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Thursday, November 3, 2005

Roadblocks to Voting

Posted by on November 3 at 15:20 PM

I thought that making your vote count was supposed to be a fairly simple and painless process—either show up in person on November 8 or vote by mail, the latter option I chose this election. But instead of being rewarded for my participation, the county has added some roadblocks to making my vote count. I just received a letter announcing that my signature on the ballot I sent in doesn’t match the signature on my voter registration (the first time I’ve heard that) and that I need to complete a new voter registration form in person in one of King County’s community service centers. And where are these centers located? According to the attached paperwork, they’re in Renton, Woodinville, Bothell, Kent, Sammamish, and Vashon—and nothing in Seattle. And none of them are open on the weekends. So in order to make my vote count, I have to take time off work, hop in a car to another city, and perfect my signature. I want to vote this election, but really, who is going to go to all that trouble?