22 March 2016

Arizona Primary Day

Primary day is finally here in Arizona.  And for once our votes will count!  Usually it's all over but the crying by the time we get to cast our ballots.

I voted 3-4 weeks ago and I'm really glad I did.  Just drove past a polling location and the lines are out the door and down the block:


The SandCastle Queen reports she was at the polling location when it opened.  The lines were pretty short at 6AM ;-)  I'll be glad when this day is over.  Local TV has been unwatchable as it seems nearly non-stop political ads.

Update: 2130: Driving by the polling site around 1830 the line took the dimensions of the red line.  The Google Maps measurement tool puts this path at  >1000 feet.  At ~2100, 1 hour after the polls had "closed" (these people still get to vote), Media has already called the state for Trump & Clinton the end of the line stopped at the green dot (~650 ft).

This for a ballot with one question.  Someone said the voter check in process was taking a couple minutes per voter and that was the bottleneck.

So the line advanced 350-400 feet in 2  1/2 hours.  
So if we extrapolate, the last ballot will be cast around 0100-0200! strike that... it's not a valid extrapolation.  At 1830 the polls were still open for another 90 minutes and voters were free to join the line.  But after 2000 no new voters could enter the line.  But it's still going to be a late night for many.  Props to those that stuck it out in line for 4-5-6 hours to cast a ballot!

P.S.  This is one of the reasons I voted a month ago!  Recall the six P's: Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance!  I planned ahead and thus enjoyed my relaxing evening.  You didn't and ... enjoy your queue!  (I chose wisely!)