Voting in AZ
Yesterday's voting in Arizona was the first since we passed a law requiring identification when voting. Previously, as long as you were on the voter rolls and could recite your name and address, you were good to go. Now it's a bit more rigid, as you can see in this article.
I'm one of the ones that voted for this law to be put into effect, as it seemed rather reasonable to me. I also figured it would be moot for me as I always vote via the mail anyway. More convenient, I can research the issues online while voting, etc etc.
So imagine my surprise when it turned around and bit me in the ass! By a fluke I didn't get the request for the mail-in ballot mailed in time so ended up gong to the polls.
I had my valid driver’s license (option 1, see linked article above) and I had the yellow mailing card that showed my voting location, my address and said it could be used for option two. They refused to take my driver’s license because it had my last address on it, not my current address. I showed them the yellow card and said “but this shows my current address”. They said that’s fine but they needed a second item. I said I have a valid driver’s license, they said it was invalid because of the old address. Funny, that hasn’t been an issue *anywhere* else, including, alas, traffic stops. They told me I could use a utility bill, I said “funny, I don’t carry those around with me. Guess I’m not voting today, thank you” and I walked out.
Later I discovered that my vehicle insurance card, which I do carry in my wallet, could be used (which would have been nice if the voter worker (8 of them and only me there, btw) had told me) but by that point I was too pissed off to return. You can bet I'll never be late in putting in the request for a mail-in ballot again!
