Voting in Person vs. Voting Absentee, During a Pandemic

Would you like to join me in some hand-wringing about voting?

Our area is allowing Covid-19 as a reason for voting absentee. So Paul and Rob and William and I all sent away for absentee ballots. And those absentee ballots have arrived. And between ordering them and receiving them, the president of the United States has made many, many remarks that indicate that he intends at least to TRY to have absentee ballots considered fraudulent/invalid. I have read more than one article saying He Cannot Do That, but excuse me I have been alive and conscious for the last four years and I have heard “He cannot do that” followed by “Well I’ll be darned, he DID do it! Huh, weird! Guess there’s nothing we can do” TOO MANY TIMES. Which makes it seem like it might be better to vote in person on Election Day, just in case. I think ahead to ballots being questioned, and I don’t want to be kicking myself thinking that my vote is in question and might not count.

On the other hand, we are in the middle of a pandemic. I HATE that we have a president who would try to scare people in order to force them to vote in person during a pandemic, but we do. We do have that. It is obviously better and safer if as many of us as possible vote absentee to lower the risk for poll workers and for people who do vote in person. And surely, SURELY, with so many absentee votes—SURELY that would be too many to overthrow? Surely there would be too many of us tracking our ballots and demanding to know why they weren’t counted? In the past when I needed to vote absentee, I never thought to track it: I just assumed it would arrive and be counted. I assume a lot of other people were the same. BUT NOT THIS YEAR.

Also, if we would like to turn dark for a moment, and why on earth wouldn’t we, after all it is Friday night and we know how to spend it: between now and the election, some of us might become too sick to vote; or, less dark, might be quarantined on Election Day. I would feel happier if my vote were already on its way, Just In Case. And even without that worry, I would feel some relief to have the voting over with, and the Waiting To Vote tension relieved.

But as one of my friends says, the risk of voting in person is relatively low as long as everyone is masked (and our city is requiring masks and, perhaps even more importantly, has a system in place for people who refuse or cannot wear masks); and she says she personally feels she really wants to be there on that day and push that button herself. And I can see that, too.

If I’m going to vote absentee, I want to do it as early as possible: our city has online tracking, so I can make sure our ballots arrived, and with plenty of time to do something about it if not. (Dropping it off in person is an option, but one of the scare tactics is that a postmark will be important to prove it was sent before the election, so I would probably prefer to mail them.) But that means making a decision as soon as possible, when my usual method would be to dither longer.

What are you thinking about voting in-person vs. absentee? (Assuming you have that option. If you don’t have that option, you can answer based on what you think you WOULD be thinking, or what your friends/family who DO have the choice are thinking, since “I don’t know, we don’t have that choice in my area” makes for very dry reading—and, as we’ve noted, it IS Friday night.)

106 thoughts on “Voting in Person vs. Voting Absentee, During a Pandemic

  1. Robin

    You might want to look into the process for invalidating you absentee ballot so you can vote in person. In my state it is a gigantic pain in the butt…

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      1. Matti

        Yes, this. My husband and I ordered absentee ballots BEFORE things got weirder and some sources switched tracks saying perhaps it would be better to vote in person. So, since we live in a reliably blue state, but a red county (read: potentially LOTS of people not wearing masks), we decided to just fill them in and send them as early as we could.

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  2. Keri

    In person, 100%. I dont trust that they’ll be counted. I dont even trust the post office right now to get them sent in, in the first place. I’ll mask up, load up on sanitizer, and vote in person. My state does have early voting, so I plan on going early in the hopes that there aren’t a ton of people.

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  3. Susan

    I asked for an absentee ballot (in our state, you don’t need a reason). It arrived today. Turns out, half of the registered voters in our small town (2500 / 5000) requested absentee/mail-in ballots!
    If I were to make the decision today, I’d probably opt for early voting in person. It’s a small town, I’ve been part of the election process (just started this year!), and I see how easy and non-scary it is. All the precautions are being taken, and it’s less time than I would be in the grocery store. But again, it is a very small town and I would feel entirely different if I were living in a city. Now that I *DO* have the absentee/mail-in ballot, I will probably drop it in the secure drop box at Town Hall. That way I don’t have to worry about the mail but again, small town and I totally trust them to get the mail across town. In fact, they dropped off the absentee ballots (I helped to get them ready to send: you’d be surprised how much goes into it!) at the post office around noon, and people with PO boxes got them later that day!

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  4. Lorraine

    I’m in Washington state. The whole state is Mail-in ballot. There are only a few vote in-person options in the entire state. Does he even have control over ballots? That’s a state mandate, right? Either way, I’m Canadian, so I’m hostage to whatever happens. Vote people, vote!

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      1. Corinne

        And that states with Republican controlled assembly/senate will find ways to invalidate. This is my fear. We have our mail-in ballots sitting on the kitchen counter and I’m absolutely frozen about what to do.

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  5. Becky

    I always vote in-person, even though I am encouraged every day to vote early. In my state, Minnesota, there is a huge push to vote. So I could, any day. But, I like the ceremony of voting on the day, and I like to bring my son with me so I can talk through the ballot with him. He is 13 and we have done this for years. Plus,I am a teacher, teaching hybrid, wearing a mask and voting doesn’t seem to be any more risky than teaching third grade, needless to say I am a democrat all the way!

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    1. Cece

      But then what happens if you’re in quarantine on the day and can’t go out to vote? I’m English so this isn’t an issue for me right now – but we’ve been unexpectedly all in isolation as a family awaiting Covid test results 3 times since the summer already, and my children have had three week quarantines between them since the end of August. Each time has derailed plans we were looking forward to, of varying degrees of importance. I just feel like this year there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to go vote on the day!

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  6. Kathy

    A middle ground is to fill out your absentee ballot and drop it off at the polls. Many states allow for this – you can check the rules in your area. That lets you get in and out quickly while being more certain of your ballot being counted. Some areas also have secure drop-boxes for mail-in ballots, often at city halls or at libraries.

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  7. Paola

    Curious as to how your city is dealing with those who refuse to wear masks? Or do you mean just on Election Day?

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      1. Susan

        Our town has a policy for that: if a person does not want to wear a mask, tell them FINE, you will have to wait until everybody who is in the polling area is finished. We call down to the polling area and they let us know when everybody is gone. Then the unmasked voter goes in alone and votes. We are specifically instructed to make this NO BIG DEAL because there will be people who are trying to make trouble and state that they are being disenfranchised and discriminated against if they are turned away.

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        1. Elsk

          I love that your town has foreseen the “grievance” aspect of this and has developed a policy for it. Just fantastic to rob them of the opportunity to whine about this and stir the pot.

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  8. Kristen

    In AZ, we’ve had mail-in voting for a quite a while (I’m not sure when it started). My husband and I have received ballots-by-mail previously, so we are continuing to do that (it is an automatic thing once you request it the first time). I used to mail it in, but in the last two elections/primaries, I researched our dropbox locations and used them instead. (It blows my MIND that the Houston area has ONE, when my suburb of Phoenix has them all over the place). Also amazing that Useless Gov Ducey (Duceless! Is that a nickname people use?) hasn’t worked to overturn all this. For once, maybe being useless helps! Anyway, we plan on the dropbox drop-off and tracking our ballots to see what happens. I will cross my fingers and continue to stress out for the next month.

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    1. Anna

      A federal judge just overruled TX Gov Abbott’s one-dropbox-per-county rule! The state can still appeal, but still! As a non elderly non disabled person in TX, I will be voting early in person.

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      1. Slim

        And an appeals court just overruled that, so now it’s back to one box per county.

        Who made the latest ruling? Three Trump appointees, of course.

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  9. Meggan

    I have always voted in person, but this year I requested an absentee ballot right away, received it, voted, returned it by mail, and checked the tracking to make sure it made it made it and was accepted (it was). I feel VERY GOOD knowing I am already done with the process should I get sick or injured or otherwise unable to vote in person. I recommend this! Depending on your state, you may be able to vote with your absentee ballot and then drop it off in person, either at a secure dropbox or election office or polling site – that might feel like the best of both options since you’d be voting absentee but hand-delivering it where it needs to go.

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  10. DoingMyBest

    I did not have a choice: we are a military family living across the country from the state in which we are registered to vote. I sent my absentee ballot this week. It even required a phone call because I wanted to make sure I was understanding the instructions correctly. I DIALED THE PHONE WITHOUT PAUSE, that is how serious I am about voting! (And I used my Women Vote stamp!) With the number of military families who regularly need to vote absentee, I would certainly hope there would be a huge outcry if Some Reprehensible Person tried to invalidate those votes!

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    1. DoingMyBest

      Upon further reflection, I hope the reason he is kicking up a fuss about absentee voting now is to save face when he loses; so he can blame it on voter fraud instead of VOTERS VOTING HIM OUT.

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      1. kellyg

        That’s exactly why he’s kicking up a fuss now. Laying the foundation for his attempt at declaring a fraudulent election. Because to him, it is either trump wins or fraud at polls.

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  11. Jenny

    I have devoted so much bandwidth to this, it is just crazy. It is not right that we have to legitimately wonder if our votes will count.

    I went back and forth on what I wanted to do. I settled on an absentee ballot and hand delivering it (i.e. no postal service mishaps). My main concern was the crazy idea of WHAT IF I DIE BEFORE ELECTION DAY AND DON’T HAVE A CHANCE TO VOTE? I wish I were kidding ;) And I also was interested in volunteering as a poll worker, but I haven’t heard back from my county, so maybe they have enough people.

    I agree with the person above who mentioned what happens with an absentee ballot if you try and vote in person. In my state (Iowa), you have to surrender your absentee ballot on Election Day otherwise you must vote provisionally. I think there is an option to call the county auditor on Election Day if you don’t have your ballot and get it cancelled with them, but that sounds like a pain.

    Anyway, my ballot has been delivered and shows up on the website as accepted. My parents who are in their late 60’s and early 70’s and still work full time in a school and in a factory (and I could talk your ear off if I think that is a good idea), delivered their ballots as well. So I guess we are good to go there because they are much more likely to get sick than their 41 year old daughter that works at home.

    And now I wait. I cannot take 4 more years of this, so I need to figure out what I will do if he wins again. I will definitely need to medicate myself.

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    1. Jenny

      Also in my state (again Iowa) there is no difference than voting by absentee and early voting. If you want to vote early you are essentially requesting an absentee ballot and submitting it right away. Which is great, but they get counted at the same time as the other absentee ballots. Which is why I decided to get one sent to me and then deliver to the county auditor’s office.

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  12. Mariah

    I’m in Texas. I’m voting in person (there’s a correlation between those two things). But we have early voting for two weeks, so I’ll go during the on a week day In hopes of getting in and out quickly. In the past, this has worked, so I’m hopeful it’ll be the same this year.

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  13. alh

    I voted in person early. Everyone had masks on and most weren’t standing too close, and I put my ballot in the machine myself. In and out within 5 minutes (with an 25-35 min wait outside). If that wasn’t a choice, I would have done an absentee ballot and drop off at the county voter registration office. A friend knows the guy who runs the office and I trust he & his staff will do things correctly. Good luck deciding.

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  14. Jackie

    I think it depends on where you live, unfortunately. In NJ, every single registered voter received a mail-in ballot. You don’t have to use it; you can vote in person. But my area of NJ is taking precautions mostly very seriously and there may be a shortage of polling staff and polling locations, and overall I feel more confident in voting by mail (although I did place my ballot in a ballot drop box instead of mailing it).

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  15. angela

    I live in California and switched to mail in voting when computerized voting machines became widespread. Remember the reports of tallying errors? Anyone? I want a paper trail, thankyouverymuch.

    I live in a small town and expect to receive my ballot tomorrow. I will complete it and drop it in the box at the county administration building. 🙂

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  16. Elizabeth Jackson

    I am too tired to look up why I got an absentee ballot, do we all get them in California? I think maybe. Anyway, my opinion changes based on whether I am in a swing state or not. Quite frankly my vote doesn’t much matter in California. If I was in Florida, my ass would be voting in person, in many layers of masks with a cloud of rubbing alcohol and bleach wafting around me in the air.
    PS I did vote by mail, yesterday. I could have dropped it off at a ballot box but quite frankly I am curious to follow its path and see how it goes.

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  17. Jodie

    In 2018 my state (MI) passed a law saying that you could vote absentee without giving a reason. I voted in person on March 10 and decided that I was noping right out if we were still dealing with Covid by November. Fortunately there was also an August primary (idk but there was a millage question too) and so I used that as a practice run.
    So in June, I requested both Aug and Nov ballots and dropped the August one at a secure drop box in front of city hall. I found I missed the camaraderie of voting in person BUT not enough to vote in person with all the people who don’t believe in this virus.
    We have our ballots and this week we are filling them out and putting them in the drop box. I’m saving my sticker (they sent a sticker!!) for Nov 3 . I also live within walking distance to my polling place so I may walk around and make sure there’s no militia hanging around outside.
    We vote at the elementary school my kids attended and I have always been thankful the school takes the day as a PD day.

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  18. JMV

    I am voting in person because… hanging chads. This doesn’t make sense at all because the hanging chad fiasco was for all ballots. I understand it is irrational. I am praying it is a landslide for either candidate. Obviously I have a strong preference for one candidate, but either would be preferred to a decision requiring Supreme Count intervention. Yuck.

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  19. AR

    I’m in IL (highly populated IL), and I requested a mail-in ballot.

    I have it.

    Now I’m trying to decide: mail it in? drop it at an early voting location? Or trade my ballot for in-person early voting?

    I thiiiiiink I’m going to take the middle option, and probably tomorrow. I *think* my city will tell me when the ballot has been accepted, so that’s a relief, I guess.

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    1. Melissa

      I’m also in Illinois. I requested an absentee ballot, filled it out, dropped it in the mail and checked the tracker QR code they sent along with my ballot. It was counted 10/8/2020. It feels SO good to have the whole process (for me) over and done. Now, to wait and hope the rest of the country agrees with me. I want it to be such a landslide that there is no argument of fraud or miscount or scam.

      I also want them waiting with a shiny new pair of handcuffs on the day our next president is sworn in.

      Reply
  20. ptrish

    I voted absentee, and in my city I got an alert confirming it was being counted within a few days. I’ll be working the polls for the first time this year since they made a big deal about needing younger folks to do it, so I didn’t really have a choice. But I also received and mailed my ballot in the last week of September, so I had no concerns about USPS delivery speeds.

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  21. Laura

    If you already have an absentee, that might be the best thing: in some states you can only vote with a provisional ballot if you request an absentee and then don’t use it. It’s a big pain.

    All this angst is so frustrating, though. One of the worst things that could come out of That Jackass’s statements is people not trusting the system and not voting.

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  22. Ali

    This is not an issue for me personally, since I live in a backwards state where mail in voting is not an option for the majority of the population. (Luckily, we do have plentiful early voting options which I will be doing even though my state will be voting for Trump).

    To me, the issue would boil down to how likely I thought my state would be contested. I’m not nervous about county voting officials not counting my ballot because there are largely lots of protections built into that system. What I would be nervous about is a situation where the vote is close, there is a potential recount, and sides challenging each others’ ballots. (Asking—-Is that really so and so signature? Is every single spot filled in 100% accurately? Etc) Again, that is not going to be an issue for my state but If you live somewhere that is at all a likely possibility, I would he hauling my maskedup self to the polls.

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  23. SheLikesToTravel

    I would check the rules for your county. My county is responsible for the voting in my state and I have been so happy with them! They do a lot of tracking of my ballot. For example, a month ago they told me which day my ballot would mail. When that date arrived, they told me that is was mailed. During the primaries, they told me when my ballot had be received by USPS, they texted me again when my ballot was received and sent off for signature validation. And again when I passed signature validation and my ballot was counted. The great news, with an absentee ballot, there is a paper copy of my vote which feels more secure than an electronic machine. I feel so confident about this process and am as confident as if I voted in person. They have also provided locations where I could drop off my ballot if I was concerned about USPS (note, if every eligible american voted and mailed their ballot on the same day, it is still the same or less than what they move in a single day. We know not every eligible voter votes, and we know ballots are mailed over a period of weeks.) Also, if concerned there is early voting in my state. I heard the lines were long on the first day in the early hours. But day 2 and 3 were pretty quiet. So if early voting is your thing, perhaps go in relatively early in the process, but not first thing. So I guess I am saying look into the voting rules and regulations for your county/state and see if you can get a sense of confidence, or if you get a sense that the rules for your county seem a little incomplete. I googled my county name and “voting locations” which brought me to a .gov website for my county’s election department. There were so many services shown that highlights the preparedness of my county for voting and I am going to happily vote as soon as my ballot arrives (per a text message, it should be here in the next day or two). I hope that helps.

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  24. Beth

    I voted early, in person, a couple of days ago. The process was very streamlined & organized and clean. I went in the middle of the afternoon, and there were people there, but not a long line, and it was well spaced & everyone was masked. I live in a Very Blue urban area, and I have to say, there was a festive feeling in the air. I felt safe, and I’ve been very careful and reluctant to go out, generally speaking. Fingers and toes crossed!!

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  25. Ann

    In Colorado, so we receive a ballot by mail, which I will drop off in person – been doing this long enough so I’m comfortable with it.

    However, if I lived in different state, I’d look to see WHEN absentee ballots are counted. If they can’t be counted until the day of the election, I would be afraid that my ballot might not be counted in the case of a contested election. If the state began counting absentee ballots *before* the day of election, I’d feel more comfortable voting with absentee ballot (and more confident that my vote would be counted.)

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    1. Jd

      This was my suggestion- see when the vote is tallied. I’m voting early in person because in my state absentee ballots are not counted until Election Day. They won’t be able to finish in one day and I don’t want to contribute to the backlog when I can vote in person.

      Reply
  26. Badger Reader

    I was very much in person voting. 100%. Then an exposure possibility happened and the chance I’ll have to quarantine for 14 days overthrows my window for 10 day early voting / 1 day election day voting. I am terrified something could happen that would prevent my ability to in person vote. I requested a ballot, it has been delivered. I will follow directives to fill it out correctly and hand deliver it to submit.

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  27. Jessica

    I voted this morning! In person, which I had remembered incorrectly. Somehow I thought when I did that before I got to put my ballot in a machine, so there would be fewer paper envelopes to open for election staff. Alas, when they say “absentee in person,” which is what we have here, they’re being literal. I filled out the same ballot my husband got at home, put it in the same secrecy envelope and outer envelope, sealed it, then dropped it in a secure bin. So I know they have it, but it’s still an absentee ballot and is lumped in with the others. You could also have a ballot mailed to you and then bring it to this in-person place and put it in the same bin.

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  28. Brittany

    I debated about this because of all the reasons, plus the addition that I will be in the third trimester of my pregnancy on Election Day, bringing my risk tolerance for potentially germy crowds or long lines down to almost zero. Also, I requested an absentee ballot for for our local spring elections and felt overwhelmed by the need for a witness and signing multiple envelopes and I ended up not sending it in due to my confusion and overwhelm. So for the November election (for which my area waived its previous requirement to have a witness for mail in ballots), my plan was to request a mail in ballot and then deliver it to one of the approved city drop boxes. But then I found out that my state is offering early in person voting. At first it was being offered at a city office and then they expanded it to about five of our libraries. I went one day and everyone was in masks and distanced. There were maybe two people ahead of me and one behind, no line, and it took almost no time at all and I put my own ballot in the machine. I feel relieved and good about it and highly recommend trying that route if it’s available. In my area, they had options for either surrendering your mail in ballot if you changed to in person or casting a provisional one if you requested a mail in but didn’t have it with you. I loved the security of doing it in person combined with the security of knowing the vote is done and not having lines or crowds.

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  29. Shauna

    I requested an absentee ballot and delivered it in person today. I just don’t trust the mail right now. I’ll track its status online like I did for the primary election to make sure it was counted.

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  30. Anna

    I think it depends on two things: do you live in a swing state, and how high is community transmission in your area? My state is deeply red, so my presidential vote will have no actual impact. However, it could have impact on local elections, which are also important, but I don’t think the in person versus absentee issues are there as much. We also have extremely high community transmission (WHAT A COINCIDENCE) so the risk of going to the polls seems higher. I also know my polling place is a dingy little church that’s literally made of cinderblocks, with poor ventilation. So all that is leading me to vote absentee/early/drop ballot. But if I lived in a swing state with low transmission, I would probably vote in person.

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  31. Gwen

    Because the US is a ridiculous federal mess, this entirely depends on what state you live in. If you live in PA, please read on; if not, this may not apply at all:

    In PA, you can deliver your ballot to a county election office or another county election drop site, which definitely seems like the safest option, both in terms of avoiding covid and getting counted. If you live elsewhere, I have no idea but very much appreciate your raising these questions on your platform!

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    1. Elsk

      Yes! I live in PA and requested a mail-in ballot, then I just hand-delivered my completed ballot to my local election office in Philadelphia today. There was definitely a festive atmosphere. In front of me was a young man in a hoodie who yelled on his way out “Woohoo! Everybody vote! Yeahhhh!” and I assume he was a teenager voting for the first time and his mom was escorting him out, and everyone, even the police officer standing nearby, was smizing.

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  32. Maureen

    I will vote in person, for sure. If I go fairly early-there should not be many people. I think I live in a district that has a low voting population-I rarely have to stand in line to vote, no matter what the election is. After my despair with the last election, for my own peace of mind-I need to physically go to the voting booth.

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    1. Ess

      I dropped my absentee ballot off at our town office today. My state’s online tracker system already shows that it was accepted. I feel relieved. I live in a state where it’s incredibly easy to vote, but I am legit losing sleep about voter suppression efforts elsewhere. I even had to dig out my long abandoned mouth guard because I have been grinding my teeth at night. Fun story, I was so stressed after the 2016 election that I cracked some fillings from teeth grinding. Good times.

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  33. Jill

    I voted early in person at our county courthouse which is apparently always an option that I never paid attention to before. No idea if that’s safer than mail in ballot or absentee but it seemed easier and I wanted to avoid the crowds of Election Day.

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  34. sooboo

    In my state every registered voter was sent a ballot in the mail without having to request it. You can also go vote in person or drop it off in person. Every library in my city has a drop off box outside. People I know are voting and dropping the ballots in the drop boxes. I’m going to that next week after I figure out all the down ballot stuff. One good thing about doing that is it’s done and I don’t have to pay attention to news until the election. If I lived in a swing state, I would probably go in person and vote.

    The other obligatory errand I’ve been trying to figure out is flu shots. I would love an outdoor clinic but I can’t find one. The thought of going inside the pharmacy and waiting is not a great option but the only option, I guess.

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    1. Holly

      Walmart (yes I know yuck) is letting you sign up for apptmt times online and fill out 90% of the paperwork online. We have never done flu shots at Walmart but we liked the scheduling option over the show up at a pharmacy and wait option. Lol.

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    2. BKB

      I just called to make appointments for flu shots at my kids’ pediatrician’s office, which is where they always get them. They told me they don’t have flu shots available this year at the office due to Covid, but the hospital they’re associated with has a flu shot clinic available that’s a 40 minute drive from my house so we can just make an appointment there. I waited on the phone for 20 minutes to hear this piece of information. Why on earth would they make it harder to get flu shots this year of all years?

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    3. Shawna

      Canadian here. I’m not sure about whether it’s like this in the US, but here I went to Costco for my flu shot and there was almost no line – one other family got there just before us. They have an appointment system too, but they take walk-ins all Sunday and in between the appointments other days they can fit them in. Here you don’t need to be a Costco member to use the Costco pharmacy, though I have a membership so it was moot in my case.

      Whether in Canada or the US, I’d recommend checking online for Costco in general, and maybe then calling your local one to get details if you see online that the Costcos in your province/state are doing flu shots. I got the impression that individual Costcos are setting up the way they handle appointments/walk-ins according to how they think would be best for their own particular store.

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  35. Chris

    This makes me so sad. We have voted by mail in Oregon my entire life and it has NEVER been an issue. Everyone should have such ease and confidence in their vote.

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  36. Katherine

    It’s unclear if you can vote early in person. If that’s an option, do it!

    If not, I suggest you mail your ballots, but take them directly to a post office. Maybe even drive it to the post office closed to your capital or elections building, if that’s a possibility. I suspect you may be in a part of the country where a fall drive would be nice tomorrow.

    I do not understand the voting in person on election day people who say that’s “just how it’s done” I mean, you do you, but maybe be open to new things?

    I live in a state (MN) where our website allows us to see that our mailed votes were not only received, but accepted as valid! Yay! This is what I did for the August primary. We also have early in person voting, which my partner wanted to do for the general election and I was fine with that.

    Our early in person voting was in our municipal parking garage. They took out all the vehicles and left the garage doors open and lots of plexiglass and masks required and it felt very very safe.

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  37. Mandy

    I have never voted in person. The first year I could vote, I was out of my home state at college, and voted absentee. I then moved to the state I currently live in, with all mail-in voting. I sort of feel like I’ve missed out on an American rite of passage. I would, however, have chosen to vote absentee this year, because we are an immunocompromised household.

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  38. R

    Where we live, for the first time ever there are also physical locations where we’re allowed to drop off our mail-in ballots (this is the first year I’ve ever even considered mail-in voting, so everything about mail-in ballots is new for me, but this is a big deal that there are many locations throughout our county where we can drop off mail-in-ballots instead of having to mail them). We requested our ballots online, and we already got them. I’ll still end up walking into my Village Hall to drop the envelope in the drop-box, but it will be much faster than standing in line and actually voting a whole long ballot in person, so I’m going for the drop-box option. If you haven’t already, maybe see if you have a drop-box option too!

    Reply
  39. alex b

    Definitely in person! They’re doing this contactless fast-pass-tag thing here that I got in the mail. You can vote in person early or on 11/3. It’s safe to socially distance, mask+glove-up, and get in and out. No “I voted” stickers.

    There are factually always a horrifying number of rejected absentee ballots, and it’s going to be way worse this year.

    I love the feeling of voting and would lose it with mail-in. The entire experience just thrills me every time. In 2018 I was in the district that elected AOC and could not have been prouder to vote. I think I even teared up at the polling place lol.

    It’s probably wishful thinking to say I hope the next month goes smoothly….

    Reply
  40. D in Texas

    I’m in Texas, in a town of 100,000. We are both seniors, and we have already mailed in our ballots. We went through the same scenarios as Swistle, and decided that mailing ballots was safer for our health. In 2016 the polls had huge lines and crowds, even though we voted early, mid-day on a weekday, and we didn’t want to risk that again. I am enjoying the feeling of having already voted for Joe and Kamala and MJ Hegar.

    Reply
  41. confiance

    I live overseas as a military dependent, so absentee voting is my only (reasonable) option. I did consider flying to the states to vote in person, but a) I really don’t think an 8 hour flight is a great idea, b) I am registered to vote in a state that is likely to vote for the incumbent and that should give you some idea about how that state feels about masking, and c) flights + airbnb of my own place for two weeks prior to each flight is crazy expensive and I would miss the dog.

    I am super annoyed with my state because I cannot get the page on the state’s website that allows you to track your absentee ballot to load unless I am using a VPN. In other words, I cannot do anything relating to voting on the state’s website from overseas. That included downloading the form needed to register to vote!

    If we had already moved back stateside, I would have likely voted absentee as well, since we would be living an 12 hour drive from our polling place. If we hadn’t moved overseas, I’d be voting in person as I’d be still registered in the state I lived in. That state flipped the state legislature to Democratic in 2018, and has since passed a number of laws to make voting easier, so early voting is a now an option for most people. I probably would have gone for early in person voting.

    I sent a bunch of postcards to friends the same day we mailed our absentee ballots. I’m waiting to hear from friends that postcards have arrived and then I will start stalking the status of my ballot.

    Reply
  42. Wendy

    I’m in a swing state (MI) in a small rural town of about 5,000 people. I thought I requested an absentee ballot but apparently I requested APPLICATIONS for absentee ballots for me and my husband; they arrived yesterday.

    Since it adds a layer of confusion to an already-busy day to have to spoil/turn in an absentee ballot and vote in person, we decided not to send in the applications. We are going to vote in person. Our small town added a third polling place so there should be less people in line, and we don’t expect shenanigans (militias and the like).

    Michigan doesn’t begin counting absentee ballots until election day, and that makes me nervous. I’m afraid Trump will try to force a decision before all the ballots are counted. That’s why we decided to vote in person, even though my husband is immunocompromised.

    Reply
  43. Holly

    I’m voting in person but early voting. We can vote here starting Oct 15. We have been living like normal since June so I’m not really concerned about covid. I really do think most people catch it hanging out in their normal groups (family or friends or coworkers) and without masks. Masks are required in all public places in our state, so we will wear masks and I’m sure the lines will be social distanced. Plus with early voting, its never really that crowded.

    Reply
  44. yasmara

    We will vote in person but via early voting. Our state went for Obama, but then the now incumbent who shall not be named.

    My state also has a history of gerrymandering and active court cases. Weirdly, our early voting polling place is closer to our house than our Election Day polling place, so that’s yet another reason.

    Reply
  45. Carolyn

    I went to my county clerk’s office to change my address since we’ve moved. Evidently I was kicked off the records when my address didn’t match up. So my options were to re-register by 10/6 or wait until 11/3 and register and vote on election day. I made a special trip to the County Clerk, 30 minutes away, and registered on October 6th. There were only about 3 people in line, all socially distanced and masked. When it was my turn to do my paperwork I asked if I could vote right then and there (even though there are assigned dates and locations for early voting in Illinois.) It was over in about 10-15 minutes and I left without any crowds or long lines. But got my sticker!

    Reply
  46. Another Sue

    My county is automatically mailing ballots to all registered voters. They are scheduled to mail out on the 14th. Yes, that seems later than I wish, but I will fill mine out and drive it to the courthouse. There will be a Dropbox in the parking lot, but I have already spoken to someone who agreed that I can take it inside. Paranoid much? I dunno. Maybe a realist?

    Reply
    1. Another Sue

      Oh wait. They mailed applications for ballots to all registered voters. I returned that immediately and am now waiting for my ballot. Sorry! Didn’t mean to introduce confusion. Wouldn’t want that.

      Reply
  47. Liz

    I voted absentee and dropped it off at the registrars office in my county (Loudoun County, VA). And then I checked the website a couple of days later to make sure they’d recorded it as being received.
    And then I posted about it on FaceBook.
    https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.a.miller.7/posts/101580537814928

    (please note, I have voted early in almost all general elections since 2010 when I nearly missed voting because I was in a car accident the day before election day)

    It’s true that he will try to invalidate the mailed-in ballots, but I think he will concentrate on the swing states.

    Does your state allow early voting in person?

    In any case, find out what the rules are for turning in your absentee ballot if you end up planning to vote in person.

    Reply
  48. Ann

    I worried a lot about this, and ended up deciding to go ahead and vote by mail. I waited a week or two after my state (NC) had sent the first batch of absentee ballots out, and when it sounded like things were going fine with the tracking system and so on, went a head and sent mine back through the USPS. Being able to see the status change online was reassuring.
    Since hyphen I’ve been following all the ways I can volunteer and/or advocate with my reps to keep the election as free and fair as possible. I did some “chase and cure” phone banking, calling up people that had cast their absentee ballot but the ballots were rejected, to try and talk them through the steps of fixing it? The making-phone-calls part was AWFUL but I did feel like I was helping.

    Reply
  49. Melissa

    We are voting in person on Election Day. I love in Alabama, a state with a history of voting shenanigans and a Secretary of State who believes his job is to make it as difficult as possible for non-Republicans to vote. Not to mention the implementation of voter ID laws then promptly shutting down DMVs where one acquires those IDs in predominantly black counties. My county is one of the more populated but I’ve never had to wait more than a few minutes to vote at city hall in any election in the last 7 years. My husband and I go early after they open, and we will just spend the rest of the day fretting, knowing our state will be called for Trump as soon as polls close with 0% of the vote counted. 🙄

    Reply
  50. Susan

    We must vote absentee this year (out of town), but if we were in town, I would vote in person. I have an immune disorder and have been in strict quarantine since March, but I would walk through crowds of bare-faced Republicans to get to the polls if we were there.

    We just got our absentee ballots in the mail. Because I’ve been a fourth-grade teacher, I looked at the ballot through the eyes of a capable fourth grader: Would a smart, capable fourth grader would be able to figure this out? (For those who aren’t familiar with fourth graders, I’ll tell you that a mature, resourceful, alert fourth grader is far more capable than most adults.)

    The answer is no. In fact, it was somewhat difficult for a college-educated adult to do it. One question totally mystified me: “What WARD do we live in?” We’ve lived in our town for over 40 years, and I didn’t even know we were IN a “ward” — or even that “wards” existed. I searched and Googled for probably 15 minutes and couldn’t find anything about it. My husband researched as well and finally concluded our town doesn’t have wards. We put a dash in that square.

    They included two envelopes, one which had multiple places for signature, no instructions at the top as to what to do or how many places to sign. In addition, there was a sticky note on the envelope giving further information about what to do if you’re afraid of covid. The entire thing was written in incomprehensible legaleeze.

    The other envelope appeared to be self-addressed return envelope. Thank goodness, I thought, since many people wouldn’t be able to figure out where to send it. Looking closer, we noticed that although it looked like the address was filled in, with: “Official Election Mail” “Authorized by the U. S. Postal Service.” “Enclosed is the Ballot of an absentee voter” “To TOWN OR CITY CLERK of TOWN OF N******* , and I swear, nine out of ten people would pop it right in the mail thinking it was addressed, we noticed it was missing the street address. In fact, although it clearly said it was to go to the “Town of N******,” it didn’t give a state or zip code, and our town has the kind of name where every state has seven of them.

    There was no information about how to get the address. Yes, we were able to locate it, but what about people with fewer resources than we have. I had a small rant where I accused President Trump of personally setting into motion things to make absentee voting as difficult as humanly possible, to thwart as many people as possible from voting.

    Reply
    1. Jenny

      I really like your 4th grader litmus test. Would the 4th grader be able to figure out which judges and city council members to vote for, too?!?

      Reply
  51. Carla Hinkle

    For me it would depend somewhat if your state normally has a lot of mail voting or not. I’m in California and we already have lots of mail voting, I’ve been permanent vote by mail for years (although we do also have in person voting). It’s not like California is a swing state but I do feel good about mail voting here (although I am going to drop off at least 2 weeks early).

    If you live in a state where mail voting is less common and/or the state/local government is hostile to it, or you are a swing state/district where the vote margin may be small, I would think more seriously about voting in person.

    Reply
  52. StephLove

    I think if I lived in a swing state, or even a leans-blue or leans-red state, I might vote in person. But I live in a solid blue state, so I feel comfortable voting absentee. Still waiting for my requested ballot to arrive.

    Reply
  53. Mary

    I signed up for mail in voting for the whole year when I voted in the spring. So I kinda got stuck with it and already got my ballot. I plan on taking it in person to the election office. I got an email confirmation in the spring that my ballot was received so hopefully will again.

    My county in Pennsylvania is one that went red in 2016 for the first time in like 50 years or something and only by an extremely small margin so I’m really hoping it’ll flip back to blue.

    Reply
    1. Tracy

      I’m in PA too…

      I did sign-up for mail-in for the primary because my polling place was moved from “literally right down the street” to a different larger location. But I guess that put me automatically on the mail-in voting list for general election. (Also our primary was delayed, and by the time we did have it, I think I would have preferred to have gone in person, but my mail-in ballot had already been sent). It’s worth noting that mail-in ballots are not the same as absentee ballots (at least in PA). There’s a different request system for them, but perhaps they are all counted in the same way – I don’t really know, seeing as this is the first time it’s ever been an option since I’ve been voting (since 1992).

      PA is making me nervous for many reasons:

      First, when my husband went in-person to vote in the primary, they gave him the wrong party’s ballot (honestly not sure why they used paper ballots for in-person voting, seeing as we’ve had electronic machines since before anyone ever heard of a hanging-chad!)

      Second, when my 18-year old son registered to vote (online), the same form was also asking if he would like to sign-up for mail in voting. Knowing that he was supposed to move to college prior to the election, he opted to do that as well. A couple weeks later his application for mail-in voting was declined because of this reason: NOT REGISTERED TO VOTE (!!!) No shit, Sherlock! Literally his registration to vote was right there on the same form that you had to have seen! So, we waited 6 weeks to see what would happen with the voter’s application. Nothing. The PA Voting website says that you should hear within 2 weeks. At this point, he had already moved to college (different county, same state), so we just had him register again, but do not fill out any info for mail-in voting (because clearly the system is not set up to handle both of those requests at once!). He received the email that his application was received, and it took over a month before another email came indicating his registration was accepted. We are still waiting on the Voter Registration Card to come in the mail (which will come to our home, not his college mailbox). Without that, he cannot apply for an absentee or mail-in voting form! Time is a-wasting! We are actually thinking of making the 3 hour round-trip twice in 24 hours so he can go in person to the polling place. PA might be the purplest state right now, so it’s important!

      My third concern is that I received my mail-in ballot… and then got another email telling me my mail-in ballot is in the mail (as in they were sending me another one). WTF?! Get your shit together, PA! I’m on the fence about sending it in, or taking it to the polling place (directions say I have to take it to hand it in if I want to vote in person). We are supposedly back to voting in our regular “down the street” polling place, so that is comforting, I guess.

      It just all feels like SUCH A MESS!

      Reply
      1. Berty K

        Also PA here.
        I missed voting in my first election (Obama 1) bc they spelled my name wrong on the voter card and they wouldn’t let me vote. So when your sons comes make sure to double check all of that (although I’ve been told in years since I shouldn’t have been turned away for that).
        The 2nd email saying a ballot was in the mail after already receiving was a statewide glitch. Also happened to us. SO called and that’s what they told him.
        We mailed ours back and received emails they were received within 2-3 days.

        Reply
  54. Nicole

    Living in Colorado, all ballots are automatically mailed. We also have a VERY robust ballot tracing system in Denver. I’ve received a text letting me know my ballot was mailed to me. Then, when I drop it off in the secure neighborhood drop box I will receive an additional text that it was received and a final text that it’s been accepted /counted. I especially enjoy voting at home because I can have all my “cheat sheets” at the ready to refresh my memory. Sure, the big races are easy but who can keep straight all the propositions, mill levy questions and judges! I’ve been voting this way for a while, and I feel pretty confident in the systems. It’s astounding to me however that each state has its own procedures and rules. This needs to be standard across the country!

    Reply
    1. Kalendi

      Yes to Colorado’s system! It works and I usually do the drop off in front of our courthouse, but there is also a box just inside of the doors too.

      Reply
  55. Cara

    I live in Florida. I do not have to give a reason and mail in voting is fairly common. I first did it for a mid-year election when I was recovering from a major surgery. Because this is 2020, our supervisor of elections has instituted on line tracking. I voted by mail in the primary to check how it worked. Within days of putting it in the mailbox, I had confirmation that it was received, my signature was verified and it would be counted. I will be voting by mail.

    However, I usually prefer to vote in person and because I can go mid-morning never see more than a couple people there. You can also just turn in your absentee ballot at the polls, if you decide to vote in person. I have done it, and its straightforward. If I had any doubts about my system, I would request my ballot just in case we got sick or quarantined and plan to turn it in at the polls.

    Reply
  56. Ashley

    I voted by dropping my ballot in one of our county’s drop boxes. I did this for three reasons
    1) I am going to serve as an election judge, which in our county means I am not able to vote on election day (I have to be at my polling place from opening to closing and am told I likely won’t have time to vote on my breaks so it’s highly encouraged to vote before election day.)
    2) I had already opted for a mail-in ballot early on, and to change my mind and vote in person now I’d have to use a provisional ballot, which our state assures me would of course be counted, but they don’t start counting provisional ballots until ten days after the election (!!!)
    3) I am not one hundred percent certain the postal system will get my ballot submitted in time, but I feel confident the ballot boxes will be fine (and in fact have been told those votes are already being counted.)
    But I do share your concern and every option seems risky!

    Reply
  57. Maureen

    John Oliver did a whole thing on this (which maybe prompted this post?) – worth the watch, if you have access to Last Week Tonight episodes!

    Reply
  58. Jenny

    I live in Washington State, and we have all mail-in voting, but if I had your choice to make, I believe I would try for early in-person voting (lower risk, higher satisfaction) if that were open to me. If not, second best choice would be hand-delivering my ballot.

    Oh, how I hope this functions.

    Reply
  59. Alice

    I have never voted in person– always either absentee or via mailed ballot dropped off in person in a mail-is-standard state.

    In your situation, I would vote early in person if I was concerned that my vote would not be counted any. Otherwise, I would check the county clerk’s office for their instructions about in-person drop-offs. I would not worry about statements about postmarks unless it came directly from the county clerk’s office or unless you were suspicious of the county clerk’s office practices/transparency.

    My ballot is, as of yesterday, with the post office and en route to me. I plan to fill it out and drop it off within 24 hours of receipt.

    Reply
  60. Julia

    at least in my city, absentee ballots will be counted. I am one of the counters! I wanted to feel part of the process so I volunteered to work the polls and they said they really need absentee ballot counters because there are so many. We are also allowed to vote in person starting October 20 until October 30. It is considered an in person absentee ballot.

    Reply
  61. HKS

    I feel like NY is very backward when it comes to voting. We only got early voting recently. This year, my company changed the holiday schedule so that they took away a day off in October and added Election Day as a holiday, which I think is great. I am going to vote in person because my polling place is usually not crowded and now I can go anytime during the day. If I were in a place with a busy polling station, I’d look into early voting.
    I dont think we have tracking on mail in ballots. I used mail in for the June primary and don’t remember seeing anything about tracking.
    For my parents who are high risk and in a different state, I’m glad they’ve been doing mail in ballots for years and won’t have to wait in any lines.

    Reply
  62. LeighTX

    I live in Texas, and have worked as an election clerk for the past handful of elections. In Texas if you have an absentee ballot but decide to vote in person, you have to bring your absentee ballot with you and turn it in. If you don’t, like if it never arrived, you can cast a provisional ballot which gets extra scrutiny.

    I am advising my friends and family to vote early in person. I would NOT AT ALL advise voting on Election Day, as the lines will be quite long. In my county, at least, they are encouraging masks and have plenty of safety measures in place to keep the risk as low as possible.

    Reply
  63. Alexicographer

    I live in a swing state and feel similarly anxious about making sensible decisions to get my vote counted and stay safe. DH and I both requested and have received absentee ballots, but I, at least, plan to vote early in person (hopefully later this week) in an uncrowded and masked setting, which should be easy to find (not that every early voting location accessible to me will meet those criteria all the time, but I am optimistic that many will much of the time. I am willing to go repeatedly until I am able to vote in person in a way that feels safe to me.

    I have been meaning to fill out my absentee ballot so that if I were, say, in a car accident and unable to get to the polls someone could drop it in the mail for me, but I haven’t done so (should do so).

    Reply
  64. Alexicographer

    Oh! I meant to add that my octogenarian mother already voted absentee. I think she drove her ballot to the county Board of Elections office rather than rely on the USPS, though I’m not totally sure. I’d kind of have preferred she vote in person early (safely!) but that was her choice. We can track our ballots, and hers has been received and tabulated, so that’s good. I believe tabulated is very close to the same thing as counted, in our state.

    Reply
  65. KP

    I live in a swing state (WI) and have already voted absentee. I feel very confident in how my city counts absentee ballots (at the polls, during voting hours on Election Day, run through the same machines as the day-of votes) and have already received online confirmation that my ballot is at the clerk’s office, ready to be delivered to my polling station on 11/3). Done and dusted. My son is in daycare so if there’s an exposure in his classroom, it could imperil responsible in-person voting for the adults in our household, so this feels safer, from a wanting-my-vote-to-count standpoint.

    Reply
    1. Rachel

      I’m in Wisconsin too. Way back in April when our primary election was not delayed, I requested absentee ballots for the rest of the year. Mine ballot is already filled out and dropped off in person. I completely agree with you that I am happy with how our city is counting ballots and I too have a kid in daycare and didn’t want to risk an exposure and not being able to vote at all.
      Fingers crossed that Wisconsin swings blue!

      Reply
  66. Reagan

    I did receive my absentee ballot but am voting in person. I don’t trust that a mailed in ballot would count. However, I think it is most critical to vote in person if you are in a swing state. I think those are the states most likely to be contested.

    Reply
  67. Jenny Grace

    California mailed every registered voter absentee ballots. I got mine last Wednesday, filled it out and dropped it back off the same day. I wanted to skip the USPS and drop off directly at OFFICIAL DROP LOCATION. There was also an option to track your ballot, and mine had been received and “will be counted” by the time I checked on Friday morning.
    If I had dropped it off and the tracking indicated that it never went anywhere, I was giving it until the end of next week, and then I was going to force myself to call the county elections office and INVESTIGATE.
    I decided that personally my strategy would be getting my absentee ballot in as early as possible but I should note that I’m a California resident in a strongly democratic part of the state and I don’t have any true concerns about INTENTIONAL fiddle faddle, so my risk calculation was more about giving everyone enough time to definitely count things.

    Reply
    1. Jenny Grace

      Oh, I meant to tell you what I thought YOU should do.
      If your state has a ballot tracking system then I would vote immediately via the absentee system and skip the in person and track my ballot very carefully.
      If it does not, I would vote in person.
      I say this because I feel like you are an area that COULD swing and I think our votes are MOST crucial in swing states, given the poorly designed electoral college two party system that is deeply flawed but it’s what we have to work with.

      Reply
  68. JP

    In the past, my city has had a well run and uncrowded in-person early voting system. I am going to utilize that. It opens 10/19. I have to opportunity to go by whenever I want and can choose an uncrowded time.

    Reply
  69. Natalie

    I need to check out early voting, I guess. I live across the street from my regular polling place, so it’s always been easy to run over when they open at 7 and get it done. Presidential elections are usually fairly crowded, but I am fearful about the possibility of invalidating mail ballots (or attempting), so I’ll probably just mask up and go.

    Reply
  70. Squirrel Bait

    We had the option to vote absentee in the primaries (and did), but we have to have a valid reason to vote absentee in the general election and APPARENTLY A DEADLY PANDEMIC DOESN’T COUNT.

    Not that I’m still angry about this.

    If I had the option, I would vote absentee for health/safety/not creating a crowd reasons. We do have early voting here, so we’re going to vote later this week. Early voting opened last week and apparently the line was INTENSE for the first couple of days. Like, a 1+ hour wait. I have heard everybody was good about wearing masks and keeping apart, but we’re it will be quicker and less crowded by the middle of this week. If not, we’ll wait until next week. I’m in a very blue city/county in a very red state, so my presidential vote won’t really matter, but it’s the principle of the thing. (Plus I do care about county and school board races too!)

    Reply
  71. Kristin H

    In red-state Indiana you have to have a legit reason to vote absentee, and covid doesn’t cut it. I have signed up to work the polls on Election Day because I wanted to do anything I could to help this election run smoothly, and if you work the polls you have to work the ENTIRE day, from 5 am to 6 pm. So I guess I will be voting early, in person. I guess I could have done the work to figure out whether working the polls counts as reason enough to vote absentee (seems like it should), but honestly I don’t trust the post office to get it there on time, and I was worried I might make an error that resulted in my vote not being counted. So. Early, in-person voting it is.

    Reply
  72. Andrea

    I dropped off my ballot this weekend! I live in a very blue jurisdiction (D.C.), one that gives voters a lot of options to make it easy to cast ballots — weird how that Venn diagram seems to overlap. So I had the choice of voting in person on Election Day, voting in person early or voting by mail (the city went ahead for the first time ever and mailed every voter a ballot for the general election). I opted to vote by mail, for several reasons:
    -If I could vote in person TODAY, I’d guess be OK with that. I don’t exactly love spending time in any buildings that aren’t my house, but I’d do it. But I can’t say how I’ll feel two weeks from now, when early voting opens, both in terms of my general comfort level with going places and my own health.
    -I voted by mail in the primary earlier this year and was able to track my ballot to ensure it arrived and was counted.
    -The city has installed a bunch of dropboxes (at least two within walking distance of my house), so I didn’t have to entrust anything to USPS.
    -The aforementioned blueness of my state-like entity. We went, like, 96 percent for Hillary in 2016, so if my ballot accidentally goes missing or is invalidated, everything will be all right. (I’d feel worse about the local races where things are much closer.)

    There’s so many factors in play, though, that if any of these circumstances were different (especially if I were in a swing state or likely to be affected by voter suppression), I really don’t know what choice I’d make.

    Reply

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