Perhaps you would not be so callously indifferent to the plight of potential voters stuck in long lines if you were trying to support a family on a $10 per hour wage and your employer only paid you for every hour spent on your job. The GOP's voter suppression tactics also aim to keep minimum wage workers from voting. Minimum wage workers will be good Democrats for so long as the Republican Party aims to keep them from voting and from belonging to labor unions.
Bottom line is I don't think it's all that great a hardship to vote anywhere in this country. What you seem to be asking is that we assure in each and every case that the time for voting at the polls is at an absolute minimum for the poorest of the poor that are crunched for time. Sorry, the real world doesn't always work that way, and no, it's not because of any "voter suppression" conspiracies. Sometimes a lot of people show up to do something and you have to wait your turn. I learned that kind of thing on the grade-school playground, waiting my turn to go on the swing set. Maybe you didn't. I had to wait in line the other day to buy my groceries. Was it a conspiracy by the local 'Rats to deny me my right to purchase food for my family? I doubt it. There was a line the other week outside the restroom at the football stadium. Did I think the local 'Pubs were denying me my Constitutional Right to "privacy" to take a piss? Not likely. I mean, geez, cry me a freakin' river here, people. What is this, cast an instantaneous ballot or I'm suppressing your rights?
My son turned 18 his last birthday and got a part-time minimum-wage job. He proudly cast his first ballot this past election and joined a union. No eeeevil Republican stopped him. And guess what? He told me he voted the straight 'R' ticket. Not a very "good Democrat", I'd say.
I don't know if this article mentions this, but during the early voting period in Texas the voting booths are taken to hospitals and other businesses to make sure everyone has a chance to vote. If they felt intimidated or didn't vote, it is their own fault.
Check this out:
http://www.votexas.org/english/english_voting.htm
As a registered voter in Texas, you have certain rights. You have…
The right to a ballot with written instructions on how to cast the ballot.
The right to cast your vote in secret and free from intimidation.
The right to receive up to two more ballots if a mistake is made while marking the ballot.
The right to ask the polling place official for instructions on how to cast the ballot, but not for suggestions on how to vote.
The right to bring an interpreter to assist you as you qualify to vote if you do not understand the English language.
The right to assistance while casting your ballot if you cannot write, see the ballot, or understand the language in which it is written.
The right to bring written materials into the voting booth to assist you as you cast the ballot.
The right to report a possible voting rights abuse to the Secretary of State or to your local election official.
The right to cast a provisional ballot if your name does not appear on the list of registered voters or you do not have proper identification.
The right to vote once at any early voting location during the early voting period within the territory conducting the election.
The right to file an administrative complaint with the Secretary of State concerning violations of federal and state voting procedures.
Services Available to Voters with Special Needs
The State of Texas has made groundbreaking efforts to increase ballot accessibility for all voters, including elderly voters, voters with disabilities, and voters who do not read or speak English or Spanish.
State law provides that all polling places must meet strict accessibility standards.
If you are in need of assistance in reading or marking your ballot, you may choose a friend to help you vote, or you may request assistance from election officials.
If you do not understand the language spoken in the polling place or in which the ballot is written, you may bring an interpreter into the polling place.
If you are physically unable to enter the polling place, you may remain in your vehicle and vote curbside.
If you find it difficult to vote at your assigned polling place on Election Day, you may choose to vote at a more convenient time and location by voting early in person or, if you qualify, you may vote by mail.
Accessible Voting Systems
To provide voters with a practical and effective means to cast an independent and secret ballot, voting systems acquired after September 1, 1999, must be accessible to voters with physical disabilities. The systems must accommodate these disabilities: no vision, low vision, no hearing, low hearing, limited manual dexterity, limited reach, limited strength, no mobility, low mobility or any combination of the foregoing (except the combination of no hearing and no vision).
Beginning January 1, 2006, every polling place used in Texas elections must have a minimum of one Direct Recording Electronic device (DRE) for use by voters with disabilities.
DREs are paperless, computerized voting units that allow you to vote directly on the system. Depending on the type of DRE system used, voters with disabilities may use headphones or other assistive devices to vote independently and secretly.
All Polling Places in Texas Must Be Accessible
The State of Texas has been a leader in formulating laws requiring all polling places to be accessible to persons who are elderly or physically disabled. The standards for what constitutes an accessible polling place include the following:
The voting area must be: (1) on the ground floor, which can be entered from the street or (2) accessible by an elevator with doors providing an opening of at least 36 inches.
Doors, entrances and exits used to enter or to leave the polling place must have a minimum width of 32 inches.
Any curb next to the main entrance to the polling place must have curb-cuts or temporary nonslip ramps.
Any stairs necessary to enter or leave the polling place must have handrails on each side of the stairs and a nonslip ramp.
The polling place may not have any barriers such as gravel, automatically closing gates, closed doors without lever-type handles or any other barrier that impedes the path of the physically disabled to the voting station.
Voters May Receive Assistance at the Polls
You are entitled to receive assistance if you
Cannot read or write or
Have a physical disability preventing you from reading or marking the ballot
Tell the election official you need help to vote. You do not have to provide proof of your disability.
You may receive assistance from these people:
Any person of your choice,
Two election workers on election day or
One election worker during early voting.
You may NOT be assisted by any of these people:
Your employer,
An agent of your employer or
An officer or agent of your union.
The person assisting you must read the entire ballot to you, unless you ask to have only parts of the ballot read.
The person assisting you must take an oath that he or she will not try to influence your vote and will mark your ballot as you direct.
If you choose a polling place official to help you, poll watchers and/or state and federal election inspectors present in the polling place may observe the voting process to be sure the ballot has been marked as you requested.
If you ask for assistance by a person of your choosing, no one else may watch you vote.
It is illegal for a person assisting you to do the following:
Try to influence your vote,
Mark your ballot in a way other than the way you have asked or
Tell anyone how you voted.
Voters May Use Interpreters at the Polls
If you cannot speak English, or if you communicate only with sign language, you may use an interpreter to help you communicate with election officials.
You may select any registered voter of your county to be your interpreter.
If you cannot read the languages on the ballot, your interpreter may translate the ballot for you in the voting booth.
Curbside Voting
If you are physically unable to enter the polling place, you may ask that an election officer bring a ballot to you at the entrance of the polling place or to your car at curbside.
After you mark the ballot, give it to the election officer who will put it in the ballot box. Or, at your request, a companion may hand you a ballot and deposit it for you.
TIP: If you plan to go alone to vote curbside, it is advisable to call ahead so election officials will expect you.
Generally speaking, you may vote curbside during the early voting period.
Voting Early, Either in Person or By Mail
You may vote early during the early voting period at any early voting site in the political subdivision holding the election.
Alternately, if you will be 65 years of age or older on election day, have a disability, confined in jail (but eligible to vote), or will be outside the county during early voting hours and on Election Day, you may apply to vote by mail. Simply submit a completed and signed application for a ballot by mail any time from the 60th to the 7th day before Election Day to the proper early voting clerk.
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