As a current Madison resident, today is voting day. I maneuvered through a traffic jam and slippery streets to reach the Gates of Heaven; my poling place around 9:30 a.m.
As I entered to cast my vote, a woman who was leaving said “Vote Obama!”
“You can’t do that in here’” informed an official.
The other woman did not seem to care. As I was undecided, and I feel strongly about campainging at the polls, her actions may have cost her candidate a vote.
Law prohibits campaigning within a certain distance of polling places. This is to keep voters from feeling intimidated. When I worked on campaigns, it was made very clear this line should never be crossed.
Some people are very vocal about the candidates they support. Others prefer to keep their vote private. My top two candidates are out of the election, and my third choice has yet to enter. Still, I would never have the gall to profess “Vote Richardson” while leaving a voting area, even if he was still in the race. It is one thing to support a candidate, and quite another to be obnoxious in a polling place.
For the record, Richardson was still on the ballot in Wisconsin, and thanks to one woman’s actions might have received a vote.
It concerns me greatly as an American that you would base your vote on the actions of another voter’s off-the-cuff remark and not on the candidate you would like to have in office.
You can’t be serious that one person’s comment at a polling site would affect your decision on picking a President.