Was I a jerk for doing this?

[msallied]

So I dropped by City Hall today to put my ballot in the locked drop box that is out front. When I got out of the car to put my and my husband's ballots in the slot, I was approached by an older woman who was with another gentleman doing things in a white van. I couldn't see what he was doing. Anyway, she held out her hand for my ballots and said "I'll take those." And I was like: "Who are you?" She didn't have on a name tag and was wearing regular clothes. She reached for my ballots and I held them back and said that I didn't feel comfortable handing them to someone I didn't recognize, that I wanted to put them in the box. She said that they were picking up the ballots and that it would save time. I put the ballots in the box anyway and told her that if she had the code to unlock the box, then she could have the ballots.

She gave me a nasty look. As I was driving away, I saw the other side of the van and it was a county vehicle. The other side of the van (the one originally facing me) didn't have the magnetic sticker on it. I'm not sure if this would have alleviated me, but still. I didn't feel comfortable handing my ballot over to some nondescript person, even if it did turn out that they worked for the county. Does that sound unreasonable?

[grantcart]

1. you were not unreasonable and she was unprofessional you should have

reported her to her supervisor.

[msallied]

7. I should have gotten her name. I felt sort of intimidated by her.

I just thrust the ballots into the slot before she could say anything else and got the hell out of there. lol

[RagAss]

2. Good Job....I would have called the police myself.

[Warren DeMontague]

3. No.

Better safe than sorry. For all you knew, that van was the fetus-mobile.

[The Magistrate]

4. No, Ma'am: You Were Sensible

[Ian David]

5. You absolutely did the right thing. In fact, report the woman.

Even if she DID work for the county, there is no guarantee she was authorized to take your ballot.

What she did was wrong and illegal, even if she WAS authorized to open the box.

Turn her ass in.

I strongly sense she was up to no good.

[mnhtnbb]

6. You have every right to be suspicious. If it's a lockbox, why have a person there?

I think I would have called the police.

[msallied]

11. I think maybe they were emptying the box. It must be filling up pretty fast.

But still, don't just walk up to me and take my effing ballot without even telling me who you are! Ugh!

[Union Thug]

8. You did the right thing. I would have done the same.

Take no chances.

[Bucky]

9. In a well armed society, she would not have bothered you that much.

[high density]

10. No, what you did made sense

How long does it take to unlock the box? Five seconds?

[napi21]

12. You did the right thing, and she should have know that!

If she didn't have a uniform, or some conspicuous ID on her, she's a dumbass for thinking anyone would "just hand her their ballot!"

[polichick]

13. Ya done good - I hope EVERY Dem voter is that careful!

[TomInTib]

14. At the very least, she could've ID'ed herself.

I would have done almost the same thing you did.

But, when she said, "I'll take those", I would have replied, "The hell you will".

[msallied]

15. Exactly. I have her a look that was like: "Who the eff are you?"

I feel sick to my stomach about it a little. I have the woman's description. I should call and make sure that she works for them.

[TomInTib]

25. Call, then I certainly cannot hurt.

I'm still having trouble with the fact that she did not identify herself as a county employee.

[TheKentuckian]

16. You took the only reasonable course of action

you didn't know (and really still don't) who that person was and she should have encouraged you to put the ballots in the lockbox if it was her job to collect them anyway. A person in such a position should understand that the chain of custody is crucial.

[sufrommich]

17. No one in their right mind would have handed them over.

Of course you did the right thing. I would have gone into City Hall and reported her.Whether she's an employee or not,what if she's also a right wing nutball who would have thrown them away? I wish you would have reported her,I doubt that is legal.

[msallied]

19. This whole thing is really needling in my brain now.

I'm going to call and see if I can find out who this person is.

[sufrommich]

26. Even if they tell you that she was doing her job,explain that you

felt intimidated by her demeanor and that letting employees collect ballots by hand is vote fraud just begging to happen.I'm sorry it happened to you,I feel a little sick just thinking about how easy it would be for those two workers to "dump" a couple of votes now and then.

[msallied]

30. Exactly. Even when I vote in person, I'm the only person who handles my ballot

and puts it in the box. This whole thing is just pissing me off the more I think about it.

[Wapsie B]

18. You did the right thing.

Whether she was a legitimate election official or not she needed to have let you put your ballots in the drop box. Any place I've voted has not touched the ballot after I've filled it out, having me insert it into the ballot box.

Report her.

[NYC_SKP]

20. Magnetic Stickers on a plain white van do not an Official Vehicle make...

Sign companies will make any sign you like, I'd never have let strangers in a van have anything to do with my ballot.

[yardwork]

21. I would have done the same thing.

[Debi]

22. No - she should have let you 'cast' your ballot and then picked everything up

Voting is a big deal and stopping someone from completing the process b/c she wanted to get going is silly.

AND what if???:shrug: To that point you had no guarantee that she was a county employee.

[msallied]

24. I'm gonna drive over there at the same time tomorrow to see

if that same van comes back. And then I will approach them myself and verify who they are.

[Arkansas Granny]

23. No, you aren't a jerk. If she was not wearing anything to ID her as an election

worker, I would say that your actions were reasonable.

[Warren DeMontague]

27. Just curious- do you have any identifying bumper stickers on your car, like an Obama one?

If it were some kind of a vote stealing scam, it would make sense that they would target people based on something like that.

[msallied]

28. No. I don't put that kind of stuff on my car

Because I'm afraid of being vandalized. I know too many people that has happened to. :(

She just looked tired and harried, kind of like someone who works at a BMV, which leads me to think she probably is a county employee, but she still handled that VERY poorly.

[Warren DeMontague]

34. No doubt. You did the right thing, I think.

Imagine how stressed you'd be if you HAD given her your ballot.

[fudge stripe cookays]

47. I'd take a digital camera...

or a camera phone. Get photo evidence before confronting her.

Then, if she gets defensive or nasty, show this to the county (along with the photos you've taken of the license plate and van) and tell them you're also contacting the police, and the local media. This will ensure that the problem is dealt with, instead of swept under the rug.

[Bryn]

29. You did the right thing

I am glad you stood your ground. You had no way knowing for sure if your votes were safe. Best to play it safe! :hi:

[VolcanoJen]

31. You ABSOLUTELY did the right thing.

Just because someone is driving a county vehicle doesn't mean they're an honest person. You don't hand ballots to strangers, period. I ALWAYS put the ballot in the box myself when I vote.

[iamahaingttta]

32. Personally, after putting my ballot in the box...

... I would have taken out me cell phone, taken her picture, photographed the van and the license plate, and then called the cops while she was in earshot.

If she really worked for the county, she wouldn't have gotten into any trouble.
Otherwise, I imagine the van would have sped off...

[Terran]

33. You were right and she was probably violating election laws

doing what she did. So nyah!

[QueenOfCalifornia]

35. You were normal

and she was an idiot - as if she wasn't going to have to unlock that box to get the other ballots out?

You did the right thing - she was an ass.

[Overseas]

36. Not at all. Don't forget that some Republican

registration fraud guys actually just tossed out Democratic registrations.

You really can't trust the Modern Republicans. For them, the Ends Justify the Means.

[rvablue]

37. No,it doesn't sound unreasonable and even if you had wanted to hand

over the ballot on your own accord, this county official should have told you to put it in the locked box first, where she could then retrieve it.

[Lady-Damai]

38. No, you were being too nice. She would have heard a good earful from moi.

How dare she ask you to hand over the ballots without ID?! The crap that happened in the last two elections should put everyone on high alert. Nobody is messing with my vote. I don't play that shit.

[LWolf]

39. I not only would not have given her the ballots,

I would have reported her for demanding people's ballots at all, and for claiming to be authorized without showing ID.

[AZBlue]

40. Not at all. Why didn't she just explain who she was?

[WinkyDink]

41. In point of fact, had you handed your ballot to her, it would have WASTED her time, for she STILL

had to empty the ballot box!

[TrogL]

42. No. Election officials are supposed to be wearing valid ID

I'd have called the police.

[varelse]

43. No, you were not a jerk for doing that

Voting is the most important right one can have in a democracy, and you are right to be protective of your right to vote. Also, the fact that they were operating a "county vehicle" doesn't necessarily mean that they were acting in the capacity of election officials. I think you made the right call.

[blaze]

44. Not a jerk at all!

We all need to be on our toes this election and I suspect most of us would have responded exactly the same way!

[crossroads]

45. You did right! She was wrong to even ask for your ballots!

How rude of her!
CR

[ThatsMyBarack]

46. You weren't a jerk!

You were smart! :hi: :patriot:

Edit to ask: What state??

[msallied]

50. I'm in Olympia, WA.

I'm really hoping this hasn't happened to anyone else. I've been paranoid all damn day. Probably won't relax until I can get over there and figure out who the hell this people are.

[FLyellowdog]

48. Scary.

[IsItJustMe]

49. She was either impatient, ignorant, or up to no good. You did good.

[Top Cat]

51. Smart move.... She probably was going to steal your vote