Good morning, Carson Now readers and happy Election Day!
I try my very best to never, ever vote on Election Day. We have early voting for a reason, in my opinion, but this year I wanted to give it a shot in case any of you are weighing whether or not to head over for a last-minute casting of the ballot.
I’ve got to say, I was surprised by how easy it was. From start to finish with a slow-walking two-year-old and a teen in tow, the entire process took less than 15 minutes.
As of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, there were no lines at the Carson City Community Center, but the polls weren’t empty by any means. The only time we had to wait was for maybe two minutes after casting our ballot to get our picture taken, because there was another family with a baby and a stroller getting theirs taken, too.
You can park on either side of the Community Center, but the entrance this year is on the West side of the building. There are a number of signs and election volunteers to guide the way.
When you head inside, you are directed to a table of poll workers who will check you in. If you have your mail-in ballot, you can surrender it to them and they’ll dispose of it. If you do not have your mail-in ballot (I did not), you sign a document stating you will not send it in and that you have or plan to destroy it.
If you do not have your mail-in ballot, you give your name and they search you up in their database. Verification is done through your signature matching the last signature they have on file from the last time you voted.
Once you are verified, you are given a receipt stating you are voting in person, and you are handed your blank ballot and directed to a voting station. In total, I think it took me maybe 5-6 minutes to get through the selection process, and that was with pausing every 20 seconds or so to explain to my daughter that she could not put her in-person receipt into the next and vote as well.
When your ballot is printed, you (or your toddler) can bring it to the next station where it is put into a scanner and recorded. This is also where you get to take your I voted sticker, and Future Voter stickers for anyone in tow. There may even be a bit of candy for the future voters.
That’s it! If you want to, before you head out, you can stop to have your photo taken in front of a green screen that will create an I voted sticker backdrop. It’s my favorite part!
