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
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 »
04073: Registration Issue
Waited to register (I had moved) with 50-60 other people for over an hour. Only 2 people on hand to register voters at city hall.We were told by an employee that we could not vote at the clerk's office (by a male employee) and later told that we could vote there if necessary and that there were no male employees in that office! Read More »
22302: Voting Glitch
As per procedure, I was given an activation number to activate my electronic polling station. However, my code was for President only. It did not allow me to vote for Senator or Representative. Fortunately someone identified the problem, but my vote was already cast; so they had me fill out a provisional ballot (with President scratched out). They said they had no other such reports (~3:30 PM). I wonder if other people just didn't notice/care. Read More »
23233: Access Issue
We live in Mexico and requested ballot online but still had to send the signed copy in. Kind of defeats the purpose! Consulate here was great help at getting our vote back to VA. 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 »
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 »
92028: Location Issue
I have never spend a minute standing in line at a polling station, but I have voted in every presidential election since I turned 18. I put the absentee envelope in the mailbox and assume it is never counted. It seems a silly ritual, but I am a Florida voter, so I feel compelled to attempt to participate. Read More »
23456: Other
What gives? It took me (I'm white) 10 minutes to vote & many African Americans in other precincts took hours? Is time-in-line a new "poll tax"? Read More »
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 »
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
