Amy's Robot

An Ohio Voter Weighs In

Amy's Robot has located an Ohio voter who voted via absentee ballot. Despite being a politically aware English speaking college graduate and financial adviser, he found the ballot more complicated than the Series 7 exam. He comments:

The Ohio absentee ballot comes with a special metal poking device and a piece of styrofoam to do your poking on. The first line looks like a question, and you think it should be "Bush" or "Kerry" but it's just a blank question. If you make any mistakes, your entire ballot is invalid. The holes are so close together that it's almost impossible not to punch more than one – which invalidates your ballot. There's a line for Nader, but then a note that if you vote for Nader, the rest of your ballot is invalid. There is a warning on the back to check for chads.

The wording is also designed for maximum confusion, like the gay marriage amendment:

Ohio Amendment 1: Same Sex Marriage
Amend the Ohio Constitution to recognize marriage as a union between one man and one woman; neither the state nor countries can give legal status to unmarried individuals whose relationship are intended to approximate the design or effect of marriage.

You have to read it over to figure out what it means. No means yes and yes means no. I can't imagine filling it out accurately if you don't speak English well.

I think I voted for Kerry and for gay marriage, but they probably threw my ballot out anyway.

categories: Politics
posted by Emily at 11:10 AM | #