corrente

I already called 30 of my 50 voters, yup. And they were all very nice, except one guy who insisted that I had the wrong number even after I verified it. Whatever. This may not be as onerous as I feared. One lady even said I was a “nice young man.” Heh. Phones.

Chores done, ready to get on the road in the A.M., happy and sipping on a glass of mint tea, I was. Then I saw this as I got back online:

Call it the law of unintended consequences. A new national backup system meant to ensure that millions of eligible voters are not mistakenly turned away from the polls this year, as happened in 2000, could wind up causing Election Day problems as infamous as Florida's hanging chads.

Congress required conditional, or provisional, voting as part of election fixes passed in 2002. For the first time, all states must offer a backup ballot to any voter whose name does not appear on the rolls when the voter comes to the polling place on Nov. 2. If the voter is later found eligible, the vote counts.

But Congress did not specify exactly how the provisional votes will be evaluated.
Add the ordinary problems that come with doing something new, and the result is a recipe for mix-ups at the polls and lawsuits over alleged unequal treatment of some voters, said Doug Chapin, executive director of Electionline.org, a nonpartisan clearinghouse for information on election reform.

"If I had to pick the one thing that will be source of controversy on Election Day, it will be provisional voting," Chapin said.

via New backup voting system may pose problems

Well, OK, then. Hope we’re all lawyered up, have pitchforks sharpened and torches prepped. Good night, all.