Voting in Florida

Thursday October 23

I have listened to two debates between the candidates for Florida Governor and felt I had enough information to vote.  I didn't vote on other candidates such as sheriff  and other offices but I did on some other amendments including medical marijuana.

In Florida they have early voting that started on October 20th in the county where I live.  I hear that election day is a nightmare and you can be hours at a voting location waiting to vote so I decided to vote early at the Lee County Election office.

Upon entering the facility I was asked to have a photo ID ready. ( Al tells me that this is illegal??)   Apparently not in Florida!  As I checked in the woman took my Florida driver's license and readied a ticket for me to proceed to the next table.  I was directed to table # 3 and a two page voter ballot was printed for me to complete.   What does it take to complete?   You are given a ball point pen and the ballot and it is put in a "privacy folder" ready for you to color in the oval that represents your choice.  I remember these type of "fill in the ovals" when I was in high school taking standardized tests.   What happened to the machine with the curtain and the lever you could move and pull the curtain back and your vote was recorded?   The table where I completed my ballot was so flimsy that there was a sign above the table asking the voter not to lean on it..  Too funny.   Wait .....it gets better.

After coloring in the ovals on the ballot sheet you go to yet another section where a lovely assistant helps by punching in the voter number on your ticket and helping you to scan the document ( there were two scanners at this location) into the machine and the document never to be seen again.    That's it.  You are done and you even get a "I Voted Today" sticker if you want one. 

I thought technology had made this process in Florida obsolete.  Apparently not.  It was the most tedious process I have ever experienced as a voter.   Oh well......I exercised my right to vote and I am glad that I did it early and didn't wait in a long line on Election Day!