i want to take this opportunity to state what i believe should be obvious. 1)living people should not be considered deceased, 2)those not currently in the state of indiana could not possibly have voted yesterday and 3)it is not that difficult to check for a photo ID. are we all agreed on these points? good. let me expound on this.
1)my dad went to vote yesterday morning, and though i will inevitably screw up the chronology of these events, i want you to know that they are factual. he was denied the chance to vote due to his name not being on the voting list. my name and my mom's name were both present. he left the voting center, saying he would be contacted later on about what to do. he received a call from a local candidate urging him to vote. he explained the situation and how he could not vote because he was not on the voter list for his precinct. they informed him that he was indeed on their voter list, hence the phone call. he later got a call from someone saying he needed to call one of six numbers to see what he could do. he tried all of the six numbers once, started through the list again and got through. he was told that he had been purged from the system by an outside company and that he was officially DECEASED. apparently there were also two of our neighbors, on the other end of the block and with the last name of harris, who were registered to vote under their address but our phone number. what? he was also informed that he could possibly vote on a ballot of error, or some such nonsensical title, and that he needed to go back to the voting center. he decided to do this. he waited at the voting center for 45 minutes as the worker looked through two manuals to learn how to handle his ballot. there was no section explaining what to do, just that he needed to get authorization. so they went through the list of 6 numbers to try to get ahold of someone to help them. finally they got through. he was told that indeed he could vote, and he received his "authorization." finally, my dad voted. for bush. at least he was fighting a winning battle. on we go.
2) my friend jen went to the polls yesterday, pointed out her name on the list, and noticed her brother's name, explainably, nearby. what she also noticed but failed to clarify the meaning of was his signature and address on the line by his name. now, ohio is just one state over, but i'm pretty sure you could not reach over from the nearby state to sign your name and vote! her brother, you see, is attending college in ohio and was definitely not in the state of INDIANA for any period of time yesterday. we are really hoping this has something to do with his absentee vote.
3) i know that many criminals are devious and if they put half the energy into productive matters as they do in their crimes, the world would not know what hit it. but, how hard is it to simply ask for a photo ID at the polls and eliminate "poll-hopping" where you can glance down at a sheet or rattle off an address and simply point to your name??? as if printing your address and giving a signature counts for squat when the address is printed directly beside where you sign and the workers have nothing with which to compare your signature. i've had this grievance for quite some time, but honestly. i can hardly justify voting anymore. in fact, i really can't. it's just that i can't seem to justify NOT voting, either. ah, the injustice of it all.
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