Managing voters versus blood donors
Mar. 12th, 2018 11:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebYesterday, while donating blood, I noticed some similarities between how I am treated as a blood donor and how I am treated as a voter. In both cases, they ask me over and over again to confirm my identity.
In the case of voting in my county, I actually know why.
Station 1: You are looked up on the voter registration list and asked to confirm your address. They need to make sure they are checking you off the list and not someone else with a similar name.
Interesting note: If, when your voter registration card is mailed out, it is then returned in the mail, the county assumes you might have moved. You get flagged, and if you don't confirm or update your address, you might be kicked off the registration rolls.
Station 2: You are asked to confirm that the sticker they just handed you is yours. I guess technically, two people could drop their stickers at the same time and pick up the wrong ones. I've heard of cases where the person manning station 1 hands your stickers directly to the person manning station 2, but things are so crowded that things get mixed up.
Station 3: A receipt-looking thingy is printed and you are asked to initial your sticker if the number on it matches the number on your receipt thingy. I now know that you are proofreading the typing of the person manning station 3 to make sure you get the correct ballot for your precinct, school district, etc., and, during primaries, for the party in whose primary you are voting.
Interesting note: It is sadly not as uncommon as one would hope for people to walk away before they see the waving flag that shows they have cast their ballot. It's easy to imagine that once you've made all your selections, you do not then click through the summary ballot and then press the "Cast Ballot" button. Of course the election workers are not allowed to cast your ballot in your absence--for all they know, you left in disgust because you could never figure out how to select the choices you actually wanted.
**
While donating blood, they also hand me stickers to pass from station to station, each time asking me to confirm my full name and birth date. They really need to know which blood is coming from whom just in case something terrible is found in your blood--they can let you know and, if necessary, prevent you donating again in the future.
In the case of voting in my county, I actually know why.
Station 1: You are looked up on the voter registration list and asked to confirm your address. They need to make sure they are checking you off the list and not someone else with a similar name.
Interesting note: If, when your voter registration card is mailed out, it is then returned in the mail, the county assumes you might have moved. You get flagged, and if you don't confirm or update your address, you might be kicked off the registration rolls.
Station 2: You are asked to confirm that the sticker they just handed you is yours. I guess technically, two people could drop their stickers at the same time and pick up the wrong ones. I've heard of cases where the person manning station 1 hands your stickers directly to the person manning station 2, but things are so crowded that things get mixed up.
Station 3: A receipt-looking thingy is printed and you are asked to initial your sticker if the number on it matches the number on your receipt thingy. I now know that you are proofreading the typing of the person manning station 3 to make sure you get the correct ballot for your precinct, school district, etc., and, during primaries, for the party in whose primary you are voting.
Interesting note: It is sadly not as uncommon as one would hope for people to walk away before they see the waving flag that shows they have cast their ballot. It's easy to imagine that once you've made all your selections, you do not then click through the summary ballot and then press the "Cast Ballot" button. Of course the election workers are not allowed to cast your ballot in your absence--for all they know, you left in disgust because you could never figure out how to select the choices you actually wanted.
**
While donating blood, they also hand me stickers to pass from station to station, each time asking me to confirm my full name and birth date. They really need to know which blood is coming from whom just in case something terrible is found in your blood--they can let you know and, if necessary, prevent you donating again in the future.