Vote Monitor 2008
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Thank you for helping us document the 2008 presidential election! An unprecedented outpouring of voters turned out to cast ballots this year, prompting concerns that election officials weren't fully prepared for the crush. But while the high turnout brought long lines at polling sites from southeastern Virginia to Arizona, reports of problems -- machine malfunctions, faulty registration lists, deceptive text-messages and other high-tech efforts to deter young people and minorities from casting ballots -- were sporadic. Browse Vote Monitor 2008 for voting reports from Washington Post readers.
Top Reports
63108: Registration Issue
Although I visited the Board of Elections office a month ago to confirm my registration, my name did not appear in the book at the polls. They wrote my name in and gave me a ballot because I had a valid registration card from the BOE. Read More »
10028: Registration Issue
I checked NY's State BoE site and it said I was registered. However, I was not on the rolls. I had to fill out what they called an "affidavit ballot". Not a huge deal, I guess, but I was really looking forward to pulling levers. Read More »
21702: Location Issue
Voted at 4:00 pm; no lines, no issues, plenty of poll workers Read More »
20194: Access Issue
Everyone that had the last name that DIDN'T start with H-M was in and out within 5 mintues. I waited 2 hours to vote because the people running the polling place did not understand how to be efficient and manage things. Read More »
21218: Location Issue
Precincts 6 and 7 both use Barclay E.S. and there was a lot of confusion with two lines and little instruction as to which line is for which precinct. Further complicating the issue is that this is also the 7th legislative district which was apparently easy to confuse with the 7th precinct. Also, an election judge (!) was telling people that they had to vote in under 2 minutes or their vote wouldn't count! Read More »
33021: Other
Voting required 1.5 hours of waiting in the main line followed by waiting in 4 subsequent mini-lines once I entered "the room". It was the most bizarre process I have ever seen or heard to vote for the President (but of course, it's Florida) Read More »
94025: Identification Issue
We were 1st in line this morning at our polling site (also the only white folks there, save 1 other). The polled opened a bit late due to the fact that the powers that be sent the wrong password for unlocking the voting machines. Then, we both had to vote provisional ballots as at least the first 7 people in line mysteriously weren't on the voter registry Read More »
24201: Other
I just turned 18 and this was my first time. The staffs did not help me correctly and they just handed me a ballet. I was confused and asked for direction to the next step after I received my ballot. The elderly that worked there showed me to the submit box and I cast it without voting. I was very disappointed and they said nothing can be done. I think I was not given enough instruction and was denied of my right to speech. Read More »
01760: Voting Glitch
I submitted two different voting forms off Rock the Vote on the internet, yet still didn't get my absentee in time. I am not worried as MA is a blue state; however, I would like to have voted so to feel patriotic and part of the cause. Read More »
20109: Other
By 6:30 a.m. one of three voting machines was not working. Read More »
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Backtrack through our Election Day log of voting news, problems and resources.
All User Vote Reports
» BY TYPE: Access Issue (6) | Electioneering/Intimidation (3) | Location Issue (6) | Identification Issue (14) | Registration Issue (13) | Voting Glitch (6) | Other (34) | No Voting Issue (339)
Latest User Reports
» SEE ALL: By State | By Incident
77546: No Voting Issue
The volunteers were friendly and helpful. The process took only 20 minutes which I thought was exceptional since I was voting late in the day on Tuesday. Read More »
92253: Registration Issue
When I got to polling location, was not on list. Voting official called registration headquarters and found I was not among the registered even though I have been registered in CA since 2001 and have not moved in past 6 years. Voted in every election since 2001. Read More »
92154: No Voting Issue
Very calm, no crowds or voting issues. Yet walking into the polling place was one of the most profound and significant moments, for me, as a registered American voter. My eyes actually welled-up with tears when I was marking my ballot. Read More »
78029: Registration Issue
No real problem beyond them having trouble finding my name on the registered voter list, and a few dirty looks from some people because I voted Democrat in a heavily Republican area and made no secret of it. Read More »
23114: No Voting Issue
arrived at 5:45 am, was out by 6:25 am, I was voter number 174. It was easy even with the rain! Two of my three sons voted with their father and I. We were so proud of them. Read More »
59911: Registration Issue
Not clear what the real issue was, but I wasn't on the list though I registered twice. Read More »
20171: Other
Not an issue, as much as a concern. I used one of VA's new paper ballot / scanners. I'm not impressed. The scanner gives no indication that it counted the ballot, nor that it counted it correctly. Also, the machines apparently do not record red, but there were no instructions that said NOT to use red ink or pencil. Read More »
20009: Other
My experience: A polling official interrupted the process to introduce an elderly African-American woman voting for her first time at age 95. The room exploded into applause. Amazing and perhaps telling of this election. Read More »
85722: No Voting Issue
I voted by mail and it was awesome! I sat at my desk at work and researched all the candidates and propositions and made an informed decision. Read More »
20002: No Voting Issue
The poll workers were doing a great job and should be recognized. They were processing a lot a people in a reasonable amount of time given the turnout. Read More »
» SEE ALL: By State | By Incident
News Reports
» ALL REPORTS: Washington Post Investigations
» ON TWITTER: PostVoteMonitor
'Breathtaking' Numbers of Americans Flood the Polls
An unprecedented outpouring of voters translated into waits of several hours today at polling sites from southeastern Virginia to Arizona, amid sporadic reports around the country of voting machine malfunctions, faulty registration lists and deceptive text-messages and other high-tech efforts to deter young people and minorities from casting ballots. (Washington Post) Read More »
Amish Voters Prefer Paper Ballots
State: Ohio
A spokesman for Ohio's Trumbull County Board of Elections said that most voters preferred using touch-screen voting machines to paper ballots, with one exception: Amish voters. Poll workers in Farmington Township, where a large percentage of Amish residents vote, reported that Amish voters chose to use paper ballots in fairly large quantities. (Youngstown Vindicator) Read More »
California Voters Face Few Problems
State: California
California voters faced few problems at the polls today, despite isolated cases of power outages and fear of some ballot shortages in what election officials predict will be a record-breaking turnout. The California secretary of state's office did not receive reports of voting problems besides the power outages in Los Angeles and poll workers who overslept. Record-breaking voter registration pushed officials to add precincts and poll workers and order more ballots to meet the expected demand. ( Read More »
Reports of Deceptive Robocalls Hit Several States
While voting on the whole has gone fairly smoothly (despite some long lines and a few glitches), several parts of the country have been dealing with a flurry of last-minute reports of robocalls and robotexts meant to confuse voters. Read More »
Longest Wait Time Yet?
State: Virginia
A voter in Chesapeake, Va., waited in line for more than 7 hours, slightly more than the extraordinary 6 1/2-hour wait times in the suburbs of St. Louis, according to Election Protection. The voter apparently was at the Dr. Clarence V. Cuffee Community Center, which has about 1,000 people waiting in line when voting machines went down today. Voting machines are now back up and running and, as of 5 p.m., the wait was about 90 minutes. (Virginian-Pilot) Read More »
Three 'Voter Suppression' Cases in Va.
State: Virginia
State police are investigating at least three cases of possible voter suppression at election sites across Virginia. The cases were reported in the city of Richmond, Fairfax County and Fauquier County. One case was concerning the "over presentation of law enforcement" at a polling place; another case involved the playing of a "loud" recording of right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh within 300 feet of a precinct. (CNN) Read More »
» ALL REPORTS: Washington Post Investigations
» ON TWITTER: PostVoteMonitor
