{"id":9031,"date":"2026-10-22T10:28:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T14:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=9031"},"modified":"2026-10-22T10:55:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T14:55:35","slug":"my-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/10\/22\/my-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"My Ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It must be a mark of growing older.  For most of my life, I was near the front of the line as the polling place opened on election day.  I wanted to hear the talk, get the feel of my precinct and city, standing in line in the cold November darkness.  It was my inner politician getting a final input \u2013 my last finger on the pulse of the electorate, even if I wasn\u2019t involved in a particular campaign.  Then it was onto school, practice, then home for a steak and a late night of analyzing the election returns.  That was mandatory:  my lesson plan for Wednesday was often a recap of what happened on that Tuesday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I no longer have a classroom of bleary-eyed high school seniors to face in the mornings.  Instead, it\u2019s the dogs, literally bright eyed and bushy tailed (at least three out of four), ready to go out in the yard to clear off the bunnies and squirrels and then eat breakfast.  And my polling place is now a centralized location, with multiple precincts all voting in the sanctuary of a church.  It\u2019s just not the same as standing outside the old firehouse talking to the locals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early Voting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So we don\u2019t vote on election day anymore.  We go early, to avoid the crowds, and to make sure that are ballots don\u2019t have to travel.  They never leave the Board of Elections in downtown Newark, Ohio.  Jenn and I voted yesterday.  And currently almost half a million Ohioans have joined in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were surprised, and I bet the Board of Elections wokers were too.  For Presidential elections they take over the basement of the County Building, and make it just like any polling place.  You line up, then go to a station of four or five workers.  One checks your identification, then prints a ballot specifically for your precinct, city, district and state.  Then you go to a second room, with voting machines along the walls, and insert your ballot to vote.  The final phase, your ballot is printed (I make a final check), then you insert it into the electronic ballot box.  That\u2019s when it\u2019s counted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for smaller elections, they do the whole thing right from their office on the first floor.  I guess they thought this one was going to be smaller. The line went all the way down the hall to the fire exit, then back up to the lobby of the building.  And, for the first time since we last ate at Bob Evans, Jenn and I actually lowered the average age when we joined at the back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it took a little time to get into the office, get through the process, and vote.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s Public, What\u2019s Private<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s some confusion about voting information.  The fact that you voted is public record.  So is your voting address and precinct (4A, Pataskala, Licking, Ohio).  And your choice of political party in the primary, is public (Democrat, Republican, Independent).  So campaigns can access all of that data to target voters.  For example:  if I wanted to reach Democrats in Pataskala that voted in all of the last six elections, including primaries and local elections, I can get that list (it\u2019s a pretty short one). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is secret is your actual ballot selections \u2013 who you voted for.  That\u2019s your secret, to reveal or not as you choose.  It\u2019s confidential so that you can\u2019t sell your vote.  If it were a public vote, then candidates could make sure that they got their \u201cquid\u201d for your \u201cquo\u201d.  The reason the two dollar bill is so unpopular (considered unlucky by many today) is that it was the most common price for a vote.  If you had two dollar bills, it was assumed your vote was up for sale.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Choices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t say who you voted for \u2013 you just don\u2019t have to.  So here\u2019s what my ballot looked like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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