The franchise
November 8th, 2006 | Tags: osv. | 4 Comments
I showed up at my polling place yesterday afternoon to choose among my unpalatable alternatives for this round1, only to find out that the polling workers did not believe I was registered to vote.
I found this state of affairs very odd. I have lived exclusively at one address since the summer of 2000 and have voted in every national, regional, and local election with (I believe) only one exception since then. It was doubly strange, since Andrea’s name was on the list.
I mentioned these facts to the polling workers, who were well-meaning but uniformly confused. They offered to let me register at the poll and vote, which I did. However, the whole experience was rather unsettling. Why would my name have been removed from a list of voters in my ward unless it were on a voter list elsewhere? Indeed, I wonder how many times “I” voted yesterday. (One can register to vote in Wisconsin with no proof of identity, as long as one has the cooperation of a registered voter.) I also wonder how many people found themselves in a similar situation and, faced with long lines and the prospect of re-registering, decided to skip voting.
I called the Wisconsin Secretary of State’s office and asked for an explanation. Predictably, they were swamped. However, the election worker I spoke with graciously offered to contact me once they’ve figured out what happened to my registration. We’ll see, I guess.
1 As far as I can tell, there is something about politics in this state that renders office-seekers from both parties uniquely skilled at insulting the intelligence of the electorate. I can’t ever recall so many unctuous, demagogic, and irrational campaign ads appearing in the course of a midterm election — and I don’t watch that much TV.
November 8th, 2006 at 10:45:44 AM (#)
Regarding your footnote…
This is my first year living in Wisconsin, and I have to say that I also have never been more annoyed with horrendous political ads. Watching my beloved Cardinals go through the playoffs during an election year was particularly onerous.
It was made doubly evil by the fact I was watching Fox, so that between ads for Doyle, Kagen, and Gard I had the relentless promotion of “The Rich List” and “Prison Break.”
November 8th, 2006 at 06:01:47 PM (#)
As a native Californian, I have to question how unique these skills are to Wisconsin….
Also, your experience is exactly the sort of thing that Dan and I were discussing last night – I’m shocked that you don’t need to present any ID when you go to vote if you’re already registered. I had forgotten to register at our new address when we moved, so I did so at the polls, but I joked with Dan that I could have gone and said that I was “Daniel” pronounced “Danielle” and stolen his voting identity.
November 8th, 2006 at 11:27:46 PM (#)
Caleb, as a Twins fan, I am relieved that I didn’t have to watch most of the postseason.
Taryn, good point re: the ads. I found several ads especially ludicrous this time around, particularly in the gubernatorial and house races, but they are no match for the madness that is CA (even when I lived there!) in an even-numbered year. However, I claim without proof that the state of affairs in CA is more due to the “let’s make everything that the state legislature doesn’t want to stick to them into a ballot measure” philosophy of government than it is to various campaign managers’ contempt for the electorate, as I suspect is the case in WI. Aren’t the worst CA ads all treating some proposition X rather than some candidate Y?
November 9th, 2006 at 02:23:22 PM (#)
You’re probably right about that last point, Will – now that I think about it, the most ridiculous ads I can remember were never for candidates, but all had something to do with either legalizing drugs, border enforcement, or determining an official language….