If only the manufacturers did something to make me aware of their existence!
In Arlington this morning, I arrived around 7AM and had to wait for about 45 minutes in the single line. The man who appeared to be in charge said that the state had decreed that the registration books had to be A-Z and could not be split. And, of course, you had to get your name checked off in both the Democratic and Republican book. By the time I left close to 8:00 the number of people in line had at least tripled. Heck of a job, VA SBE!
One guy outside offered me literature on Obama on the way in, and a petition for Mark Warner to run for Senate on the way out.
In Arlington this morning, I arrived around 7AM and had to wait for about 45 minutes in the single line. The man who appeared to be in charge said that the commonwealth in its wisdom had decreed that the registration books had to be A-Z and could not be split. And, of course, you had to get your name checked off in both the Democratic and Republican book. By the time I left close to 8:00 the number of people in line had at least tripled. Heck of a job, VA SBE!
One guy outside offered me literature on Obama on the way in, and a petition for Mark Warner to run for Senate on the way out.
okay so i went at 1:45, my polling place is right by the king street metro. there were 5 people there, including me, but the poll worker said it was really busy this morning when i asked how turn out had been. so i was in and out in 3 minutes, which was cool but i was a little disappointed that there weren't more people there. small precinct i guess, but i swear more people were there in november, and those were just local elections.
just about 6 signs outside, 2 each for hillary, obama and mccain, and no people. too cold for that nonsense.
and i picked up my "I Voted in Alexandria" sticker just as the dude was cutting them. booyah!
At 3:30 PM at 10th and U NW -- I was one of 2 people there. A truly packed house. Just a couple Obama signs outside and an empty box of donuts. Don't know who the donuts were representing.
"I was told you had to be registered with a party 30 days prior to an election, specifically this primary which is what I called about..since my card unfortunately does not list my affiliation..i was told I could NOT vote. Is this not the case?"
In D.C., only registered party members can vote in the primary, and you have to be registered as a party member 30 days before the election. So it's too late to register with the party and vote today. (In Virginia, any registered voter can vote in either primary, so long as they choose only one. Not sure about Maryland.)
So what's up with the lack of "I voted" stickers? When I asked at my polling place in Dupont I was told they'd never been delivered. But then a guy at my office gave me his . . . it's from Fairfax, but I figure it still counts ;-P
"I was told you had to be registered with a party 30 days prior to an election, specifically this primary which is what I called about..since my card unfortunately does not list my affiliation..i was told I could NOT vote. Is this not the case?"
In D.C., only registered party members can vote in the primary, and you have to be registered as a party member 30 days before the election. So it's too late to register with the party and vote today. (In Virginia, any registered voter can vote in either primary, so long as they choose only one. Not sure about Maryland.)
8:32, Macarthur Elementary, Alexandria VA
20 minute line for the L-Zs - guy behind me waited 5 minutes, decided he couldn't wait any longer and left. Voted on the Diebold machine, left and then got to wait for 10 minutes in the cold for my bus. One guy shilling for McCain, about 4 shilling for Obama, plus 3 more standing around King Street Metro reminding people to vote.
At 3:30 PM at 10th and U NW -- I was one of 2 people there. A truly packed house. Just a couple Obama signs outside and an empty box of donuts. Don't know who the donuts were representing.
Noon, Precinct 47, Powell School at Upshur & 14th, NW
Only one Obama supporter passing out flyers outside the boundaries. No Hillary folks to be seen. Very short lines inside and the optical scanner was working great. Only took me about 10 minutes once I entered the building. Voting around noon is the way to go.
8:45 am at the Marie Reed school in Adams Morgan.
Crowded, my L-Z line moved slow. Scanner worked fine, no touch screens available for us (didn't see any there at all). Lots and lots of "I Voted" stickers, which don't stick all day since I now can't find where mine went. A few Obama signs scattered around the school, but nothing else.
The best part of the day, though, was as I was leaving...a few girls came up and said, "It's our day to say the Pledge of Allegiance on the intercom, do you want to stay and do it with us?" So I stood in a school office for the first time in 15? 20? years, with the administration and three school children and a few other lucky voters who had been asked, and said the Pledge. It was so fitting for today.
@orangeline: the guy telling you stuff about statewide requirements was wrong, or else a lot of people in Alexandria are going to wind up disenfranchised; in Old Town Alexandria at about 10:30 am, for example, it took me a total of 4 minutes to vote (including parking), as they had separate (very short) lines for A-K and L-Z, and they only had to check me off in the book of the party in whose primary I was voting.
4:15 PM, Oyster Bilingual School in Woodley Park:
Short line for electronic voting, no wait for paper ballots. Just the usual annoying self-important, rich old Woodley Park types getting in my way. The poll workers were super nice, though.
Anyone know of the best ways to haul in "Hey, I voted!" swag? I hear Californina Tortilla's doing free tacos?
Oh, and Mt P Library 3:45 no line.
I would also like to say that the poll workers at the Hine Elementary School voting center were super nice too.
3:00, Stuart-Hobson. No line, no electioneering, but I blame that on the sleet. Used the touchscreen and trusted my "Obama" vote wouldn't be hacked into a "Huckabee." Was back home (across the street) in 6 minutes. Didn't get a sticker, but nobody's going to see it in my home office anyway.
orangeline - that's random. Apparently, someone out there doesn't know Warner's already a (heavily favored) candidate for the senate?
http://www.markwarner2008.com/
@Lynne -- Maybe the donuts are some kind of coordinated Obama thing? The Obama woman outside my polling place had a box, too. I thought they were just her munchies, but today I saw a photo of Fenty carrying a box during his glad-handing.
Vote for Obama, get a Boston Creme?
I too ate a tasty Obama Donut, outside of Bancroft in MtP. Dee-lish.
Man, I love me some boston cremes. mmm. donuts. Oh-oh. Now I have to stop at Dunkin & Donuts in Chinatown before going home tonight. Damn you hungry belleh!
I didn't see the Bancroft doughnuts! Damn it.
Thanks for the confirm JonboyDC.
Regarding the issue of not being able to vote because you aren't registered in a party:
You CAN submit a special ballot and vote in the primary of your choice. Then election officials can determine whether or not they want to accept your vote or not. That's the boat I found myself in, as I was unaffiliated when I learned (last week) about the 30-day rule for registering for one party or another in advance of the closed primary. The DC Elections Board person I talked to said that even if I changed my registration online and sent in the form (which I did), it's unlikely they'll accept special ballots like that since party affiliation won't be officially changed until after the primary is over.
But hey, I still got my "I Voted" sticker.
5:50 pm - mt. p library - out of paper ballots. demagnetized electronic voter cards. told to sign in and wait. polling staff very nice, offering comment cards to those who wished to fill them out. new electronic voter cards arrive @ 6:20. to my chagrin, i'm told there will be no more paper ballots. finally get up and place my vote @ 6:45. VERY long line on the way out. 75-100 people maybe? saw a few folks leave, but the vast majority are waiting to place their votes. staff advises that they will stay open past 8 if necessary.
I know I'm late here but I voted at 11:00 am at Foundry United Methodist Church, 16th and P NW. It was moderately busy but there was no wait for my last name. Also, no wait for the touch screen (but yes for paper ballots). One solitary Barack sign carrier standing outside (silently). Also, why did Jack Evans have his signs out already? Almost as many Evans signs as Obama signs (and few Clinton signs).