The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday in the noon hour.
QUESTION: Do you vote by mail, or do you like to visit your local polling place to cast your ballot?
Talk about it.
In-Person
I love the Patriotic aspect about going to the polling place & filling out my ballot.
It goes quickly because I bring my sample ballot with me already filled out after doing my research at home.
I do the same thing for the same reason, unless I’m going to be out of town.
I vote by mail because of my first attempt to vote in person in a presidential election in 1972. The polling place opened late. I was one of the first in line but had to leave without voting because my office was a 747 full of passengers that could not wait for me to vote before taking off from SFO-JFK.
@ConcordRez… So they got their little bag of peanuts on time?
ConcordRez…. What airline, please? My husband was a Captain with PanAm at that time…. Pacific routes mainly (so I’m just curious).
I have voted by mail for years. Wouldn’t do it any other way at this point.
Mail…….
Absentee ballot at home… drop it off at the polls before work. If we’re out of town on election day, we mail in our ballots early. I like going to the polls, but I also enjoy filling out the ballot at home. I can take my time… no mistakes.
What amazes me is you vote but yet can’t understand what the debate is about. Says it all.
I’ve been voting by mail for years. I have no problem with people requesting an absentee ballot and doing the same. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with official ballots being mailed to every registered voter, whether they want one or not. I foresee a lot of “unused” ballots floating around that could end up being used, especially with people registered to vote in-person if they choose, as well.
What I don’t understand is how, by any stretch of the imagination, requiring people to request an absentee ballot (like it’s always been) constitutes disenfranchisement of minority voters, as many claim. Maybe somebody can explain that one?
Always by mail. I’m never sure if work or life will happen during election day. Vote by mail ensures me I will get to vote.
I vote in person. Voting in person preserves the “chain of custody” of my vote.
I’ve always voted in person—-from the moment I turned 18.
I vote with the absentee ballot. I like being able to study the issues and the candidates in the comfort of my living room. I can do research on my computer and make a better decision. I will then take the ballot to city hall and hand it in, making sure it gets there.
The thing about absentee voting is that they have your signature on file from when you registered to vote. They will compare it to the signature on the absentee ballot and if they do not match, the ballot will not be counted. Over the years my signature has changed, but I have a copy of my voter registration with my original signature, so I always have to make sure I sign it the same.
@ Dawg~
Yes,…like to do the research on my computer too, then vote by mail. But I like your idea to take the ballot to city hall,….think I’ll start doing that too. Thank for that little tidbit.
I vote in person. Though personally I don’t see the issue with voting by mail. Some people like the elderly or disabled may not be able to get out to the polls but still wan their voices heard. I think both options should be available. People shouldn’t have to choose between one or the other.
I always vote in person .That way there is less chance my vote will be lost or tampered with . I sure don’t trust our politicians . .
In person. Last election I requested an absentee ballot since I was going on vacation – first time I had ever done that. We need to have options.
In person, I like stickers 😝
They send a sticker with an absentee ballot.
I vote by mail.
I got tired of the polling people waving me over to a certain party table because they assumed that is what I was registered.
Surprise. 🙂
But I have since changed my party choice.
I vote by mail.
All my local polling places have been systematically removed, so the only choice I have by default is to vote by mail.
Yes. My understanding is that it is getting EXTREMELY difficult to find people who want to work at the polling places. But others will know the whole back story on that, maybe?
I take my horse with me when voting because the horse’s primary concern is the stable economy
I vote neigh!
HAY! This is a serious topic quit horsing around!
Hay, you guys!
WHOA there!!!
By Mail….use to be in person if there was a voting location near me.
In person I want my vote to count too much funny business with the mail-in votes
I also vote in person. I like many of you, feel patriotic voting in person. It’s a tradition I am glad to be a part of.
Mail.
In person, and you get a sticker.
You get a sticker by mail, too.
Technically I vote by mail. But due to a slight mistrust of the USPS to handle the tons of mailed ballots, I run over to Martinez and take mine inside to the office.
I have always voted in person except once when I could not be around on election day.
I have always voted in person. Looks like I will vote by mail this year. No big deal.
I am going to repeat myself. If the state verified everyone they send a ballot to I see no problem. However that is not the plan so we have no idea who will vote or how many times they vote. The next problem is vote harvesting. That is people collecting ballots that they have coaxed the recipient of to vote for whom they have coached or somehow just collecting ballots and just filling them out. That should be outlawed. These people can turn in a couple of hundred ballots and in smaller races can make a huge difference.
No one should receive a ballot if they did not vote in the last election unless they request a ballot. Makes no difference what party you are in you should be against indiscriminate mailing of ballots. Dead people should not be sent ballots. Every year about two hundred and fifty thousand people die in California. Between four year elections that is a million people. I hope you can see the problem.
I vote in person.
I use to vote in person but over the years, the polling place got further and further away. One year, I almost didn’t find it (pre-GPS). Now I vote by mail and drop my ballot off at the Library. It’s very convenient.
When mail ballots are received a clerk makes a subjective signature comparison and rejects the ballot if the dignathres fo not match to that person’s satisfaction, but the voter is never informed the ballot was rejected.
I vote in person as I do not trust the mail service. Not that the mail will be stolen and forged but that they lose stuff. I will vote early or use a drop box. Just won’t entrust it to the USPS
Pony, you can always call the Registrar’s office and ask not only whether your ballot has arrived there (and also on what date)…. but also whether it has been COUNTED. If it has arrived and a LOT of time has gone by …… but then they say it has NOT been counted….. you can either just ask “why not?” or else you can simply go to the Registrar’s office and find out.
Mine was NOT counted one year; the problem turned out to be that I had not signed using my middle initial (therefore, it was not a “match” with my original registration signature). At that time they kept such mistaken ballots on file, and the clerk brought it and its envelope to the counter. After checking my driver’s license (with its picture ID), she asked me to sign correctly underneath my incomplete signature.
Done!
Won’t ever make THAT mistake again….. geese! Finding a parking place over there was not easy. Oh, wait, but then there was steamed crab for lunch and allllllll those antique shops back then. Complaint withdrawn! 🤗
I prefer to vote in person. But, 2 years ago Martinez split the city up and certain areas are no longer allowed to vote in person. I live a few blocks from city hall so I walk my ballot over and drop it off. If a person wants to vote absentee a ballot should be requested. The government should not just sent out ballots and harvesting should not be allowed.
I vote with INTEGRITY nothing more and nothing less.
You are doing ABSENTEE voting, which yes you can return the ballot by mail, but at some point YOU are the one who initiated the action, YOU had to request the absentee ballot, YOU had to sign the affidavit. That is significantly different from VBM which are ballots just blanketly sent out to EVERYONE on the unpurged voter rolls, which includes dead people, those who’ve moved, and sometimes even noncitizens. Now throw in ballot harvesting being legal in CA and should make it crystal clear what the debate is.
It really is sad the umteen times I’ve seen, in response to this issue,
the comment “we already vote by mail” which means voters know there’s some point of contention but no curiosity to investigate further.
Vote by mail
I’ve always enjoyed going in person. I can forego it this year, though.
Years ago I was going to be traveling on Election Day, so registered for an absentee ballot, which I have to this day. However, I take great pride in hand delivering my ballot to my local polling place each election. I like having extra time to research issues and complete my ballot, but unless I’m unable to deliver it, no one is touching my ballot except me!
I have voted by mail for years as it gives me time to do some research on some of the things they want a vote on. Way too many things are of a ‘deceptive’ nature to understand unless you get into the details first.
Always by mail.
I vote by mail, and have done so for decades. If you want the “I Voted” sticker, drop your ballot off at your city hall. Concord gives you a sticker if you want it. Voting by mail (or drop off) gives time to the voter to research. It’s also nice to vote when you want and not stand in line. And you can verify your vote was counted online.
I vote in-person, and that is fine by me.