Voting Early

I voted early this week, standing in line at the Memorial Drive Complex across from the county jail in Dekalb County, Georgia. My husband voted one evening three weeks earlier, and he spent about ten minutes in line. When I arrived at the polling place, there was already a long line of people, many obviously just off from work, some with children whom they had probably just picked up from school or daycare. I was reminded of those times when I took my own kids into the voting booth with me. My son voted for the first time this year in Texas; he also participated in the Democratic caucuses there.

Most of the people in line were African-American, not surprising since 1990-2000 population statistics indicate that the county is 55.4% black, 36.6% white, 8.1% Hispanic, and 8.0% other.

Thoughtful poll workers had taped signs to the walls at intervals, indicating how long it would take for one to advance to the voting stalls from where each sign was placed. According to the closest sign to where I joined the line, I was going to have at least an hour's wait. The signs were fairly accurate; it took me a little over an hour to vote, but the wait was pleasant, the poll workers helpful and friendly. I do, however, miss those old-fashioned booths where one could draw the curtain and be totally private, alone with one's conscience and the voting machine. The touch-screen voting machines at the Dekalb County polling place were lined up in three or four rows, with five or six machines in each row. We voters were almost elbow to elbow.

According to the website of the Georgia Secretary of State, as of October 23, 2008:

• 892,230 ballots have already been cast in the state of Georgia.
• 763,759 of those ballots were cast in person.
• 128,471 of mail-in ballots have been received.
• Dekalb County is at the top of the list for the most voter turnout so far, with 83,531 voters.
• The other four counties in the top five for voter turnout as of October 23rd are: Fulton (64,848); Cobb (47,086); Gwinnett (46,364); Henry (30,517).

Of course, there are already reported problems with local voting. Gwinnett County sent out 19,700 flawed absentee ballots which scanning machines won't be able to read accurately. Of those ballots, "10,000 have already been marked and returned by voters." Election workers will transfer the votes by hand to new ballots.