Conference turris::womannotes-v2

    
    Interestingly enough, in Maynard, home of the corporate headquarters
    of Digital Equipment Corporation, we used paper and pencil to cast
    our votes.
    
    Sharon (who was voter #2 only because she kindly let her roommate
            be # 1)

    re: .0
    
    BRAVO!!! BRAVO!!!
    
    LET'S ALL GO "DO OUR SHARE"!
    
    JayCee

    You bet I'm voting!  This will be my first time.
    
    I have a friend who says that if he goes he will write in "Bill
    the Cat" (Bloom County).  In other words, he ain't goin'.
    
    Gawd, that irks me!
    
    People who don't vote are also usually the first ones to complain
    about the winner.  Anyone else notice that?
    
    K.C.

    I was voter number 25 in Royalston Mass this morning. Good old
    fashioned paper ballots.
    
    Bonnie

    4th Precint (sp) in North Andover, About 7:20 this AM I used
    my privelege to VOTE for the candidate of my choise.
    
    It was not BUSH, so I can complain if he is elected.
    
    We too had paper ballots, and not even a curtain.
    
    Last time in Michigan, we had the machine with the punch cards.
    Is Mass behind the times, they have to count those ballots with
    something, hopefully not by hand.
    
    Those in MI. were punched, and then all fed into a "card reader"
    
    Dave

    
    I did it!  This was the first time I voted using Paper Ballots,
    and as I entered the voting booth I remembered a picture I'd seen
    on the front page of a recent GCN (Gay Community News - a Boston-based
    Gay and Lesbian Newspaper.)  The front page had a sketch of a ballot
    in which the names Dukakis-Bentsen were crossed out and the words
    "Not Bush" written in their place.  I know that I risked invalidating
    my ballot, but it did feel good to make my statement.  And being
    from Mass. (which Dukakis is almost certain to carry), I decided
    I could afford to take the risk.
    
    Justine

    
    	Many men have fought and died so that America would remain free
    and Americans would be able to elect their own leaders.  Many women,
    though not as many as men, also fought and died to give us that right.
    
    	Many women marched and spoke and risked abuse and ridicule just
    to give women the right to vote.  Many men, though not as many as
    the women, also fought for this cause.
    
    	And so many people rightly view voting as a priviledge.  But
    voting is also a responsibility.  In 3 months I go on active duty.
    The man in the White House will have a lot to say about how I spend
    the next 4 years of my life.  Sure, it will be indirectly, but it
    will still greatly affect me.
    
    	So I ask all of you to take time out of your schedules and vote.
    Make your preference known so that if the truly terrible should
    happen and I'm forced to physically defend the US, I'll at least
    have the knowledge that a large number/majority of Americans voted
    for the man who will send me in.
    
    God Bless the USA
    
    Rachel 

    This is just more on the subject of how our world is still not geared
    to working couples. In NH, the polls didn't open till 8am, so
    it was impossible to go and vote before work. Both my husband and
    I don't get home till about 6pm. There is no way that both of us
    can vote unless one of us takes time out for work, or we get a
    babysitter, or (never!) we bring the little ones with us on those
    long lines.
       
    There has to be an easier way. Last time I got an absentee ballot.
    I wish I had done that this time.
    
    G

    I've never voted on anything but paper ballot. 
    
    And my "guy" was the winner only once. Kinda makes me want to
    write weird things on the ballot (I mean, weirder than "not Bush")
    but I've never had the guts. Geez, - with my luck, I'd drop the
    thing and it would fall open right in front of the old guy (he's
    gotta be at least 110) who "winds" the ballots into the box!
    
    Oh well, another year of bailing out the ocean with a teaspoon...
    
    --DE
    

    Judy and I were numbers 176 and 177 in Conway this morning!
    Usually, if we get 250 voters, its a record.  I think Qeustion 3
    on the Mass Ballot is really bringing people to the polls
    in Western Mass.....

    Another town with Paper Ballots.....
    bob

re .5,.6

	I would like very much for this topic to remain non-partisain.
	There are several topic in this and other conferences where
	we'd be glad to read who you voted for, and why.

					Tom_K

    Actually, I haven't been bothered by the references, as there's
    been no discussion, debate, what-have-you. So, go right ahead
    and tell me WHO, just don't tell me WHY - again. 
    
    ....which reminds me: A friend of mine is so DISGUSTED by the
    <insert many nasty words here> polls, that if she is exit-polled,
    she plans to give the person an extensive civics lesson on 
    the secret ballot.
    
    --DE
    

       I remember clearly how angry I was in 1968 -- actually, a lot of
       people were angry that year.  I'd been active politically, but my
       21st birthday was in December, so I couldn't vote.  (The 26th
       Amendment didn't get passed until 1971.) 
       
       It would be 1972 before I got to cast a vote against Mr Nixon.
       
       --Mr Topaz

    I voted on my way to my allergy clinic appointment this morning -
    Hudson, MA, still has paper ballots, too, although the town I grew up
    in (Holden, MA) had voting machines when I was a kid; Hudson is a small
    town, even with all us DECcies.  (I voted against Mr. "anti-choice".)
    I put a cartoon up on my office entrance for the day: it says "Don't
    Forget to Vote" (added by me) and has the official pole-watcher-person,
    who is demonstrating how to use the voting equipment: you write with
    the pencil, you use the clothespin to hold your nose, and you flip the
    coin!
    
    Gee, Dawn, you are a sensible person, how about running for elected
    office??  I'm tired of voting AGAINST people!  And whenever I tell
    someone sensible that I would be happy to vote for him/her, the person
    always has no interest in the elected office under discussion!
    Applies to me, too!!  I'll be glad when life returns to post-election
    normal for another four years.
    
    /Charlotte

    "For another four years", Charlotte?  Don't I wish!  This is
    all going to rev up again in only *three* years.
    
    							Ann B.
    
    P.S.  We got a new kind of paper ballots this time in Wayland.

    Our voting machines used to be the creaky mechanical sort,
    but the new kind have lots of buttons and lights and another
    button to "save" the state of all the others -- so naturally
    the lines were longer than I've *ever* seen them, because
    everyone was confused by all this new-fangled machinery...
    ain't technocracy wonderful?  :) 

    I thought the polling hours were set by law from 7am to 7pm.
    Learn something new every day.

    My biggest discouragement is I vote in a "one-party" state;
    over half of the races in Kansas have only one party running
    a candidate.

    -- Linda

    Nice to live and work and VOTE in the same block in the same
    town.   Went to Forrest Ave School and was #505 at noontime.

    THEN, I went to the hardware store and got 50 pounds of bird-
    seed to take me through the long, hard job of feeding that
    hopefullynotelectedquailinthebush!!!  ;^}

    justme....jacqui

    	In case there are folks who have never heard the story of how
    	women got the vote in this country, it took approximately
    	72 years (counting from 1848 to 1920.)
    
    	Try to imagine all the women who worked for the vote and died
    	way before their dream came true for the rest of us.
    
    	Voting is important for all of us, of course, but after reading
    	about what it took to get the vote for women, I'll never take
    	it for granted.
    
    				VOTE!
    

    Re .8:                 
                           
    I agree that the poll hours aren't the best.  The hours in our
    town (Auburn, MA)--and most I think--are also 8am to 8pm.  I can't 
    understand why they don't open until 8am when so many people have 
    to be at work--or at least leave for work--by then.
                                         
    Suggestion: maybe whoever _doesn't_ pick up your child(ren) can
    stop and vote on the way home; when he/she gets home, the other
    of you can go vote.  Not convenient, but very important to do, in
    my opinion.                  
                                         
    I voted this morning about 9:00 (okay, I was late today!) along
    with about 30 senior citizens.  I have no idea what number I was.
    We have the "low tech" ballots that you put holes in with a         
    stylus.
    
    -Tracy (who voted FOR Dukakis)
               
                              
               
               
               

    
    My husband and I were voters 181 and 182 in Boylston, MA.
    (Paper ballots with Pencils)
    
    I thought MA did a good job of explaining QUESTIONS 1-4 with 
    pamphlets, etc.  But I didn't know about  questions 5 and 6
    (Worcestor County only I believe).  

    It was fun trying to decode the language of the questions.
    I hope I got the answers right. :-).

    i was voter 495 in stow. i love those paper ballots and the little
    man who sits by the machine and cranks each ballot in. there's
    something very sweet and quaint about them. i'll be disappointed
    the year i go to vote and end up facing a machine.
    
    liz

    re "I was voter ### in @@@@@@@"
    
    Is this some new kind of status symbol?
    
                                                   
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    I don't know, Steve. I thought it was kind of neat to _know_ how
    many voters came before me, but I didn't stop to analyze _why_ I
    thought it was neat. There's always <next unseen> for those who
    find these statements boring.
    
    Liz

    re .23:
    
    Oh come on, must one *always* use a ":-)". 
    
    I guess I've acquired a reputation.
    
    :-)
                                                   
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    Steve and I arrived at the polling place at 6:20 this morning. 
    It didn't open till 7, but we anticipated long lines.  We were right!
    We were numbers 3 and 4, and by the time we left (about 7:05) there
    must have been 200 people in line behind us!  Glad we got up early!
    
    I cast my vote against Dukakis.  Maybe someday I'll be able to cast a
    vote FOR someone again, instead of against someone.  Sigh... 
    
    RE .12 I agree with your friend about the polls.  We had already
    decided that if we got a phone call we would refuse to answer their
    questions.  Just as disgusting will be watching the returns tonight,
    when the networks call the election before the California polls
    close!  ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    							Pat
    

Can we first distinguish between "going to vote" and "voting on
every single contest on the ballot"?  As for the latter, I don't
believe it's one's civic duty, or even a good idea, to vote if
you have no idea who the candidates are or why a ballot issue
should pass or fail -- it's perfectly OK to "blank" (not vote on)
that item. I do that occasionally, usually for obscure offices
(like the Mass. "Governor's Council") or for uncontested races
where I have a negative or neutral (or no) view of the candidate.

Now, at the risk of sounding like some "communist" or something...
As for "going to vote," I certainly believe that everyone should
become informed about the candidates and issues, and I believe that
it should be easy for anyone to vote. However, if someone just doesn't
care, or if he/she plans to vote based on ignorance or bigotry, I
don't have any desire to urge such a person to go out and vote (although
I'll strongly defend that person's right to vote, if he/she chooses).

In fact, realistically speaking, while both major parties publically
encourage all citizens to vote, each in its own "get out the vote"
drives targets those areas and voting blocs that are most likely
to support it -- in terms of making phone calls to voters who haven't
gone to the polls, offering to drive voters to the polls, etc.
And in some cases there are obvious efforts to discourage voting
among groups perceived to be unsympathetic -- for example, recent
Spanish-language advertisements by the Republican party in Texas warning 
that poll workers will be checking IDs and addresses, and warning about 
severe penalties for voting fraud.

Re:  .6

>The front page had a sketch of a ballot in which the names Dukakis-Bentsen
>were crossed out and the words "Not Bush" written in their place.  I know
>that I risked invalidating my ballot, but ... I decided I could afford to
>take the risk.

It's more than a risk; if the election workers are doing their job properly,
it is a certainty that not only your presidential vote but all the rest of
your votes (Congress, state legislature, local elections, and questions) will
be thrown out as well if you mark up your paper ballot in any identifiable
way.

This is not a frivolous rule; it is designed to protect your secret ballot.
If this weren't the case, corrupt election workers could offer you something
(money, a job, mob style "protection", or whatever) in exchange for your vote,
and could instruct you to mark your ballot in some way that identified it so
that they could know how you voted.  By throwing out any such marked ballot
you are protected against corrupt elections.  (I worked on an election recount
once back in the early 70's; this was something I learned from the experience.)

I understand that it's very tempting to make statements such as .6 suggested.
But please:  resist the temptation, everyone.  You are throwing your vote
away if you give in.  Send a letter to an editor instead.  Or write something
in a NOTES file!

					--Q (Dick Wagman)

    The precinct were I went has a really wierd way of voting -- you punch
    holes in a punch card-like piece of paper via a machine which causes
    the holes to line up correctly.
    
    Does all of Mass do it like this?  It really sucks.  I like to double
    check what I did before registering it (college multiple-choice exam
    mentality, I guess) and it's damned near impossible to know what you
    punched after you've turned the page.
    
    Give me the voting machines in DE anyday.

    Well, I did my civic duty early last night on paper ballots with
    a stylus.  [It's also my personal obligation to cancel out my spouse's
    vote...;) ]
    
    I voted around dinner time just after I dropped off my daughter's
    sitter.  Daughter in hand, we punched the wholes together.  She's
    gone with me to the polls *every time* since she was born.  I just
    feel that's important.  Needless to say, I try to calculate my arrival
    at the polls to the time when I think there won't be any lines.
    So far, even this time in a presidential election, I've been
    successful.
    
    Coming from NYC I find the paper ballots and the short polling hours
    kind of strange.  NYC has the voting machines and the polls are
    open from 6AM (I think) through 9PM for "major" elections.
                                                    
    I also remember businesses being closed for Election Day, which
    doesn't seem to be the case up here.  Of course, when I was working
    in NYC, I was working in a bank.  They close for just about every
    obscure occasion.  The point here is that employers need to take
    some "responsibility" on Election Day to ensure their employees
    time to vote.  The lion's share of the responsibility, however,
    still lies with the individual.  
    
    LZP
    

    re .23:
    
    FWIW, I was #1627 in Northboro, in (line) at 6pm out at 6:30.
    
                                                   
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    P.S. Anybody else in Worcester County surprised by the two extra
    ballot questions? 

    SO was I, I took the time to read them outside the voting place
    in Lunenburg. I voted no on all the questions......
    
                          REK

    Re: Last Few
    
    For those of us who voted in Norfolk County, could you Worcester
    County folks let us know what these two extra questions were?
    
      Alan

    My hub and I were 1532 & 1533, and we went during my lunch hour,
    so I got to the polls at about 11:30.  We have paper w/ number,
    and machine with little switches, which I remember from being 6
    years old and going in with my mom.
    
    We voted AGAINST Ducky (Dukakis).
    
    And I was right;  my friend didn't vote.  He'd better not complain
    to me!
    
    So much for my first time, but I couldn't help but feel that I was
    a part of something BIG!
    
    K.C.

    in re .34
    
    Alan,
    
    They had something to do with changing the charter and form of
    government of Worcester county and how the county was to be
    funded. Since I didn't know anything about the issues I didn't
    vote on them.
    
    Bonnie

    Re .30 again:
    
    Weren't there actually more than two?  In addition to the ones Bonnie
    mentioned, we had a question about the Mass. Turnpike.  Paraphrased:
    Should the portion of the Pike between 495 and the NY border be
    turned over from the Turnpike Authority to the DPW and be made into
    a non-toll road?
    
    -Tracy
    

    re .37:
    
    That wasn't on the Northboro ballot, perhaps it was only for towns
    through which the MassPike runs (my guess).
                                                   
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    After getting out of work at 5 p.m. yesterday I drove 85 miles just
    to vote for the loser!  (35 miles from Maynard to my legal address
    in Upton, MA, then 50 miles back up to Lunenburg where I really
    live illegally)  But, at least *my* conscience will be clear in
    the next 4 years! :-)
    
    We have paper ballots in Upton since it's a tiny little town.  I've
    never gotten to vote with a machine, even when I was briefly registered
    in Worcester.
    
    I didn't understand the last two questions either so I voted NO
    on both.  (the Worcester county questions)  
    
    My daughter went with me and pointed out that she gets to vote in
    1992.  She'll be 18!  I can't believe it.  Hopefully she'll have
    somebody better to vote for than we did this year.
    
    Lorna
    

    I didn't notice what voter number I was (in fact, I didn't know you
    could find that out anyhow).
    
    It is pretty frightening to think that when my mother was a child, women
    in the US could not vote; my grandmother was an adult before she
    acquired the right to vote (and we're not all that OLD, any of us!).
    The dark ages weren't all that long ago, it seems!
    
    Does anyone know if there are still cantons in Switzerland where women
    are not allowed to vote?  There were at least until very recently.
    
    /Charlotte

       In the Great State of New Hampshire, there were two ballot
       questions, both of which were for proposed amendments to the state
       constitution and neither of which I'd heard about.
       
       The first question would have affected a litigant's right to a
       jury trial in civil cases.  Under the current law, you (either as
       suer or sueee) have the right to ask for a jury trial in a civil
       case when the suit is for at least $500; the proposed change to
       the constitution would raise that amount to $1,500.  (I voted no.)
       
       I read the second question 3 or 4 times, then a few times more,
       and I couldn't figure out what on earth they were talking about. I
       voted no, figuring that if they were going to amend the
       constitution, the changes that they propose damn well ought to be
       decipherable to a working stiff. 
       
       --Mr Topaz

    in re .40
    
    When you vote by paper ballot there is a counter on the front
    of the ballot box that tells you how many people have voted.
    
    Bonnie

    Question 5 in Worcester County:
    
    Shall an act passed by the General Court in the year nineteen hundred
    and eighty-eight entitled "An Act providing for the establishment
    of a charter for Worcester county", be accepted?
    
    Summary:  Acceptance of this Home Rule plan by a majority of the
    voters of Worcester County will create a new form of county government
    under which Worcester County will be governed by an elected seven
    member County Council and an appointed County Manager....etc...The
    County shall have authority by agreement upon the request of any
    unit or units of local government to provide any service, activity,
    or undertaking, which such governmental unit is authorized to perform
    for itself.  ...etc...Approval authority over the annual operating
    and capital outlay budgets for the County is vested in the County
    Council.  The County Treasurer, Sheriff and Registers of Deeds
    will remain elective positions, retaining general charge and
    superintendence over their respective departments.  Citizen initiative,
    referendum, and recall procedures shall be available to voters of
    the county.

    
    Question 6 - THIS QUESTION IS NONBINDING
    
    Do you approve of the commonwealth of Massachusetts assuming the
    duties, costs, services and responsibilities of all Worcester county
    government and its agencies?
    
    
    -Jody
    

    I just want to say that I'm very disappointed in the way the media
    have handled this election.                  
                                                 
    Both candidates gave speeches daily.  They _did_ talk about the 
    issues; the press chose to endlessly create and report polls on
    who would win instead.  If the candidates are talking about the
    issues in enough depth, it is the job of reporters to press them
    on the issues--why they've voted certain ways in the past, what
    they see as national priorities, exactly what actions they'll take
    to address certain problems.  If they don't answer adequately, ask
    again!  Write about that.  If they don't know which questions the 
    public wants answered, use the polls to find _that_ out--and then
    ask the candidates.
            
    I think it was irresponsible to run headlines two weeks ahead of
    time practically announcing a winner, and to project the winners
    last night before the polls closed and before an adequate sample
    was available.  (The networks made erroneous guesses on several
    states.)
    
    Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now...
    
    -Tracy
            

    Some election trivia:
    
    1) 	Lorna, you're not alone on voting no.  I heard something on
    	the radio yesterday that said if people aren't sure which way
    	to vote, they tend to vote no.  As a result, a great deal of
    	politicking is involved in the initial wording of the referendum
    	questions.
    
    2)	I heard that, according to the latest and greatest poll, a majority
    	of voters--both Republicans and Democrats--wouldn't really mind
   	a tax increase IF it directly addressed certainly problems:
    	the deficit (overwhelmingly the top concern); the environment;
    	and, to a much lesser degree, AIDS and daycare.  Interesting.
    

    -Tracy
    

    Checking in from California...
    
    We had a senatorial race, a congressional race, some local races,
    and the presidential race.  We had statewide propositions regarding
    bond issues for schools, jails, roads, the homeless, and a few others.
    We had 5 propositions related to automobile insurance.  We had 2
    initiatives regarding mandatory AIDS testing.  We had a cigarette
    tax initiative, and some others I can't remember.  Most local
    jurisdictions had numerous propositions as well, regarding all sorts
    of stuff.  Our state-issued voter pamphlet was 164 pages long. 
    The media saturation, esp on the auto insurance issues and the
    cigarette taxes, was astronomical.  So whats the point?
    
    I was absolutely stunned to hear this morning that voter turnout
    in California was at record levels, around 75%.  Stunned!  And proud.
    Way to go, California!
    
    DougO
    

    What are "sound bites?"
    
    K.C.

    
    re:  48
    
    	Sound bites are small, one-liner-type parts of political speeches
    that candidates gave.  Most of Bush and Dukakis' appearances and
    speeches were geared so that there were at least one or 2 lines
    that were "catchy" and would get coverage on the evening news.
    Since the networks don't have time to broadcast large chunks of
    speeches, they look for these soundbites as a way to show what the
    candidates' positions were on everything on any given day.  Kind
    of made the election rather shallow if the only source of your
    information about the election was the network evening news.
    
    GO IRISH!
    
    Rachel

    I do hope it is another four years before us intelligent adult voting
    people have to put up with another campaign of "sound bites" and "photo
    ops"!!  What kind of fools do these campaign managers take us for!?!?!

    Re .44:
    
    Can I climb back on my soapbox for a minute?
    
    One other thing about the media:
    
    For a week before the election, the polls were saying there would
    be about a seven- to 10-point spread in the popular vote.
          
    Tuesday night, while I was watching ABC, they kept saying "looks
    like this is going to be a lot closer than anyone predicted..."
    The spread in the popular vote during this time (off and on between 
    6:00 and 9:00 in the East) was consistently between seven and 10
    points.                           
                                      
    The next morning, I turned on the same station and they were saying
    "...landslide victory for Bush..."  Then they reported a popular
    vote spread of about eight points.
                                      
    Same data; why the different interpretations from the same people?
    (Methinks the answer is RATINGS!) 
    
    -Tracy
                                
                                                

    re .50:
    
    Ellen Goodman yesterday had some excellent suggestions for how a
    campaign should be run. The premise being that all that money that
    comes from that little box on your 1040, should be given to the
    candidates with some strings attached.
    	1) debates, real debates (kind of like what we get here sometimes
    		or in SOAPBOX) where the only job of the mediator is
    		to prevent physical violence.
    	2) take home exam. Give the candidates a hypothetical crisis,
    		let them have 24 hours to come up with a response.
    	3) essay question. Give the candidate a surprise question, lock
    		the candidate in an isolation both for an hour and see
    		what he comes up with all on his own. Grade the answer,
    		deducting points for sloganism, evasion, etc.
    
    Sounded good to me.
                                                   
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