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absentee
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2020-11-03
First Time Voter
Unlike my fellow peers, I was only 17 during my senior year of high school. The 2020 election was supposed to be my first chance to vote in person. Many of my classmates and friends were able to vote in person during the primaries or in state elections, but I did not. I started getting into politics about four years ago. Ever since then, I was excited at the prospect to make a change by voting. In February, I went to vote in the New Hampshire primary. Since I was not yet registered, I went to the corresponding line. I sat down and filled out the registration form. I asked the worker for help and she said "Oh..you're not 171/2 years old. You will need to wait until you're 18 to register". Disheartened, I left. I did not get register or vote. When I went to college in the fall, it made it even harder for me to be able to vote. Since I only live an hour from school, I planned on just coming back on election day and vote. Although, I do not have many health risk factors, I do live in a school community that could be in the higher risk category and did not want to expose anyone. Therefore, I try to limit my exposure as much as possible. With voting in person seeming too risky, I decided I should vote using an absentee ballot. When I visited home for my first long weekend, I went to the town clerk to request an absentee ballot. A few days later when I was back on campus, I received my ballot in the mail. I filled it out in my dorm room and then dropped it off at the USPS mailbox. I did not feel like I voted at all. I did not get the experience of waiting in line, putting the ballot in the ballot box, or even getting an "I voted" sticker. Even though I did not get to have the full experience of voting, I am happy I took the extra precautions during this time to ensure my safety as well as others. -
2020-09-15
US Postal Service notice on voting by mail during COVID-19
On September 15, 2020 I received a post card mailer from the U.S. Postal Service. The message is: "If you plan to vote by mail, plan ahead." The reverse side had my information and a note detailing a list of suggestions to prepare for mailing in a ballot during the 2020 U.S. Election. Personally, I've voted in many elections over the past few decades and voted by mail for a long time before this election as well - I've never received any information like this. You can tell that during the pandemic there was going to be a lot of pressure on voting by mail. Personally, I turned in my ballot at least a month before the actual day in fear that the postal system would be overwhelmed in the days right before the election. This is the first year where voting by mail didn't seem like a convenience, but felt like it was a large part of election history. The pandemic seems to be shifting our daily lives in ways that no one would've expected at the beginning of 2020. -
2020-10-16
Seniors Voting During a Pandemic
Story about local organizations helping senior citizens vote during a pandemic. It’s an interesting news story about the necessary steps needed and how precarious it is for seniors to vote during this difficult time. -
2020-11-06
Poll Workers under Tough Conditions
Practically the whole world has its eye on poll workers right now. With the pandemic, protests outside of recorder offices, and a massive amount of early mail-in ballots, poll workers are facing unprecedented working conditions. Many have faced scrutiny for how slow the process its going, but people seem to forget that we are in the middle of a pandemic and these workers need all the help, and not criticism, they can get. Michigan's secretary of state took to twitter to say, "Dear members of the public: Please stop making harassing & threatening calls to my staff. They are kind, hardworking public servants just doing their job. Asking them to shove sharpies in uncomfortable places is never appropriate & is a sad commentary on the state of our nation."