Election Time Again ~ Sample Ballot

The fall election is a week from Tuesday, on November 5. Those of you who voted last time remember that Montgomery County has switched to a new ballot system, with voters marking a paper ballot with a Sharpie, then feeding it through a scanner themselves to cast their vote.

Why did they switch? The state mandated that all counties get a system that creates a paper ballot that can be recounted by 2020. Our new system is much less tamperproof method than the last. The voter-marked ballot is a primary document not created by a separate machine. Still, if you're unable to fill in a paper ballot due to medical conditions (visual disability, shaking hands, etc.), each polling location has a machine that the disabled can use to create a marked paper ballot. The voter will still scan it themselves.

If you didn't vote last time, I encourage you to come out for this election to try out the new method BEFORE next year's presidential elections. This year, poll workers will have time to answer your questions. Next year, probably not.

So let's look at a sample ballot for this election, in my example pictured, it's Norristown 3-1. (You can find your ballot at this link.  Simply choose your town, then your polling place).

This time around it's TWO-sided: elected offices and a constitutional question on the front. And retention of judges questions on the back (pictured below). 

We've been told that, even if the Sharpie bleeds through the card, when you scan it, your votes will still register correctly because the circles aren't lined up on the front and back of the ballot. And it doesn't matter how you feed in the ballot (either side up, top or bottom first), it will still register.

If you want to vote straight party, that's the first question. Choose the party of your choice and you don't have to fill in the rest of the elected offices (the machine will automatically choose all candidates in the party of your choice). However, you WILL still have to answer the constitutional question on the front and the yes-and-no judges' questions on the back.

If you want to vote straight party except for one or two offices, simply mark the straight party box, then go to the office where you're voting for the other party, mark ALL the candidates you want in that race (for instance, let's say you vote straight Republican, but you want to vote for 2 Republicans and 2 Democrats for School Board—you need to fill out ALL the School Board candidates you want).

One thing that's different from the old voting machines: Back then, if you voted straight party, you could un-vote a candidate running unopposed and basically abstain from that office. You can't do that now. If you don't want to vote for an unopposed candidate, yet vote straight party, WRITE IN another name under that candidate and fill in the circle beside the name you wrote.

Your ballot will no longer be returned by the scanner if you undervote (that is, leave an office or question blank), so proofread your ballot to make sure it's as complete as you want it to be. If you overvote (fill in too many choices for any office), you'll have the choice of getting your ballot back and starting over so you can fix it, or having the scanner negate your vote for the overvoted offices only and otherwise casting your ballot.

It's less complicated than I've made it sound, but like I said, vote this year when we'll have time to help you if you need it.

I'll post more blogs this week about the offices on the ballot and the question.