From Tuesday's Midday e-mail box: Listeners comment on their Election Day experiences

Steve, in Rodgers Forge:
Voted at Dumbarton about 12:40, dense area, but total time to vote was less than 15 minutes. Poll workers very efficient, people very, very excited about voting at my polling location. Note: I work and socialize in a very conservative circles, and though I am politically moderate liberal, I get a lot of e mail from people who assume I am conservative. The tone of the e mails I receive is decidedly fearful --as if Obama is almost a candidate with a harmful, hidden agenda.  That said my greetings to Dr. Herb Smith (guest on Tuesday's show), a former professor of mine from more than 2 decades ago!    

James in Dorchester County:
THE TURNOUT ON THE SHORE IN DORCHESTER COUNTY HAS BEEN STEADY BUT SMOOTH. I WAS ABLE TO GET IN AND OUT IN 15 MINUTES. I VOTED FOR OBAMA, KRATOVIL, NO SLOTS, AND FOR EARLY VOTING.

Maureen in Catonsville
I'm heading out to Obama's Grassroots Campaign office in Columbia for the fourth day in a row to participate in Get Out the Vote efforts in swing states. Marylanders of all ages and races have been very active in  supporting Obama in other states by canvassing and making phone calls.

Sam in Charles Village:
I voted at the Waverly Public Library at 33rd and Greenmount this morning around 9 and there was barely anybody in line. If you live in that precinct and think you can't make it in and out in time, please go try!

Tim:
Just a quick comment about Obama's '50-state' strategy:  Should he win, I believe it will give him some goodwill to govern effectively as a president of *all* the united states, not just the swing states.  It shows he cares about more than just winning, and truly is trying to "put country first."  McCain, on the other hand, seems to be banking on the hopes of dividing Pennsylvania.

Sean in Towson:
I arrived at 9:10am and got out at a little past noon. At Randallstown High School, there is a lot of confusion, because the 14th and 17th precincts both poll there; and the line for the 14th is always longer. There were a lot of people waiting in the wrong line, for hours, just to be put back into the other line. I personally voted For Question 1, Against Question 2 . Bob Barr for President and Lorenzo Gaztanaga for Congress.

Art:
My polling location, the Woodholme Elementary School at 300 Mount Wilson lane, serves two precincts in the third congressional district - the 11th and 14th.  There was only a two minute wait for precinct 14 and an hour and a quarter for mine, precinct 11.
Although my precinct had 16 voting machines (all operating), at least six (38%) were idle at all times.  Often as many as eight were idle.  The bottleneck was at the desk where credentials were validated - there were only four electronic registration "books" allocated for the precinct, clearly insufficient to allow full use of the voting machines available.  The precinct's Chief Election Judge mentioned that he had requested six registration "books", but his request was denied.

Steve:
Saw Andy Harris and family at 7 Am, Ch13 and  Ch45 and Sun and PPC present, greeted him and shook hands. Wished him best of luck, although I was fully decked in Kratovil regalia.
I was the only poll worker for either side, and no Obama or McCain people present.
Warren has two polls at the school, Dutch's District 2 and the Harris-Kratovil District 1. The line was enormous for Dutch's district, obviously the Obama-McCain thing, and NO Line at District 1.  Eventually the line dissipated and when I left at 12 noon both polls were less than 3 minutes waiting.

Tom in Baltimore:
I don't trust the Diebold machines and so for the past few elections
have voted using paper ballots.  I just returned from voting and was
told by the election official that my paper ballot--which he referred
to as a "provisional ballot"--likely would not get counted because the
Board of Elections "stops counting" them once they reach a certain
threshold of ballots.
Is that accurate?  Do all paper ballots get treated as "provisional"
ballots, and is it possible that the Board of Elections simply ignores
some of them?  I reluctantly ended up voting using the Diebold machines.
Whether what I was told was accurate, I'm deeply troubled that an
election official suggested my vote would not count if I chose not use
a voting system I do not trust.

Norma in Mt. Washington:
Voting was very smooth and easy this morning in Mt. Washington. I know that many people voted absentee for one reason or another. Although that might have helped make voting easier for those of us who went to the polls, I feel sorry for the people who mailed in their ballot and didn't have the joy of going to the polls and actually casting their vote and getting that silly "I voted" sticker. For the first time in a while, voting was fun….and the champagne is chilling in the hopes that my guy wins today.

Holly in Ellicott City:
I voted in Ellicott City, Howard County at 8:15 am this morning.  Normally there is no line at all.  I have voted here for 25 years.  Today I waited for a half hour and by the time I left the line ran down the hall and out the door.  There were more young people and far more ethnic diversity than I have ever seen. It was very exciting. I am having an election party tonight with champagne if Obama wins, and maps of Canada if he loses.
I would also like to report that my son has been working 16 hour days for Progressive Future, a non-profit campaigning for Obama.  He has traveled all over the country and has been in Hobbes, New Mexico for the last few weeks.  He and his co-workers never received their absentee ballots there.  Howard County Board of Elections called us today and told us they received my son's absentee ballot back, marked "returned to sender, unable to deliver."  My son is not going to get to vote after all his hard work. He is devasted and just texted me that "I have never wanted anything more than this, " meaning a win for Obama.  He is white and 23 years old.

Glenn:
Forgive me if I paraphrased your comment incorrectly, Dan, I believe I heard you say today that you liked the touch screen voting experience and didn't see why there is a problem. Unfortunately the voter cannot see the problem, which has to do with the transfer of tallied votes to a server. In Ohio, for instance, tests of these e-voting systems showed that votes that were upoaded did not match totals from the polls. Unless there is a paper trail there is no way to verify accuracy of vote totals.

Cathy:
I went to Cockeysville Middle School to vote at around 12:15, and the whole process took only 10 minutes!  There were no campaign workers near the school at all, just Girl Scouts selling cookies!

Michael in Ellicott City:
I live in Ellicott City
voted 8:00 AM at Burleigh Manor MS
one person in line in front of me
I waited 30 sec, tops
in and out in 5 min
[but that might be because it was an easy choice and only few races]
my precinct (# 15 ?) went Kerry in 2004 by a slight margin, as I recollect

Jane:
Having just cast my vote at Cross Country Elementary School in Balto City, I am so moved by the huge number of elderly people arriving in the rain in wheelchairs, with walkers, on oxygen... an amazing turnout and testimony to our precious freedoms and rights as Americans.

Melanie in Mt. Vernon:
I live in Baltimore City and vote in the 11th Election District, in Precinct 6.
Maryland is a solidly Democratic state.  The scale is so tipped that there is no way the Barack Obama will not capture all of Maryland's electoral votes.  Therefore, a vote for Mr. Obama or Mr. McCain is, in my opinion, a wasted vote.
While I am an Obama supporter, I am dismayed that the electoral system has made my vote inconsequential by virtue of the fact that I vote in a state that is heavily weighed toward one party.  Further, it disturbs me that Maryland awards all of its electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote winner in the state, rather than apportioning the electoral votes according to the state's popular vote.
Because of these factors, I chose to make my vote matter by voting for a 3rd party presidential candidate (Cynthia McKinney - Green Party).  I believe that my vote for the 3rd party candidate will not endanger Mr. Obama's Maryland electoral votes.  However, I hope to ease the way toward 3rd party ballot access in this state, and I hope that greater ballot access will enrich our political discussion and debate.
(Of note, in 2007 the General Assembly made Maryland the first state to join a compact that, when effective, will award all electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.  I look forward to the compact taking effect.)

Sally in St. Michaels:
My son and I voted about 9:15 this morning at St. Michaels High School in St. Michaels, MD.  No lines.  4 empty voting stations out of about 15 when we went in.  Very smooth.  No one campaigning outside.  Awesome!

Elliott in Rossville:
I voted at Living Water Evangelical Lutheran Church on Philadelphia Road in Rossville at about 10:30 this morning.
Both the front and rear parking lots were pretty full, although volunteers directing traffic were handling both the influx and exodus efficiently.
The line, such as it was, overwhelmed me with 5 voters between me and the intake workers.  ;-)  The intake table handled its tasks efficiently.  I was sent to the voting machines within five minutes of walking in the door, and there met my first significant surprise.  Every voting machine was occupied!
I was first in line at this point, and I had to wait three minutes for a voting machine!  This is a first for me at this polling site.
I came prepared with a printout of all the candidates and issues, so voting took me about two minutes, most of which was spent proofreading the summary just before casting my ballot.
Altogether an exhilarating experience!

Nick in Glyndon:
I'm not sure how to say this and have it taken the right way.  I vote at Chatsworth School in Reisterstown.  I got there about 6:50 a.m. and was at least 100 back in line, but was out by 7:40.  I didn't think that was bad.  My comment though is that there were many, many more black people voting this morning than I've ever seen.  I was glad because I voted for Obama and I'll make the assumption that most blacks will be voting for Obama.

Melissa:
I voted at precinct 65 (Cross Country Elem) in Baltimore City.  My husband and I had requested absentee ballots, but did not send them because we stayed in town.
At the polling place we were given provisional ballots, which contained only 2 of the 4 pages.  Poll workers insisted that was the entire ballot (they ended with question D rather than P). We would not get up to leave until given the entire ballot. They insisted that we had to go to the Elections Board downtown if we thought we had a problem.  Not until I called the ACLU did they truly search for the rest of the ballot.  Others had voted provisionally before us.  Poll workers did not seem to care that others were disenfranchised.

Mac in Mt. Washington:
As I entered my polling place in Mt. Washington I was handed a card from StopSlotsMaryland that features a picture of Barack Obama and the quote "The moral and social cost of gambling, particularly in low income communities, could be devastating. Please vote NO on Question 2."
I was also handed one by the State Dem Committee that had the straight Democratic ticket and encouraged a yes on Question 2.
I voted NO on slots.

Chris:
We moved between the 2004 and 2008 election and couldn't find any record online of my wife's registration.  I called the Frederick County Elections Board this morning and was told that voters MUST vote where they reside or their votes WILL NOT COUNT.  I am hoping my wife will be able to vote in Woodsboro where we currently live.  That is where she is headed now.  Why is it so difficult to get accurate information about voting in Maryland?

a follow-up from Chris:
Luckily, my wife was in the system in Woodsboro.  BUT - why can't we work on a system of on-line voting?  Or why can't people elect to vote where they work OR where they live?  I admit that in areas like this one where people live and work in different states, that could make tallying the results difficult, but it would seem that in this age of computers we should be able to make this process as relatively painless as possible for the American public.