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]

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.