Saturday, March 24, 2012

My Mythical Early Voting Exit Interview

One of the very sane things about the People's State of Maryland is early voting.  Our Presidential Primary is on April 3, but starting this morning there is early voting throughout the State.  So, I ambled over to the Easton Volunteer Fire Department this morning, gave them my name, address, birthdate and party (without verifying any of it), cast my vote and walked back to my car (with a nifty "I Voted Early sticker).
EVFD

Along the way, I had the following fantasy exit interview with a member of the Associated Press. 

"Excuse me sir, do you have a moment for an exit interview?
"Of course".
"Are you registered with a political party, and if so, which"
"I am a registered Republican."
"Can you tell me who you voted for this morning?"
"I voted for Mitt Romney"
"Out of the following choices, which comes closest to your reason for your choice?"
     A) He has the best choice of beating Barack Obama
     B) His views are closest to mine ideologically
     C) His plan for getting the economy moving
     D)  His plan for shrinking government and cutting spending
     E)  His views on social issues
"I'll take "F" --  All of the above"
"What do you dislike most about Rick Santorum?"
"That he cannot possibly defeat Barack Obama"
"What do you dislike most about Newt Gingrich?"
"That he cannot possibly defeat Barack Obama"
"What do you dislike most about Ron Paul?"
"The way his suits fit"
"What do you dislike most about Barack Obama?"
"His occupation"
"Sir, what is your annual family income"
"I am in the ninety-nine percent"
"What is the highest degree earned in your family"
"Masters Degree--no debt"
"Do you consider yourself:
     A) Very Conservative
     B) Right of center
     C) Moderate
     D) Left of Center
     F)  Liberal
"For the purposes of my being here in this Fire Department parking lot, I consider myself a Republican"
" What is your level of support for the Tea Party?"
     A) Very supportive
     B) Supportive
     C)  Unsupportive
     D)  Neutral
"Are they having a primary on the 3rd too?  Do they have candidates?  Because if so, they weren't on my ballot, you know, the Republican Party ballot I just voted from."




7 comments:

Mudge said...

I had to show ID here in Virginia. According to some from the left, Virginia is pretty much bringing back Jim Crow. Notwithstanding my deep and abiding shame about that, showing my IDs gave me comfort to know at least here we are going to make purveyors of voter fraud have to work at it.

"The Hammer" said...

If you were at the volunteer fire house, why didn't you volunteer? Do something with your damned life, be somebody.

Anonymous said...

Proof that there's a widespread problem?

Anonymous said...

Proof that establishment republicans only worry about holding onto their own jobs and not winning a movement election and seizing control of the agenda. If Mitt Romney wins we will just hand out a little less pork and to friends of republicans and not democrats. So sad to see such arrogance so broadly broadcast. Maybe there is a need for a third party in this country to truly take up a conservative agenda. Good luck to Mitt Romney in his never ending quest to be liked by everyone and stand for nothing.

The Conservative Wahoo said...

And good luck to the dead-enders who think that their at best, ideology of the one-third, will ever be anything resembling a movement.

Mudge said...

Proof Seeker Anon - Not sure why proof of a problem must exist to require some form of identification for people to exercise their Constitutional right to elect their governmental leaders, but I'll go to the always reliable conservative news outlet for one quick example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gkUKOSnv2zY
Yes, Anon, I know it isn't court-worthy "proof" but as a former conservative President of the US said in his report on a bi-partisan commission on election reform established following the disenfranchisement of voters in Florida in 2000: "Elections are the heart of democracy. They are the instrument for the people to choose leaders and hold them accountable. At the same time, elections are a core public function upon which all other government responsibilities depend. If elections are defective, the entire democratic system is at risk.

Americans are losing confidence in the fairness of elections, and while we do not face a crisis today, we need to address the problems of our electoral system."


The follow-on recommendation to this quote was that some form of national photo ID be put in place to ensure that sense of fairness is restored.

Again, I apologize for falling short on court-worthy "proof" (c'mon, do you really think this doesn't happen or that even if it is as you seem to be concerned about, only a small amount, that close elections couldn't be decided on fraudulent votes?)

I also apologize for using only concervative sources (CNN and Jimmy Carter) for my "proof"

I still just don't get why showing an ID to vote for our elected officials is any more heinous than showing ID for virtually every menial transaction we do in life today...unless the real concern is that requiring that all voters are actually eligible voters will dramatically swing the vote away from the Democrats? In which case, do you make the case for me that this isn't such a small problem afterall?

Anonymous said...

I actually question the other side's claim about disenfranchisement too. Unlike you, i'm not one of those I think it therefore it is people. But, your substantive response has swayed me. I am now in support of voter ID.

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