154 Comments

It is always a privilege to vote, and I voted early here in Alabama due to travel. BUT as you pointed out assume nothing! I am registered as Republican in a VERY red state but I voted blue. #principleoverparty

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This post made me smile! Greetings also from Alabama!

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Greetings fellow American who happens to live in Alabama!

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Thank you Sharon! Hopefully soon we can get back to talking policies and not fundamentals of democracy

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Me? I love my mandatory voting system in Australia. The Australian Electoral Commision oversees the federal elections in all states, the NSW Electoral Commission oversees elections in my home state, and both are organisations independent of the political parties. It's so easy, Americans would think it was crazy. I've voted in Australian elections out of my electorate, out of my state, and once from London (I had to go to the Australian Embassy the week before the election). I've voted early because I wasn't going to be available on the day, at the crack of Opening Time at the local polling place, and five minutes before it closed. Every time, it's been simple, easy, and convenient. And if I was lucky, I'd get a "democracy sausage" afterwards!

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You’ve got to tell us about the “democracy sausage”!

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Oh! Okay, so because we need so many polling places for our elections they're often held at public schools or in church or community halls. This means there's always one within reasonable travelling distance. And so a lot of the places being used by the election take the advantage of all these people in their space to run things like cake stalls, coffee carts, and a BBQ where they cook sausages (and sometimes egg, minute steaks, and/or onions, depending on how flash the suburb is). A 'democracy sausage' is simply a sausage (usualy beef, but can also be pork) in a slice of white bread, likely spread with margerine, possibly with caramelised onions, and almost certainly a splurt of tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, and/or mustard, which has been purchased at a polling place.

There's actually sites that are dedicated to letting you know where's the nearest polling place for you to go that will have a democracy sausage available...

Also, you can google it if you want to know more. I think it has a wikipedia entry!

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Thank you so much for sharing! It all sounds so charming and delightful! It literally warms my heart and makes me tear up. You just gave me hope for a better democracy.

Our Kansas neighbors voted to protect abortion in their state constitution. So in MO, we say, “vote like a Kansas woman.” But now I’m going to say, “Vote Like an Australian!”

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I mail my ballot in and love being able to take my time, look up the issues, decide how I'm voting, and filling in my ballot all from the privacy of my home. I've only voted in person once and I felt that it was way too chaotic for me. I also live in Colorado and we get mail in ballots for all elections which helps.

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As a fellow Coloradan, I feel the exact same way. I love the extra time I have with a mail-in ballot. I drop mine off at the County Courthouse ballot collection box rather than mail it. I greatly appreciate having BallotTrax in Colorado so I know when my ballot has been received, counted, etc.

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I too am a fellow Coloradan and am so happy with our voting system. The ballots arrive in our mailbox, we take the time to review every question and read the booklet that explains each issue. We then drop them at our county collection box. I also love that we use BallotTrax and can see when our ballot has been received and counted. I wish every state would make voting as easy as it is in Colorado.

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I work in the veterinary space. Eagerly watching the outcome of the veterinary professional associate!

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Colorado sounds so civilized!

It took me two hours to vote early yesterday in MO. It’s my first time to vote early no-excuse, in-person. I’ve always enjoyed the excitement of Election Day, but because of the reasons Sharon listed (sickness, disaster), I didn’t want to take the chance of waiting.

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Fellow Coloradan--Former Missourian here. Like Sharon, I like the "excitement" of voting in person...however, since moving to Colorado, I doubt I will ever vote in person again. My wife and I spent about two hours yesterday reading through the state provided booklet that explains each issue, and filling out our ballots--all in the comfort of our home.

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State-provided booklet! The person I stood next to in line for 2hrs said CA mails them to everyone. Again, in MO, we can only dream.

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Fellow MO here👋 In Clay County we received yesterday in the mail a sample ballot, which at a minimum is handy. Not sure if all counties do that. While my kids and I had already voted, for those that can’t/won’t look it up online, I thought that was helpful. My husband hasn’t voted yet because he prefers Election Day excitement, so he’ll refer to it.

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Ugh as a former Colorado resident who is back in her home state of Ohio, I so miss voting in Colorado! It was so easy and the booklets were so helpful for issue voting. I wish we had the same thing here but our state government isn’t exactly known for trying to make voting easier.

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Coloradan here too… there’s no way with the way we push so many issues down to the voters (which I love) that I would be able to hold it all in my head for the ballot box! I mean…. So many constitutional amendments to vote for/against… so many other propositions the voters petitioned for… it’s sooo long.

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I live in Pennsylvania and would love to have my vote out of the way, but after all of the lawsuits in 2020 (and the current ones) over Pennsylvania ballots, I just feel a lot more secure casting my ballot on election day. I know it's kind of silly, but I feel traumatized after wondering for weeks if my vote might be thrown out for a stupid reason. So this feels like a solution that I can control.

I used to live in Texas and loved early voting there.

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I don’t think it’s silly! People still believe the election was stolen. I think it makes perfect sense to do what you can to make sure your voice is counted.

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I agree. It’s peace of mind that it’s done. You can check it off of your list of things to do.

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I had a broken foot in 2020 and I hobbled in anyway. There was just so much news swirling around about it and it made me very anxious. I wanted to vote on the machine so it would be counted quicker.

I read this (and all the links within) and it cemented my decision to vote on election day this year too. https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-pennsylvania-vote-counting-2024?r=ag47s&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

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Wow! That was quite interesting! Thanks for the share.

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Also PA (heyyy from Pittsburgh!) -- and also, same. All the lawsuits even this year with the curing and the secrecy envelopes and whatnot, gave me too much uncertainty. I want to walk out with my little paper that confirms my vote has been counted!

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Also Pittsburgh! South suburbs.

Hope you're enjoying this fabulous fall weather! (I really hope it doesn't rain on election day!)

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Hey, same! South hills! :) Governerds unite! And obsessed with all our foliage every year, but isn't PA extra gorgeous this year?! I love our state :)

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lol small world! I just sent you a DM!

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Fellow Pittsburgher here and same! I vote on Election Day. It stresses me out a bit but not as much as a mail-in ballot being thrown out. It’s sad that we feel this way but the lawsuits are ridiculous, and I want to do everything I can to ensure my vote is counted.

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I don't think it's silly at all. I will say that voting early in person shouldn't cause a single issue as most of the nonsense lawsuits have been over mail in ballots. That being said, do what feels right and be kind to the people that will keep calling and texting you to try and get you to go early. <3

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Well that's the thing - early voting in PA IS a mail ballot, just filled out in person. And this is the first year they're doing it.

I will be happy to vote early in PA once they get all the kinks worked out!

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I like to vote on Election Day! Our kids are out of school for the day and we plan to all walk to our local coffee shop and then walk to the voting site! Hoping to really solidify this memory for them for a historical win!! 🤞🏻🤞🏻

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I voted early. I care for my 90 year old mom and life is unpredictable so I want to make sure my vote counts.

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Same, Mary. I am also a caregiver to my mom and life is anything but predictable.

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Me too! 90 yo mom with broken back, so I happily voted early just to be sure I got to vote! I had to drive a distance to HQ in Missouri, for absentee with an excuse some weeks ago. But now early voting for any reason is open at the library branches

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Election Day is like a holiday for me, and I celebrate it by voting first thing in the morning -- I actually wear makeup, blow out my hair, and dress nicely whether I'm heading into the office afterwards or not. AND I sport that I Voted sticker all day, with pride.

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I love this, Mary!

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Military spouse here! So I have had to mail in absentee for most elections. Thankful for that option! I was sad when it was weaponized in 2020 because for most military families, it's our only option.

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Thank you for your service.

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Again, thank you for your family's service!

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I always vote early because I don't want to deal with the drama on Election Day. However, my efforts to vote early this year have thus far been thwarted by my husband, who gets to vote in his FIRST EVER ELECTION! He moved to the U.S. at 21, before he was legally allowed to vote in the U.K., but became a U.S. citizen earlier this year at 41. He wants to do his due diligence and research the candidates, which as a History and Government teacher, I cannot complain about. Once he feels comfortable, we will go vote. It is going to be a family affair, especially since this election will have such a direct impact on our 11 and 7 year-old daughters.

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I like to vote on election day; however in 2020 I signed up to be an election inspector so now I vote early. But I still get to participate in the excitement of voting day!

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There is a public Service announcement that just came out warning that groups foreign and domestic are using AI through social media and robo calls to confuse people and get them not to vote..saying things like your polling location has changed or they've extended the dates or your polling location is closed. It is good they are making people aware this is happening. You can always check your state voting website. Don't trust social media, texts or robo calls. I vote early by mail and then use the track your ballot feature to make sure it has been received and counted.

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Voted yesterday. Line was decently long. Several “first time voters” who were announced and cheered for. Everyone was upbeat and friendly during the wait in line. Glad to have it out of the way. Think Election Day is gonna be cray cray.

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I like to vote as soon as I can because I don’t know if I will be alive or able on Election Day. Grateful for the option!

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I voted early this year in my MO county. They offer two week, in-person “no excuse” early voting as an option which I appreciate. They also offer in-person absentee voting for 6 weeks prior to Election Day. Took my kids who attend college out of state while they were in town to vote absentee😁

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Early California voter. Dropped off at an Official drop box and was emailed that my ballot was received and counted. I really like BalletTrax and the updates of when my ballot was mailed , received and counted.

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So cool! I stood in line for almost 2 hrs in MO with a lady from CA. I was so jealous when she told me about BallotTrax. MO can only dream!

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Did exactly the same here in CA & really appreciate BallotTrax, too, as I know it got there & is counted.

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I voted by mail in PA and have done so for all the elections since the pandemic started. This week I got the confirmation email that my ballot had arrived.I like to look at the ballot as I consider how I want to vote. I also have young kids in daycare and teach at an elementary school so I never know what kind if germs are going around that might make things hard on election day.

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