Dude, they stole my polling place!

[Pikku]

I went to vote today (Texas) and lo and behold, I no longer vote at the elementary school a mile from my house! Instead, I have to go 5 miles down the road, to a small community waaaayyy off the beaten track. I've never been there, but I have an hour to get there before the polls close.

I call the elections office. The poor guy on the phone gets an earful. No, he doesn't know where it is. Maybe he can find someone who does. Uhhh, it's off the freeway. By where they sell diesel trucks. He thinks it's a paved road. No, I can't vote where I used to.

I go to where he said I should turn. The roads aren't marked. Some aren't paved. I drive around lost, until I pull into an auto body place, and ask directions.

I voted, but D&*#&(* this is bull! There are four polling places within a mile of my house. Ridiculous.

On the happy side: I got polled by a Fox/AP pollster. DU'd it, totally. :D Kucinich voter, gay marriage yes, bush no, Iraq HELL no, union member yes (NEA, hee hee!), diebold crooked. Yay me.

Thanks for letting me rant. Does anyone know how to get my polling place changed? I want to vote where I live.

[Florida_Geek]

1. This is not unusual for primary elections

Like in Florida, they will pool voting places because of low turn out.

[Pikku]

2. They didn't pool, they added NEW ones.

Funny, since turnout in TX is only supposed to be about 14%.

My old place is still open... well, to some people.

[never cry wolf]

3. Could be due to redistrictring

Nothing against you personally or texans in general, but I sure as hell am glad I don't live there!

[jburton]

4. This happened in Dallas

It was a mess. People who have voted in the same place for 50 years were sent to new places. Some were "combined" precincts, some were split up.

I'm now "represented" by a congressman who has zero relation to my district. One block away, another congress district. Yet people with my congressman voted over there, and vice-versa.

It was a mess. Thanks, Tom DeLay!

[WilliamPitt]

5. SEND ME A PM RIGHT NOW

I am preparing an article about this, thanks to the other thread on the matter. I'm interviewing people who got screwed. Write to me in as much detail as you can about what happened. Give me either your first name, your first and last name, or a totally fake name.

If you could do this by Sunday morning, you would certainly rule.

The other thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=448952&mesg_id=448952

[silverlib]

6. I feel your pain

I live in Austin. My polling place was just pictured on the Chicago Cable news station, (WGN?) It pictured the nice garage in my neighborhood where the voters in precinct 466 showed up to vote. We had our Democratic precinct meeting after the polls closed in the garage. There was not a Republican precinct meeting as no one showed.

Just curious - I turned in a problem about machine problems in early voting at Home Depot on Brodie, (problem on all machines) but have heard the same problem may have happened in other places tonight. The ballots were three pages long. The machine automatically took you from page 1 to page 2, but you had to go down to the "NEXT" button at the bottom of the machine to get to page three of the ballot. After completing page 3, the machine took you to your "voter confirmation page." The election official I spoke to on Friday said this was a huge problem. I wonder how many people thought they were finished after page 2? This is completely wash away all their votes to that point.

When will we have a paper trail? Travisty in Travis County - and for all of Texas

[GOPisEvil]

9. Hey Silverlib! Is this your polling place?

[silverlib]

10. Yes sir! That's it!

The polling garage for precinct 466! I'll try to download and frame this picture to add to the wall in my home office. It will go great with the picture of Rummy shaking hands with Saddam and Bush signing the latest pro-choice legislation surrounded by his "men."

Thanks!

[Nazgul35]

7. Was it a caucus or a primary?

Those states where the repugs controlled the state legislature, they canceled the state primaries....forcing the Dem Party to organize it themselves...

What this means is that the Party is responsible for finding and manning polling places...and out of cost, the Party consolidates polling stations to save cash...

In Michigan, we had a controversy due to several businesses in the Detroit area that refused the Party access on election day, creating havoc....many of the owners of these businesses are repugs who did it just to piss off the African American voters re: the Dem Party...

Remember this folks...in 2008, when the repugs are running to face off against Pres. Kerry, those majority Dem State legislatures will return the favor, forcing the repugs to spend cash they can't afford.....

:evilgrin:

[efhmc]

11. It's a convention and it held where you vote so that the Dems and the

repukes are in the same place, which stinks but no one can keep you out if you voted, but you have to vote in order to participate in the convention.

[Jack Rabbit]

8. I just read a similar thread about this happening in Texas

I hope Texas Democrats stick together so they don't end up disenfranchised like Florida voters in 2000.

Get organized!

ON EDIT

Link to the other thread.