A Voting Story

For those of you who don't know, I'm a registered Republican. What does this mean to you? It means my vote counts today (at least half of it counts), whereas registered Democrats in the state do not get a say in who will be their party's nominee for US President.

So here's my story of today's voting adventure.

I logged online this morning to check out where my local polling place is. Surprise! It said my precinct's polling location is "FAU MacArthur Campus 5353 Parkside Drive Jupiter, FL" -- which happens to be where I live.

When I walked over to do my civic thang, an old lady in a bright orange vest stopped me. I pulled out my voter registration card from 2004. It said I reside at "5353 Parkside Drive" but my assigned precinct is "Independence Middle School." She called over a man, who reviewed my card and informed me that I needed to drive a mile down the street to Precinct 1100 (the middle school).

I looked at him, confused.

"My address is 5353 Parkside Drive. How is it possible that this isn't my precinct?"

He apologized, and I told him how ridiculous this was. A couple other people walked up, and they told me I was at the wrong place as well. I said, "Fantastic." As I walked away, mumbling to them, the old lady called out "please, still vote!"

I drove to the middle school down the street and walked up to this desk. They proceeded to look me up on their roster.

"You're not on our roster. The man at the table on the end can help you find your correct precinct. Maybe you're supposed to be at the FAU campus precinct."

"I just came from FAU. I live there. They told me I had to come here when I showed them this," I said, revealing my voter registration card. They all made a face at the card and informed me they no longer use that, and no one should have looked at it in the first place. Instead, they wanted a photo ID with a signature, so I handed them my military ID card.

"This is all we'll ever need," one woman said.

I walked down to the man at the end table, and he confirmed I'm registered to vote at the FAU campus precinct--number 1099. He filled out a form that said I was indeed eligible, and I drove back to school/home/here.

When I arrived back at the entrance, I walked past the old lady who had originally told me to leave. I walked straight to a man with a laptop (who I hadn't met yet).

"Do you have a voter registration card?"

"The woman at the other precinct said you don't use these anymore."

"We don't, but can I see it anyway? We've been playing precinct pinball with them all day."

I handed him the card.

"It says on here you're supposed to go to Independence Middle School," he said. Before I could answer, he looked me up on his computer, and I was registered to vote here--on campus--where we were standing. He was confused.

"Why aren't you on our rosters, then?" He carried on a conversation with the woman next to him, and they continued to look at my military ID, my voter registration card, and the form the man at the other precinct had given me.

"Look, I live here. You sent me to Independence Middle School. I went there. Even though I live HERE. My physical address is 5353 Parkside Drive, which is where we are standing. So, they sent me back here. If it makes any difference, I have yet to speak to that lady over there with the roster. She hasn't looked me up. I'm probably on that roster."

He ignored me, continuing to study my ID and ask me questions about my relationship to the military.

"Maybe we should look you up on our roster, first, and then--" he said.

I walked away from him as he was in mid-sentence. The woman looked me up, and she gave me a card. I walked to a machine and tapped the screen a total of three times.

I handed her the card when I was done and turned to leave the room.

"Wait, one more thing!" she shouted. I turned back to her. She walked up to me and placed a sticker on my chest.

I looked down to read "I voted." The sticker was crooked and barely hanging onto my shirt.

Who do I call with my complaint?