Voting – It Seems As If "They" Really Don't Want Us To

You've heard all the reasons why you should vote. You know, it's your civic duty, your vote really does count and the more popular saying; make your voice heard, vote! With all of this positive reinforcement to vote why does it feel as if our government discourages us from partaking in this sacred ritual that has been a part of history for so long?

My personal experience with the government discouraging me to vote just recently took place in the primary elections this March, 2014. It all started on an icy day in Austin, Texas. The Tuesday Primary Elections were being delayed by two hours because of icy road conditions. Instead of 7:00 A.M. the elections polls would open at 11:00A.M. The idea was that voters got a late start so the polls hours would also be extended to accommodate all the late working people.

Pursuant to the Texas election laws, a court order was granted in district court to extend voting hours until 9:00 P.M. My plan was to work late because of the late start, run and pick up my son who was involved in an extra-curricular activity that evening, and who by the way, was also running on an altered time plan.

I ended up at a polling place right at 7:00 P.M. I was greeted with confusion as election officials discouraged me to vote. "Oh, you’re here to vote? I responded, yes. "Well you know that is now after 7:00 P.M. So your vote tonight will only be provisional. Why? I asked. Because, technically, the polls closed at 700 P.M. When I heard this answer, my first reaction was to scream and pull my hair. What was I hearing? I along with others who had arrived after me, were being punished for the two hour weather delay? My vote would be provisional? In other words, as it was explained to me at the voting site, all voting ballots done after 7:00 PM would be counted and reviewed for eligibility within the next two days. After this process, I would be notified by mail if my vote counted our not. It just didn't make sense.

It wasn’t until I looked up the meaning of a provisional ballot that I felt my civic duty had been crushed. According to the Texas Election code:

A Provisional Ballot is used when someone is not listed on the voter registration roll. A special process outlined in federal legislation is used to review the eligibility of these ballots. If you arrive at a polling location on Election Day and your registration status cannot be verified, you may request a provisional ballot at that time.

This was not the case here. I was certainly on the voter’s registration roll. I know because I had been mailed my updated voters’ registration card weeks before. I finally asked why I had to fill out all of this extra paper work and why my vote was being counted as a provisional ballot when the polls didn’t close until 9:00 PM. The answer I received was not good enough. It was simply because votes needed to start being counted so that candidates would be able to know their status by the next morning.

This special process that is "outlined in federal legislation" in order to review eligibility ballots is unjust when it comes to ballots that for no other reason were being investigated and held because the vote came in after 7:00 P.M.

The whole process of being scrutinized because of an after 7:00 arrival really tested my tolerance for the whole voting process as a whole. Here I was along with others in line behind me trying to exercise our right to vote, but being faced with yet another tactic our government has imposed on citizens.