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Post by htmb on Mar 15, 2016 22:25:04 GMT
Today was Election Day in Florida and, since I had some time in the morning, I decided to walk to my polling place and snap a few pictures along the way. I stopped to look at my ferns. They need a little attention. Maybe I can get to them a little later. Maybe not. It was a beautiful morning. Everything is beginning to bloom and spring is upon us. The pollen is kind of tough on all the allergy sufferers. Down in the sink hole everything seems to be coming back to life.
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Post by htmb on Mar 15, 2016 22:34:47 GMT
Off to the right of this picture, out of sight, is a bird feeder in my neighbor's yard that attracts lots of birds. As I walked, the air was filled with the sound of chirping cardinals. This is the spot where I typically see a large brown rabbit, but he wasn't out today. His warren seems to be down a hole half way to the bottom of the sink. Somewhere down there... I'm often tempted to go digging around at the bottom of the sinkhole, but then I change my mind after I start to think about snakes.
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Post by htmb on Mar 15, 2016 22:47:53 GMT
The hole curves around into kind of a boomerang shape. As I got near the other side I could see the new home under construction. This was a first for me, but I'd known it was there because I'd been annoyed by sounds for the past several weeks. Beep, beep, beeps from earth moving machines as they graded the lot, and then hammering sounds as the framing began to take shape. At least there's a nice buffer between us. Thistles had found their way into the grassy areas. And isn't this the stuff Bixa detests?
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Post by htmb on Mar 15, 2016 22:54:15 GMT
Next I crossed through an area of fairly nice houses. All the yards are neat and well-kept. The camellias are about to be finished with their blooms.
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Post by htmb on Mar 15, 2016 23:11:57 GMT
Finally, I was close to my polling place. There wasn't much on my voting ballot to consider so I hadn't had a lot of decisions. City residents had a selection to make among three candidates who were running for mayor, plus we had a vote for a presidential choice, depending on whether we were registered as a Democrat or as a Republican. I had to put both my camera and my cell phone away as I entered the property, but wish I could have photographed the scene. The young woman you can see in the last photo was holding a Bernie sign and waving at passing cars. Many of the drivers honked and waved back. There were a few other signs stuck into the ground nearby, but I never even noticed the Trump sign until I looked at my photos later. I'm guessing my area will have a strong turn-out for Bernie. Outside the polling building was a gaggle of young mothers with babies in strollers. They were enjoying each other's company while an additional mother sat on a bench breastfeeding her toddler. I walked inside, checked in, got my ballot, voted, and walked back out. The whole thing, including speaking to the gentleman who always reminds voters their cell phones should be turned to "off," took me less than three minutes.
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Post by htmb on Mar 15, 2016 23:26:05 GMT
I never remember what these are called, but there were beautiful blooms near the polling place fence. Here you can see the little Trump sign I mentioned earlier. It was almost like it was hiding. Lots of gorgeous blooms. Back through the neighborhood again. Azaleas are popping out all over. Over to the sinkhole Back home. And time to go to work.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2016 3:17:18 GMT
What a cool thread Htmb. Ingenious in all it's own right. What a lovely stroll. I did not realize that there were restrictions on technical gadgets at the polling place. Back (it seems so weird to say "back" during the election of President Obama's first term when I was working as a Poll (Pole) Commissioner there was a woman who audiotaped most of the day's events. It's a brilliant tape. I'll try to hunt her down.... I do remember that I allowed photos to be taken of a 95 year old Afro=American gentleman going inside the voting booth while his 14 year old grandson stood outside and waited. F the rules I said as everyone took a photo on their mobile phones.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2016 4:26:30 GMT
A lot of those rules are breaking down because of mobile phones. I don't even know what the rules are in France, but I would suspect that they are the rules that the person in charge decides to make up along the way. Since people still vote behind curtains, it's not as though anything confidential is being recorded. However, during the last election in France I was mildly scolded because I had started to put my ballot in the envelope without bothering to enter a booth.
That's a nice walk to the polling station.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 16, 2016 6:11:25 GMT
So delightful htmb! Those pink bunches of flowers are lovely...wish I too could name them. We have no restrictions about phones but then I have never seen anyone use one to take a photo inside or out. My polling station is a few yards down the road at the local high school. Even though I go as early as possible to get it over with, the queues are slow in moving as the dozen or so people running the station are painfully slow in their duties.
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Post by bjd on Mar 16, 2016 8:25:58 GMT
Since all over the world at election time we get news videos or photos of politicians putting their ballots into boxes (obviously voting for themselves!), it's silly that cameras should be forbidden to individuals.
But again, as Kerouac says, in France you go behind a curtain to vote, there is nothing to take pictures of. Our polling places are in local schools too.
Nice walk indeed, htmb. Are you the only one who walked to the polling station in your neighbourhood?
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Post by patricklondon on Mar 16, 2016 8:30:54 GMT
Since all over the world at election time we get news videos or photos of politicians putting their ballots into boxes (obviously voting for themselves!), it's silly that cameras should be forbidden to individuals. Not in this country, thank goodness. The most you'll see is the politician (and spouse) strolling cheerfully into the polling station. And the last thing we want is to have the process cluttered up with people taking selfies. In fact I think people have got into trouble for taking a photo of their completed ballot paper. I couldn't do a thread like this, since my polling station is just over the road: it's a quick in-and-out on the way to the newspaper shop, and not much in the way of interesting scenery en route, just some parked cars and a bus stop! I suppose I could have a (very short) go when our London mayor election comes round in May, or the referendum in June. My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam"
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Post by htmb on Mar 16, 2016 10:48:27 GMT
You could wander around for awhile before going to your polling station, Patrick. None of us would know the difference. I know for a fact we must have cell phones turned off before entering and I suspect that rule originated before cameras on phones became so prevalent. That's to keep people from annoying others by talking on the phone, plus it eliminates the issue of someone directing a voter by phone. We are expected to vote on our own with no help from others. Anyone needing assistance can get it from a poll worker. (Of course, elderly or infirm people, or anyone else who wishes, can vote absentee by mail, instead.) Inside my polling station, there are tables and chairs set out with plastic dividers. There are no curtained booths. Privacy is provided only by the dividers, so, theoretically, someone looking over your shoulder could see a ballot. I'm sure this is not allowed. I could have kept my camera out, but it is large and would have been very obvious. I'm sure the fact I even had it would have made the poll workers nervous so I slipped it inside my bag to avoid a hassle. Many people who were home during the day walked to my polling station, most likely. The mothers with babies had clearly walked. Others probably stopped by on their way home from work by car.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 17, 2016 0:09:33 GMT
What a lovely, really a refreshing thread, Htmb! I so much enjoyed all the Spring scenery and enjoyed finding out that Gainesville is on rolling ground. Gosh, you made me homesick for my part of the world again. I am not sure those little flowers are O alis -- maybe someone with keener eyes can tell. The evil ones have clover-like foliage, which maybe just doesn't show in the picture. Speaking of the rules, did you check that the young woman holding the campaign sign was the proper distance from the polling place?
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Post by htmb on Mar 17, 2016 1:45:07 GMT
No need to check, Bixa. Everyone here knows the sidewalk is the proper distance from the polling place.
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Post by patricklondon on Mar 17, 2016 11:24:54 GMT
As for the mechanics of elections in the UK, it all looks a bit steam age and gimcrack, but it works, it's easily comprehensible and there's an obvious route for an audit trail if one is needed - no room for electronic trickery. The polling stations tend to be school, church or community halls taken over for the day, within walking distance of all the voters in the relevant polling district. In my area, there will be two desks for different parts of the register, each with two clerks on duty and a supervising officer. There may be a policeman around to keep an eye out for troublemakers. Party workers/candidates' representatives must normally stay outside the threshold of the building, though a supervising oficer might allow them into any lobby space if it's actually raining, but never into the voting area itself. They aren't allowed to crowd or pressure you; the most they're entitled to do is ask you on the way out (not in) who you are, so they can check to see if people who've said they will vote for their candidate have actually turned out, and can then chase up those who appear not to have turned out. They aren't allowed to ask how you voted, but there's nothing to stop you telling them if you want. You go up to the desk, identify yourself by your address and name, they cross you off the list, tear off a ballot paper from what looks like a very large cheque book (having written your voter number on the counterfoil), then punch the ballot paper with the validation mark and hand it to you. The "booths" are (in my area, anyway) rough wooden partitions set in a cross with a little shelf across the inner corner and a pencil tied down, so there are four compartments each with room for one, shielded by high sides to left and right. You make your mark on the paper, fold it in two so no-one can see how you've voted, and take it back to the ballot box (which is of course sealed). You're supposed to show them the outside of the validation punch mark, but if it's been quiet and you've been in full view all the time they may not be too punctilious. Once the polls close at 10pm, all the ballot boxes are rushed off to the central counting area (usually in the local civic/municipal hall). The ballot papers from each box are shaken out separately on to long tables, unfolded and turned right way up, and the total number of ballot papers in each box is counted up to see that it matches the total number issued from the original books. Then the ballot papers are sorted into piles for each candidate, and then each pile is counted, and stacked in bundles of 100 in long trays in front of the returning officer. Usually the bundles of papers are moved to different staff for each job, so that the papers from all the different ballot boxes are deliberately mixed together as the process develops. Each candidate is allowed a number of representatives to observe the process, but not to talk to or interrupt the staff at work. At the first stage, it's possible, by rough mental arithmetic, to calculate what percentage of the vote your candidate is getting in each polling district, which is useful. The second stage is where you watch to see that none of your candidate's votes gets put on the wrong pile (doesn't matter if someone else's gets on to your candidate's pile!); if one is, or if you spot a particular problem (someone identifying themself on the ballot paper, for instance or an unclear mark). you point to the paper and call in the table supervisor for the paper to be taken away and checked by the returning officer. For the third stage, you just watch the bundles pile up and wait. At this point, there's an odd sort of conversational camaraderie between the workers for all the candidates. When the final totals have been worked out, then the chief returning officer makes the announcement, there are speeches of thanks to all the election staff, party workers and voters and everyone goes home (since the pubs have long since closed by then, unless it's a tiny local by-election with few people voting). My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam"
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Post by bjd on Mar 17, 2016 12:38:12 GMT
Here where I live (a suburb of Toulouse with about 13,000 people), there are polling stations in the six primary schools. Each polling station is divided into 2 or 3 rooms -- to keep the crowds down!
Each room has a desk with 3 people, but sometimes there are observers from political parties sitting on either side too. The ballot papers are laid out on a table and voters take a little blue envelope and usually pick up a couple of different papers so nobody can see who they will vote for. Then you go into a curtained-off little booth, put your ballot into the envelope and throw the others away into the handy garbage can (so you can see who wasn't voted for!).
At the desk, you hand your voting card and ID to the person standing in front of the transparent ballot box, he/she reads out the number on your card, one person reads your name off the register and the other confirms. You drop your envelope in the box, the middle person says "a voté", and you sign in front of your name.
I have never seen anyone outside asking who you voted for. I have also never taken part in helping so don't know how it works afterwards when the ballots are counted but imagine it's similar to what Patrick describes in England.
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Post by cynthia on Mar 17, 2016 16:36:25 GMT
I cannot imagine in the area around the polls that anyone would ask anyone else about how they voted. However, in voting precincts deemed statistically appropriate, there are occasionally 'exit' polls, so the results can be scientifically projected (guessed at) as early as possible. But answering is totally voluntary, and of course the official results are not announced until later in the evening.
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Post by htmb on Mar 17, 2016 17:06:43 GMT
Typically, during Election Day, my home phone rings constantly. Callers are usually volunteers for various campaigns asking if I have been to cast my ballot. They state who they are supporting and ask if their candidate can have my support. I typically never answer my house phone anymore, but I'm sure if I needed a ride to the polls they'd also arrange for someone to drive me.
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Post by htmb on Mar 17, 2016 19:40:18 GMT
I love hearing about how voting takes place in different parts of the world, by the way. Thanks!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2016 21:54:09 GMT
One thing that would surprise Americans about French elections is that all advertising is forbidden -- no televison ads and no posters in the streets. (Posters were banned about 20 or 25 years ago and used to fill the billboards before elections -- but not, for example, in the metro where politics are banned permanently, just to avoid people ripping the posters which are in reach.) The government channels (TV or radio) give equal time of about 5 minutes to each political party with elected representation every day during the official campaign period. Other minor candidated get about 2 minutes. Since nobody pays much attention to this, most people make up their minds from watching the slant of the evening news or else by reading the newspaper.
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Post by htmb on Mar 17, 2016 22:08:16 GMT
Oh, Kerouac. NOTHING surprises Americans when it comes to the French. :-) ;-)
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Post by tod2 on Mar 18, 2016 12:04:09 GMT
Typically, during Election Day, my home phone rings constantly. Callers are usually volunteers for various campaigns asking if I have been to cast my ballot. Same here Htmb - So kind and considerate they become one almost feels important.....My late mother was treated like a queen even so far as to have a nurse take over pushing her wheelchair right to the front of the queue.
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Post by patricklondon on Mar 18, 2016 15:47:29 GMT
It's within my voting lifetime that the UK system has officially recognised party affiliations, and included them (or however each candidate wants to describe themselves) on the ballot paper. Not so long ago, you just got their name, and the parties would give out reminder cards beforehand with their candidate's name on. I was told that my grandmother delighted in collecting these together, and on the way out, she made sure to give the Conservatives' card to the Labour worker, the Labour card to the Liberal, the Liberal card to the Communist and the Communist's card to the Conservative. I suspect she mostly voted Liberal in reality. And one thing I learnt as a party activist was that it was the little old ladies you had to be careful of. It's not unknown, if they can't get out and knock on doors themselves, for the odd one still to be an activist by inviting in the opposing party's canvassers "for a chat", settle them down in the front room and disappear to make some tea, making sure to lock the door on the way out and then "forget" all about them. Or, of course, they ring up and ask for help to get to the polling station - from the party they have no intention of voting for. My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam"
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2016 16:29:12 GMT
Going back to exit polls, I think that most of them are anonymous with the people consulted just voting a second time with a paper ballot or a click on a computer without the polltakers knowing how they voted. Naturally there are always some people who are interviewed as well and are proud to tell the world for whom the voted.
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Post by bjd on Mar 18, 2016 16:35:52 GMT
I used to have a great-aunt in Poland who lived in a small town just west of Warsaw. Under Communism, voting was obligatory so she used to go but used to write on the ballots things like "Long live our Lord Jesus Christ". The ballot counters knew exactly who had written it but figured she was too old to bother disciplining in any way.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 18, 2016 17:05:22 GMT
Crikey, she was taking a chance! Voting was allowed in communist Poland?? I am so out of touch with past events like this. What on earth could they possibly be voting for if not democracy?...just another communist leader I guess.
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Post by bjd on Mar 18, 2016 19:45:26 GMT
Voting was not only allowed, it was basically obligatory. If you didn't vote, you weren't allowed to apply for a passport, for example.
My great-aunt was in her 60s and 70s when she did stuff like that. I guess she figured she had nothing to lose.
Don't be naive, Tod. You know that there are lots of countries where people are not voting for "democracy": North Korea, Zimbabwe, Egypt, others that don't come to mind at the moment. The higher the percentage of votes the leader gets, the less democratic it is.
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Post by memyselfandI on Mar 18, 2016 20:13:40 GMT
Vote is still mandatory in Belgium.
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Post by bjd on Mar 19, 2016 6:14:54 GMT
As it is in Australia, I believe.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2016 6:49:47 GMT
I have counted ballots about 3 times in my life, so I don't think I ever need to do it again. Throughout the day, they ask voters "can you come back to count ballots when the polls close?" They always sign up more people than they need, because there are always a few people who don't turn up (even though they have kept your voting card -- but you might get sick or have an accident). When the polls close, the volunteers sit at four tables of four (that is enough for the number of people registered per voting bureau). Ballot boxes are clear plexiglas. The box is emptied onto a big table and the officials make packages of 100 envelopes. Each table receives a package and then another and then another depending on how fast the table works. Some tables are super fast and others are not. One person opens the envelope and removes the ballot. The second person unfolds the ballot and reads out the name of the candidate. The two other people mark the counting paper. Any invalid ballots (added writing, multiple different ballots...) are shown to the group to confirm that they are invalid. In case of doubt, an official is called. After 100 envelopes have been treated, the two markers add up the numbers to make sure they have identical figures. If not, all of the ballots are counted again until they get it right. There is just a tiny bit of electronic voting in France, but most people prefer the traditional system which seems more trustworthy. The more news stories there are about computer hacking or system failures, the more people cling to the ancient ways. And I actually prefer it, too, because it involves more common citizens who meet for the first time and interact.
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