Here’s one for you!
By no fault of the City Clerk’s Office, I experienced something this week that knocked me totally off kilter while exercising my right to vote absentee in the August primary election. I provided the information needed to have that office send me and my wife each a ballot. Within a business day or two, I received the ballot(s), and filled them out, and proceeded to take it to the front door of city hall to drop them in the “drop-off” box, BUT the sign on the box indicated it was not open and could not be used (by the authority of the state elections board rules and regulations or some higher authority).
So…I opened the door and a few steps later I was the front window of the clerk’s office> I explained that I wished to drop these off with them, seeing the voting box was not accessible. At that point, the window clerk kept the one with my name on it. Then, as she followed a prepared script in her hand, asked me if I was “the person who is named on” the other ballot. Of course, I said, “no”, that’s my wife”. That was followed with the prepared script question, “is the person named on this ballot handicap and are your assisting them by delivering it? “Ah… NO”, I answered. Her response was, “well then you will have to have that person come in here and drop it off themself.”
Imagine my reaction to that remark!
“I’m here! You have it in your hand! Keep it!” (not those exact words, but I’m sure she knew what I was saying). I can only hope it made sense to here, but she was at the mercy of some drummed up law or rule passed on to us by our state elected officials.
Fortunately, each return ballot has a forever stamp on it which I asked if I was correct in assuming would allow me, the voter, to drop it in the US Mail post box.
So, I drove 1,000 feet to the north of the official voting site and dropped the one ballot in the mail box.
What a bunch of bull shit!
And again – NO fault of the local city clerk’s office.
But should I expect anything other than that from our federal and state elected officials?!?!?!
It adds a whole new meaning to “absentee”! I’ll tell you who is absentee – our state and federal elected officials are absentee from performing their duties in a responsible and efficient manner!!! Who comes up with this shit?!?!?!