shiawasseecounty.net

It's game time! Woo hoo!

The day started off with a visit to Emerson, where a concerned citizen is handing out 'No on 2' lit in front of the school. He's right out by the 'vote here' sign. I confirmed with the Chair of the precinct (precinct 2, I think) that he was 100 feet away, and therefore within his rights to be there campaigning. So, if you have any concerns about this, please be aware that the Chair has said that they already measured it and confirmed the distance. The election workers were very nice & helpful too, and they had a help desk right by the door, so I didn't have to interrupt anyone who was actually working with the ballots, voting lists, etc.

Front & back of the lit -




So to sum up: 1) he's legal, 2) Emerson folks were really nice, 3) No irregularities here, but I named the thread that way anyway.

And now it sounds like I might be off to Rush Twp.

I should've carried a tape measure today.

Edited at 4:08pm to remove the word "irregularities" from the title

I just drove by Emerson and now there are 2 people out there. I don't know what the 2nd person is doing, but if they are both distributing 'No on 2' lit, and they are both standing in a location that votes must pass in order to get to the polls, then I wonder if some sort of intimidation clause comes into effect. Just asking the question; I don't know if any such law would apply. You can avoid them if you leave the sidewalk and walk across the grass.

Edited to clarify that the location is Emerson

The line was out the door at Caledonia, but it took me less than 20 minutes to vote, and everything went well. Kudos to Caledonia. I think the tally was 356 votes in Precinct 1 at about 10:20ish.

I was voter 421 in my precinct, and I was told that the polls had been busy most of the morning, but were in a momentary lull just before the lunch time voters came in (just as I hoped). There was one person on the sidewalk handing out small cards, but I waved him off, and we didn't exchange any words. I don't know or care what was on his card.

I really appreciated having the ability to vote from a seated position, as my handicap was causing me considerable discomfort after the walk into the polling place. There are no handicapped parking places near my polling site, and on street parking is haphazard.

I also didn't see any handicap friendly parking at Caledonia, and frankly only thought about it because I noticed someone in a wheelchair inside. It looked like it would be a real hassle to have to deal with being in a chair or using a walker in that environment, but I don't know how they could have set it up any better. The ramp into the building was full of people, so I suspect that it was difficult to be in a chair, even as you are leaving the building.

I'll keep an eye out for that kind of thing for the rest of the day. More out of curiousity than anything else. Caledonia was so busy that I don't even know if they'd have been able to enforce their handicap parking, even if they do have designated spaces. (which I'm sure they do and I just didn't notice it)

There was someone who was hanging out in the parking lot; maybe he was watching for parking violations, orderly traffic, that kind of thing. He looked familiar but I don't know who he was.

Machine malfunctions are being reported across the state, though I've heard of none in Shiawassee.

From http://blog.ourvotelive.org/ -



Someone on BFM said that Our Vote Live had already received reports of 536 violations in MI. However I looked on OVL and I couldn't find details, so I don't know if it's a matter of technical problems w/electronic machines, lost registrations, campaign violations, etc.

(I appreciate my paper ballot)

reports of photo id violations in bennington twp ... anyone else hear anything?

to follow up on bennington .. the report was 1)illegal sign ans 2)poll worker arguing with someone over not having an id. of course the argument had concluded before the report was called in, so I didn't witness that. I checked for signs and I don't see anything inappropriate. seems ok to me. we did have photo id problems here in january, but I don't think we had any violations here in august. and that concludes you bennington township democracy field report.

Well I'm impressed. Everything looks great as far as I can see. Kudos to Lauri Braid, the other Shiawassee area clerks, and our election workers. Aside from a few isolated incidents, everything has gone well so far. The polls will be swamped after work, but it looks like all the pieces are in place for a smooth election day. Based on what I hear from other places & what I have seen here, I bet we end up being one of the best counties in the state in terms of compliance & integrity.

I think it might have something to do with knowing they are being watched.

Maybe, but almost every county has someone watching, and they still aren't doing as well as ours.

Is a voter allowed to have somebody in the booth with them, as long as the other person is not telling them who to vote for? EX: first time voter situation (Shiawasssee County)

Yes, the voter has to tell the election worker that she wants help, and then the workers have to allow it.

Christine, I emailed you about the situation. Please advise.