I voted today

Laura

Laura

Alumni
As probably everyone in the US and a lot of those outside the US know, today is election day in Ohio (as well as Texas, Vermont & Rhode Island). I stopped at my polling station this afternoon and voted. :excited:

I was quite happy today when I found out I could use a paper ballot instead of the touch-screen computers. That change was made in January, since a state report came out late last year showing that the computer system can be manipulated.

Does anyone else live in a state that is voting today?

Laura
 
No, and it completely pisses me off that by the time NC has our primary in May, there will most likely be no point in me voting. I feel disenfranchised!

But good for you!:cheer:
 
I am going this evening. This is the most difficult decision ever. I still don't know who to vote for but narrowed down to 2 anyway. I am in Texas.
 
In Vermont it is also town meeting day so most of us are out voting anyway. This is a picture of everyone in the gymnasium and then two of the women who hand out ballots. The one on the left is 96 years old!

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I was surprised to find Dennis Kucinich on the Democratic ballot.
 
We vote late here in Oregon as well...never had machines; we use paper MAIL IN BALLOTS. Many people do mail them; and there's a great crush around the office where they count them, and people drive up to hand them in at the last moment. I rather miss the ceremonial aspect of the polling place, but gather that the mail in ballots do 'get out the vote'.
 
I voted today in the Texas primary and will return tonight to the precinct to caucus.

Its such a crazy system we have here!
 
Brenda, ever since I heard that Texas has a primary AND a caucus, and to vote in the caucus you must prove that you voted in the primary, I have been wondering:

How do you prove that you voted in the primary? Are you given some kind of form when you vote?

Laura
 
Laura, they stamp your voter card with the party affilliation; democrat or republican. Then you go back to your respective caucus and sign a running ballot sheet.
 
And for those of you who feel disenfranchised, I say get your voter cards ready!

At least for the democrats among us.
 
I voted yesterday, too, in Vermont, in a school auditorium where we had Town Meeting Day and a ham & baked bean lunch. I love democracy in action.

The real "excitement" of the day, though, was when my mother turned to me and said "I don't feel well" and then she lost consciousness in my arms and her eyes rolled up into her head! I thought she had actually died! I started screaming for help! :help: Luckily, every EMT in town was already there at Town Meeting, so she had oxygen and all sorts of assistance from the Fast Squad within minutes. She was taken by ambulence and hospitalized overnight but she's okay now, basically she just had a low blood pressure episode and fainted.

Scariest damn thing I ever saw. (where is the collapsing / barfing / drinking smiley?) I'm sure my whole village will always remember THAT Town Meeting!!!

Jen
 
OMG Jen! How dreadful. Yes - every EMT goes to the meeting in Cabot too - all the volunteer firefighters in uniform... How old is your Mom? Was she visiting or does she live in town?

We have one woman who has alzheimers and spoke out in a loud voice, when this other woman was going on and on --- "Why don't you just sit down and be quiet?" We had to explain later to the other woman why Roberta said that (although she was voicing what we were all thinking...)
 
Your poor mother! I hope she's okay now.

I've got low blood pressure and a propensity to faint in public places. It can be very worrying - usually I make it into the ladies before collapsing but can take some time to revive. Thankfully it hasn't happened for a while but it can be distressing.
 
Originally posted by cactusandcattails
Laura, they stamp your voter card with the party affilliation; democrat or republican. Then you go back to your respective caucus and sign a running ballot sheet.
Click to expand...

Oh, that's neat. We don't even have voter cards. The only thing that tells anyone you voted is the little "I Voted Today!" sticker you can pick up on your way out. We have voter registration cards, but all they are good for is telling you where your polling place is - you can't even use it as ID when you go to vote.

Jen, I'm glad your mom has recovered. I can't even imagine how scary that must have been!

Laura
 
Thanks for your concern about my Mom! She is 83, but looks a lot younger. She lives here in town, we are very close. We live a couple miles apart and we see each other often. It was very scary, I really thought I had lost her!!! :duh2:

Nicole, do you take meds for the low blood pressure/fainting? My mom had "vasovagal syncope," the doctors said, and they will adjust her medicines to keep her blood pressure from dropping like that. They also said if we ever see it happen again, to lay her flat and elevate her feet.

The really shocking part was that apparently she has fallen and blacked out at least 5 or 6 times in the last two years at home and I DID NOT KNOW! She never called 911 because all her "friends are on the Fast Squad" and she did not want to be "embarrassed" by the attention! Can you imagine? :fainting: I was so upset to know she has been suffering with this in silence! Also she is scheduled to have hip surgery in a couple of weeks and it's a darn good thing this came to light so it does not become an issue with her operation or recovery!

It is ironic, she did not want the embarrassment, yet by ignoring it, she actually (luckily) passed out in the most public place where hundreds of people saw and knew her and where help was immediately available. It's good. The phone calls and caring neighbors reaching out since has been very touching.

Jen
 
Thanks Jen: I think I'm a bit like your mum, I don't want to make a fuss. I have the same thing she does and your comment made me look it up on Wikipedia - I'm ashamed to admit that I wasn't even that curious!

My condition is just as it says on Wiki though. I had frequent episodes about five years ago and that's when I saw a doctor and was diagnosed but during the course of the tests they found that I had Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The search for the right treatment for that kind of over shadowed the vasovagal syncope.

Dear me: I don't like this getting older and body misbehaving thing.

I guess you just make sure your loved ones know your condition so when you collapse they don't panic. I'm sure it's scary to watch though. I usually get a bit of a warning (light headedness, lose my vision) and so lie down. If you do it in time, you don't faint.
 
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