No Write-in Candidates Allowed

This morning, my Bonnie and I went to vote at Belmont's Curb Center.  We're both feeling that wonderful civic feeling we always seem to get when we're watching a crowd of people standing in line to vote.  While I'm signing in and having my ID checked, the man in line behind me says to the woman at the same desk, "I'm a write-in candidate for [local office].  How do I write my name in?"

The woman looks blankly back at him and says, "Well, you can't do that.  You can't write on the voting machines.  There's just buttons to push" (That's not an exact quotation, but it's close, I assure you). 

Of course he could write himself in as a candidate, and of course, the system allows for that, and, of course, after some consultation with a higher up, the slightly outraged candidate was given the proper directions. 

As for me, I'm simply stunned that, after all the concerns about voter fraud and voting difficulties, a worker could be so clueless.  We seriously need to rethink the training sessions we are providing as a community.

Comments

[Robert]

All in all, I think the voting process here in Oregon must be one of the best. For the past decade or so, all elections have been strictly vote-by-mail. A few weeks before the election, we receive the ballots in the mail. You use a number two pencil to fill in the bubbles. Then you drop in in the mail, or wait until polling day and drop it off at a library or government office.

I get a kick out of that civic feeling, too, so I always drop mine off at the booth at Pioneer Square, "Portland's Living Room." There's no waiting in line, no running out of ballots, and no poll workers to discourage you from writing in candidates.