What does early voting look like?

[fenicedautun.livejournal.com]

So, I'm pondering the early voting this weekend, but I'm wondering what the setup looks like. How many booths are there? Are they organized? Are there lines? Is it going to be insane this weekend and I'm better off waiting for my local polling place on 11/8?

Comments

[ron_newman]

The parking spaces usually reserved for aldermen (and other city officials?) were relabelled as 15-minute parking for voters only, when I was there yesterday morning.

Early voting is open until 7:30 this Thursday evening, as well as Monday through Thursday next week. It will also be open both Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm. Schedule here

[keithn.livejournal.com]

Yep, those spots were there and marked, but full.

[keithn.livejournal.com]

Even worse this morning at around 10:45am, with a parade of cars slowly circling like we were at the mall the day before Christmas. I am going to wait until election day.

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

The lot is the only nearby parking?

[ron_newman]

Try it on Saturday or Sunday, when the high school is not in session. Or just park on a nearby street - don't you have a Somerville parking permit? (Or walk, or bike, or take the bus ...)

[keithn.livejournal.com]

If you get rid of the convenience then there is no point in early voting for me. It would take me more time to walk or take a bus to early voting than it would take for me to vote in person on election day. Street parking looked like a nightmare near city hall, with heavy traffic and side streets under construction.

Somerville is not holding early voting out of the kindness of its heart, it was forced to do so by the state. Voter advocacy groups called for at least 1 polling location for every 35,000 residents and Somerville set up one for 78,804 residents, and they set it up nowhere near the city's two MBTA stations. They literally made the bare minimum effort for something they had to do. The effusive praise I see from some is unwarranted.

Look at all of the locations that Cambridge set up for early voting: https://www.cambridgema.gov/election/earlyvoting/earlyvotinginperson

Why didn't Somerville do this?

[ron_newman]

On the other hand, Somerville had early voting on Sunday, while Cambridge and most other towns and cities did not. On Sunday (and Saturday) you would have had no parking problem since the high school is not in session. There will also be early voting today through Thursday until 7:30 pm, which is also after the high school lets out.

City Hall is not especially convenient to Davis Square but it's not that far away. With a bike you can get there in 10 minutes. If you put the voting location in Davis Square, it would be far away from people in East Somerville, Winter Hill, and Union Square. Perhaps there should be two early-voting stations in 2018, so consider this year a dry run.

[keithn.livejournal.com]

I voted this morning on my way to work. I parked my car in a "Smart Car Only" parking spot that another voter had just vacated (with their also not smart car) then worried about being towed as I voted. Thankfully it didn't take long.

They should have had two locations, as was recommended. I think the sensible locations would be one near Davis Square and one near Assembly Square.

You say "City Hall is not especially convenient to Davis Square." The entire point of early voting is to be convenient. I wanted to be able to stop on my way to work. Anything else (especially going there on the weekend, when I don't even drive) is going out of my way. I understand that some people see early voting as a way to vote with extra enthusiasm, but that's not why it exists.

Cambridge did a great job. With the variety of locations and the variety of hours they kept, I don't think they really needed Sunday.

[ron_newman]

I agree that there should be two locations in the future, but Assembly Square is a terrible choice for the second one, as almost nobody lives near it and it's at the far edge of the city. Davis Square or Union Square or somewhere in East Somerville would be a much better choice.

Saturdays and Sundays are much more convenient than Tuesday for many people who work during the week.