It's a Party

Did the VLWC try to invalidate my vote? You decide.

I walk in, hand over my ID and two people with separate lists check my name against my address. Then, a third person hands me my ballot. I didn't notice either of the first two tell the third which party I was a member of and, to my own chagrin, I didn’t look at the ballot at first. I merely said ‘thank you’ and headed toward one of the two Republican voting booths. “No, no,” said the third person, a woman. “Go to one of those booths.” She was pointing at one of the five Democrat booths. I looked down at my ballot and it was a Democrat one. I walked over and handed it back to her.

“Aren’t you a Democrat?” she asked ponderously.
“No, ma’am,” I said with military precision. “I’m a Republican.”

Suddenly, in a polling place deep in the heart of Maxine Water’s congressional district, it got real quiet; not a menacing quiet—these were older, presumably church-going folk—but quiet nonetheless. I received the correct ballot, went to the correct booth, did my thing and got out of there, with eyes burning holes in my back.

Guess it goes with the territory; like for being left-handed and bald-headed.

Comments

[teal marie]

Oh my, I know what you mean. I felt the wave of approval when it was whispered "Democrat Ballot" down the row, in my case. I'm a Zellite, registered Dem, not switching parties, but voting for Bush. You can't say that at polling places, though. I took that approval under false pretenses, XD.

[og]

Oh, so you didn't register democrat and vote for Dean like all progressives should?

Don't blame you. Much as I'd like to do so, the taste in my mouth would take a long time to leave.

[Blueshift]

I applaud your level-headedness, I doubt I would have reacted with the same aplomb.

[david]

You displayed admirable restraint...probably more than I would have!

[The Commissar]

I had a similar experience a few years ago, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. After a conversation with the clerk, "Yes, A Republican," and a summoning of the superivsor to deal with this unexpected situation, I was shunted over to cast my ballot in a box.
As I wrestled with a huge, multi-part, multi-folded paper ballot for a few seconds, the supervisor hollered across the gym, "Hey Mr. Reupblicn, how ya doing over there?"

[Jennifer Martinez]

Bravo!!!

And if they didn't like it, screw 'em! I don't know where people get off to thinking that we "must" vote for a socialist, I mean democrat.

Hand Salute

Hooah,
Jennifer Martinez sends

[Mike]

I'm pretty much a libertarian. I voted yesterday and took a Republican ballot, and they stamped my card "Republican." I was tempted to vote on the Democratic ballot just to give Al a vote. I'll miss his reverent irreverence.

[feste]

I had exactly the same experience in the Bay Area. The last time I voted in my precinent the smiles froze and the room fell silent when they saw my registration. I was directed to "that booth" isolated in a corner and told to feed my ballot into "that machine over there". I couldn't resist, I retorted "Oh, that's the one you don't count, right?"

I registered as a permanent absentee voter. Asshats.

[sharona]

Pure class, Juliette, pure class.

I will be working as a Republican election judge in Illinois' upcoming primary. I expect to get a few dirty looks, as I live in Chicago, but I'm fine with that. I wasn't intimidated by Daley democrat stooges in my old Ward, and I won't be this time.

That being said, I don't think the means by which people vote in primaries needs to be reformed. Since when is it anybody's damn business whether a voter chooses to take a republican or a democrat ballot? This leads to people feeling intimidated whether they summon up the courage to go to the polls or not. That's wrong, and it needs to be more confidential.

[sharona]

Allow me to clarify the above. I DO think the process needs to be reformed.

Sorry.

[baldilocks]

Thanks folks, but I ain't that classy. Sometimes you have to calculate when to vent your outrage; see how useful it will be.

[Sara]

Unbelieveable!

[Ith]

Well you know us left handed people...

[Lester Spence]

i'm unclear. it is straightforward that what happened was a case of stereotyping...they SEE you, and project party id ONTO you. but when you correct them, they give you the proper ballot.

am i missing something?

[Michael Kin]

I get sideways looks when I ask for a GOP ballot, but very few say anything. One of the advantages of being a really big black man, I guess. (of course, the poll workers are all blue-hairs who smile at everyone [shrug])

Keep on keepin' on! Don't let 'em see ya sweat!

[Arnold]

That's one thing I've always liked about Texas. You don't have to register as Republican or Democrat to vote in the primaries. Anyone can vote in either (but not both).

Only problem is that it does lead to a lot of "sabotage" voting.

[Prince C.]

I think the volenteers should be commended. I personally would have have called you out as a sellout. What's the problem, not enough Blacks unemployed or in jail for ya? Too many Gay folks persuing happiness? Too much clean air and water in Cali these days?

Yeah, those volenteers deserve applause for their restraint...

[Katherine]

A bona fide bigot, Exibit A: Prince C.

[cripplecreek]

You my friend are a brave woman. i for one applaud you.

[teal marie]

Princey, did you really mean that or are you just being cagnastic for attention-seeking purposes?

[wendellen]

all the more reason to be an absentee ballot voter! Love your blog!

[baldilocks]

Prince C. has stated before that he doesn't want to have meaningful dialogue with conservatives, especially black ones. He stated that he merely wants gain emotional solice for himself by spewing insults. So I give his comments the attention and consideration that they deserve.

I do, however, appreciate his honesty regarding his purpose. Because of it, I don't waste my energy.

[Prince C.]

Now Juliette, I have no problem with meaningful dialog. I just thought that since the comments were becoming a love-fest of applause for your restraint, that I'ld view it from the other side.
I still love you and support your right to be wrong...

[Prince C.]

Oh, and I also support your right to marry who you please and watch/listen to whatever media is right for your sensibilities. When I was growing up that used to be a conservative stance,(personal responsibility and all) my how times have changed...being deep in the heart of Maxine Water’s district it should come as no suprise you were pegged as a democrat. Consider it 'racial profiling' and I'm sure you wouldn't have had a problem with it...

[baldilocks]

PC, your sense of humor is a formidable weapon. :-)

[Captain Ramen]

The same thing happened to me more or less. As a registered non-partisan, I am allowed to select any party's ballot provided they approve of np voters. I went to my polling place in Los Feliz, which is overwhelmingly democrat. I requested a republican ballot, cause pitting Dean against Bush is pretty much a lost cause at this point. =)

But the clown behind the desk said, no no, you have to vote dem. I complained, so another guy pulled me aside, tried to feed me a line of bull. Fortunately I had my voter guide. Wasn't gonna let them pull one over on me. I wonder though how many np voters were tricked into thinking they had to vote with a democrat ballot that day...

[Mark]

My wife and I (both white, middle class) are of different parties. We generally vote on the way to work, about 20 minutes apart. It does confuse the poll workers sometimes.

On the other hand, these poll workers seem to have used up most of their functioning brain cells a while ago.

[La Shawn Barber]

I find it amusing that liberals who're registerd Democrats think they're more objective than I am, even after I tell them I'm a registered Independent.

[Lester Spence]

captain ramen, what happened to you is NOT what happened to juliette. they are VERY DIFFERENT.

in YOUR case, you told them your affiliation, and were told instead that you HAD to vote another way.

in Juliette's case, they THOUGHT she was a democrat, and when she told them she wasn't...they looked at her funny and gave her the correct ballot.

one is a clear case of tampering. the other a clear case of mistaken identity. equating the two is so very wrong it is tragic.

[Captain Ramen]

My intention was not to make a moral equivocation. It's just to show what I believe to be the across the board mentality of election workers throughout the county, that people, especially people of color, *should* vote democrat.

[Beldar]

I enjoyed the hell out of this post, and enjoy the hell out of your blog!

[steve h]

This reminds me of a story...I was going in for precinct-worker training one time (I was the only college-age kid there), and a bunch of local high-school students had been tapped to help, too. The high-school students were all Black, and usually came from the upper level of the schools.

When they ran the sample ballot, with names like "Lincoln", "Washington", "Jefferson" on it, certain high school students received a huge surprise.

"You mean Lincoln was Republican!?"

It became another way of viewing the political alignment of the area I lived in, as well as the usual cultural leanings of the local Black population.

Cheers, Baldilocks, for breaking the mold!

[Geoffrey]

Your black and bald. You have to be a Lesbian Democrat. Nothing else would fit the stereotype.

[Charlie]

Hey, you don't have to be either black or bald to get that reaction. Try voting in the Republican side of the primary in Durham, NC ... where about 60 percent of the general election slots don't even have a Republican candidate.

[Little Miss Attila]

I try so hard to be "out." After my best guy pal got a bumper sticker proclaiming that "peace is patriotic," I put a Schwarzennegger sticker on my car. I've received double-takes, and one person I was taking to lunch appeared not to want to get in--as if there were a rat sitting in the passenger's seat or something.

With some of my publishing friends, I find myself parking around the block. Not because my car is crappy (though that is the case), but because of the flags and the Arnold sticker.

At the poll one woman checked my name, and then called out to the other woman at the end of the table, "Republican." I felt awful--did she had to say it out loud? Reminding myself that I'm in a predominantly GOP district didn't help, especially since both my husband and I work in industries where it's easier to admit to being a serial killer than a Republican.

I wish they could just be quiet about it. They should not be announcing ANYONE'S party affiliation in a public way.

[Shawn]

I've worked at the polls here in OC and we never have issues like that. Even with the high Republican count down here, we never assume anything. That said, you shouldn't legally have had to show ID when you voted, it's state law. I think you SHOULD have to show ID when you vote, but state law says otherwise, so we follow the law. And make no assumptions as to party ID, though usually it's safely Republican.

[Matt Navarre]

Heh, I had almost the opposite experience.
I got to the polling place and presented my sample ballot. After the two octogenarians checking the voter rolls had determined that my name & address weren't on there (Cuz' the San Diego registrar is hardly incompetant at all) I was issued a provisional ballot and a card, which had to be activated.

So I present the card and envelope for the provisional ballot to the youngish black lady who's responsible for activating the cards. She's wearing a beret with a pink triangle on it, by the way. She asks my party affiliation, presses the button for Republican and nearly throws the card at me.

I took great joy in finishing voting, returning my card and telling her "You have a *great* day, sweetheart". I kinda hope I ruined her day.

[Janet C.]

Heh. I live in San Francisco and am a registered republican. When I went to vote the precinct worker pointed to the republican ballots and said "Give her one of these" without saying the dreaded r-word aloud.

The gentleman behind me got the same treatment and I noticed that there were more than two republican ballots removed from the perferated stack. So I guess that means myself and my husband aren't the only republicans in the precinct. This in a district that is pretty left even by San Francisco standards.

[Dakota]

Shawn -

Requiring ID be presented every time a person votes is a stringent requirement that defeats the idea of mail in ballots. People cannot present ID in person and therefore must include a photocopy of their ID. Since many of these ballots are collected by party volunteers and Democrats and conservative Republicans have done a better job utilizing mail in ballots, requiring ID every time a person votes helps moderate Republicans. Unless you can create a portable photo copier that is. I doubt that's a huge problem on this blog, but just something that I find interesting and problematic (disenfranchizing segments of the population).

And while the polling workers mistakenly stereotyped baldilocks at least they didn't intentionally remove her name from the voter rolls because she shared her name with a convicted felon or because you had recently moved ala Katherine Harris.

http://63.135.96.161/legislature_courts/legal_department/briefs_complaints/naacp_v__harris.cfm

[double triple]

how can a black woman be a republican? i don't want yall to get all crazy towards me cuz i know some of yall are guna get a lil angry. i just dont understand and want to be educated, cuz personally as a black person, i just cant see that.

[John Barrett Jr.]

Perhaps because she doesn't want affiliation with the party historically behind Jim Crow, Ku Klux Klan endorsements, the poll tax, and other goodies given the country by Southern, Democratic jurisprudence.

[baldilocks]

Double triple: What does being black and female have to do with party affiliation? Or do you believe that all people of a given group think alike?

Search this site for "Why I am a Republican."

[La Shawn Barber]

I echo John's statement and the entire post. I vote for Republicans for their socially and fiscally conservative platform. As a Christian who believes in the inerrancy of the Bible, I find that between the two parties, the Republican agenda is more in line with my Christian worldview. For example, Republicans are generally opposed to child killing (unlike most Democrats, even the Orthodox Jew, Joe Lieberman). I couldn't stomach casting a ballot for someone who believes that a woman has a right to privacy to kill the baby growing inside her.

That's the most important reason I vote for Republicans. The second is their support for traditional, pro-family values. A very important aspect of "pro-family" is that one believes it's harmful to children and society to bear children out-of-wedlock for a number of reasons. Illegitimacy rates in the black community are staggering.

Additionally, Republicans want to lower my taxes and foster economic policies that stimulate the economy. That benefits all classes of society. I find nothing objectionable about that.

Unlike Democrats, Republicans don't perpetuate a victim-oriented agenda. Liberals encourage dependence on government, which is shameful, especially in an opportunity-rich country like the United States. I'm currently reading Star Parker's latest book, Uncle Sam's Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America's Poor and What We Can Do About It. She's another black woman who votes for Republicans.

Escaping the Democratic plantation was one of the best things I ever did, second only to giving my life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Feel free to visit my blog to learn more about why a black woman can vote for Republicans. Not only do we not all look alike; we don't all think alike, either.

[Samantha]

Here here La Shawn! People died so that black people could vote in this country. They didn't die so we could check our brains at the door and let others dictate to us what our political affiliations should be. It has been my experience that republicans understand this better than democrats do.

[baldilocks]

:-)

[Lester Spence]

Samantha, it's your comment that caused me to ask the questions I did in the first place. Let's be clear...black people tend to vote democratic, and they look askance at people who do not. For good reasons, in the aggregate at least.

But because of our history, I find it very difficult to believe that black election workers would prevent a citizen of ANY race from casting their ballot for the candidate of their choice. They may talk shit. They may shoot daggers with their eyes. They may roll their necks.

But they aren't preventing ANYONE from casting ballots.

[Little Miss Attila]

Fine. But it should not be an act of courage to vote. "Shooting daggers" with your eyes is an attempt to intimidate--and a pathetic one when it comes to a person like Baldilocks. But that doesn't make it the right or moral thing to do.

[Peter]

FUCK ALL OF THOSE STUPID LIBERALS THAT THINK THEY OWN BLACKS AND MEXICANS. FUCK THEM!

[baldilocks]

I could look at it two ways, Lester: it was done on purpose or it was a matter of incompetence. Notice the end of the first line in this post: "you decide."

Actually, I think that the lack of comunication was a matter of incompetence and the immediate silence was a matter of malice. Just for the record.

I personally wouldn't be intimidated by such things. However--as I'm sure you'll agree--the polling place isn't an appropriate place for a voter of whatever persuasion to be subject to *any* sort of intimidaton. A voter of more...um...delicate sensibilities than mine might be frightened.

[lks]

i understood the "you decide" comment. but there is nothing to decide here. the electors were incompetent....period. there is no intimidation here.

this is the thing.

we KNOW what intimidation looks like. we can even create an "intimidation scale" based on the historical record. a gun to your head if you try to vote? high. taking away your job and kicking you off of your property? high. setting up police roadblocks to check for id at polling places? high.

a couple of women giving you a democratic ballot instead of a republican one?

could we even come up with a scale based on history in which this act ranks as anything other than low low LOW?

if we can't, then why even front?