Voting and Churros
Posted on October 19, 2016 Posted by John Scalzi 69 Comments
Today I got my voting done, and to celebrate: Churros!
It’s been a good day, folks.
A reminder to you to get your voting done too — if you want to do it early as I did, great; if not, make sure you make time on November 8. It’s only possibly the most consequential election in decades. No pressure.
Don’t worry, I’ll pester you about it between now and then, too.
Regardless of whether you vote republican or democrat, I’m sure voter turnout would increase immensely if they offered Churros!
A Hugo on every shelf and a churro on every plate! – Motto of the new Scalzi Party
Next time, will you get them from your corner taco truck?
I’m fairly certain that was a provision in the original draft of the Constitution but got omitted for space constraints
I’m jealous.
They’re only starting to mail our ballots out today here in Oregon, so it will be a few days before we can vote.
It’s important to do so, because it cuts down the number of robo-calls. (The campaigns continuously purchase the updates listing who hasn’t voted yet, so that they don’t spend to money to call people who have cast their votes.)
Unfortunately, it doesn’t also work for TV ads…
I didn’t get any churros when I dropped my vote in the mail yesterday, but I did slam down a neat shot of aged Tequila then said an oath or two regarding the state of the State.
Early voting started today here in Tennessee, and I just got finished standing in a gratifyingly long line to do so. My small act of defiance against the ever-lengthening campaign season.
Hmm.. I’ll take tamales, preferably steamed in banana leaves–Thanks to my buddy from Vera Cruz! As is, I’m old fashioned, I do my voting on election day. Not that I’m against early voting or absentee ballots, more power to the masses!
Just, I’m old fashioned I guess. Old fashioned enough that I break out a slide rule from time to time to check my multiplication, division, Squares (and roots) Cubes (and roots), and like minded functions. Just because.
I have my ballot on my desk. As soon as I finish the required (yeah right!) study materials I’ll fill out my vote. With all the propositions in CA, I figure on 6 hrs or so.
My wife voted here in Indiana this morning and said there was quite a crowd. I’ll probably vote tomorrow, and afterwards I may take up digitalatheist’s recommendation of consuming some banana leaf wrapped tamales. They serve them at a great Mexican place only a few blocks from the early voting site.
I just received my sample ballot. We can’t begin voting in Florida until the 24th. Ready to get this done.
@RJ ooo. I”m jealous. the ones here all tend toward corn husks. Not bad, but not banana leaf either.
As soon as my ballot comes (most likely today or tomorrow) I am voting! Happily doing my civic duty as a citizen of these United States. I will figure out the reward later, though alcohol may be involved.
You didn’t tell me I would get a churro if I voted! Where’s my ballot?
Early voting is happening for the first time in Massachusetts this year. It doesn’t start until October 24, though, and most of it is during business hours (in my town, there’s one late Thursday, and a Saturday where they’ll have early voting at multiple locations). I’m tempted to go do it just to see how the process goes and if they’re prepared for the demand; if there are four-hour lines there’s always Election Day, where my local polling place is usually not a big problem.
I voted on October 3. That was the third day one could vote in Illinois, and to do it I had to do a 20-mile round trip drive to the county seat, but hey, life is uncertain, especially when you’re almost 80 (two months to go), and I wanted to be sure my vote would count. (Even though if Illinois is in play, the election must be a disaster.)
The state laws specifically state that you can’t get a cigar or beer for voting, but I’m pretty sure they don’t mention churros.
I voted already, by mail, on the California 6 foot long mega-ballot. Initiatives smanitiatives – special interests up the whazoo.
Well-earned churros, my good sir.
We’ll be voting next Thursday in the town hall (MA), since the spousal unit has the day off. This Thursday will consist of paying bills and getting my flu shot, also in the town hall.
I’ve already mailed in my ballot, with all of those propositions bemoaned by other CA voters above. My partner chooses to go in person on Election Day as part of a multigenerational value of civic duty. I don’t get the sticker, but I now know how I will reward myself. Churros for all!
Check your voting materials CWilliams–I’m a CA vote by mail voter, I got a sticker along with my ballot, wearing it today because I earned it. Maybe different counties do it differently though.
Man, I’m jealous! You got to vote early AND have churros. I’m not sure which I’m more jealous of. I’m in the middle of Michigan where there is no early voting and not a churro to be found.
We get two hours paid to go vote, so I’m taking off early on the 8th – I love going to the polls on Election Day. After that, my neighbors and I walk across the street to the diner and have pie.
@gnw: thanks for the heads-up…I’ll do that. Maybe I’ll get both the sticker and the churros.
My county’s government website has a list of early voting locations, but it seems to be a free-for-all — like as long as you live in the county, you can vote at any of the county’s early voting locations. Which makes me wonder what even is the point of making people go to specific polling places on one specific day? Is there a smaller number of election-day polling places than there is of early voting locations?
Also, damn, you can totally stalk people through public voting database thingies, what the heckety.
Texas doesn’t start “early” voting until the 24th..gah! I guess we’re more fortunate than some red states.
I don’t think they have churros here…hmm…not in San Antonio anyway…Maybe Austin.
Jealous. I really wish Pennsylvania would allow early voting. Standing in line for hours is in my near future. This is one of those times that I wish states weren’t granted the ability to have their own laws. Early voting should be allowed nationwide.
I’ve got my California absentee ballot, and I’ll fill it out as soon as I read through the Official Voter Information Guide, which runs 224 pages. Should be done in mid December.
I voted last week in South Carolina (absentee ballot but accomplished on a machine at the county building), as did my wife and neighbor. We all had the same reaction – it was exquisitely liberating. The glow lasted for hours.
I can vote as early as Saturday in DC if I go down to 1 Judiciary Square; but it’ll be easier if I wait till Friday the 28th, when I can vote at the local community center in Ward 3. Not that there’s any issue as to the result; DC is about 87% Democratic by registration.
Now I want churros. No voting for me (in Canada).
Slacker.
We took care of that last week.
In Australia many of the polling booths are at schools and they tend to put on a sausage sizzle on the day. Raises money for the schools and… plus… democracy sausages!
But John–the last debate is tonight!!
WHAT IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND?!
(Snicker/snort…)
KFL
HA! That was awesome.
Is that whipped cream with chocolate drizzle on your churro plate? Is it atop a mound of yellow butter? How luxuriously degenerate is Ohio?
I suspect the yellow is very high butter-fat ice cream.
@Joel: In Australia many of the polling booths are at schools and they tend to put on a sausage sizzle on the day. Raises money for the schools and… plus… democracy sausages!
Hey, the American presidency has been a sausage-fest forever. We’re looking to fix that, although it’s further down the agenda than “not electing Fascist Bozo the Clown”.
Hafte would be proud of you……
…To be clear it would be for voting. Although I doubt she’d disagree with the choice of churros either.
“You have chosen…wisely.”
Early voting doesn’t start here in Maryland until Thursday the 27th, and I’ll be there that day or the next. There is a restaurant around here somewhere that has churros, I just don’t remember where.
I am all for Churros for Voting. I am pretty sure if this were instituted nationwide, voter participation would go to 100%.
I’d rather wait until the day itself – this is a small town, lines just don’t happen much, and the whole going to the polling place ritual appeals to me. And I’m already planning my taco dinner after I get off work. I don’t know if I can get churros around here but I might have to ask around!
Early voting started in my municipality on September 26 and is offered six or seven days per week at city hall, most library locations, the city streets division office and assorted other locations. This is despite the efforts of our state legislators, who tried desperately and unsuccessfully to ramrod through provisions to limit early voting statewide to weekdays, no evening hours, and only the final two weeks before the election.
Spouse and I voted weeks ago. Elder kid voted this past Saturday. Younger kid, who lives in a less enlightened community where early voting just started this week, is juggling his schedule to take a long lunch break on Friday to go vote. My sibling, who lives in the same city as my younger kid, plans to vote tomorrow.
Because you know, life is just uncertain. And there’s no sense putting off to next month what can be done today.
Australia here; I voted in my local election the other day, but alas no churros for me.
May I second the recommendation for the Democracy Sausage?
It’s an Australian tradition, because the vast majority of our polling places are school halls or school libraries, and our elections happen on Saturdays (when the classes aren’t in session). So a lot of school P & C groups get together and run a sausage sizzle, or a cake stall, on election day. You go in, you vote, you come out, you get your Democracy Sausage (about $5, plus a can of fizzy drink), or you can buy a cake or biscuit or something. Raises money for the school, and while we don’t have the whole “encourage people to vote” thing happening here (yay, compulsory turnout), it does mean there’s something to compensate folks for having to stand around in the weather (which is inevitably at least one of: too hot; too cold; too wet; too sunny; or too windy for comfort).
The coming of the internet has meant there’s now websites which track these events, and let you know which of the polling places nearest you is having such things happen, and gives a rough idea of the menus available and so on. Even works over our tin-cans-and-string NBN, which is great!
It looks like October 24th is the popular day to begin pre-voting. I’m torn between early voting, which means I would have to make a trip to the other side of the island at my leisure, or actually voting on Election Day. Churros are extra, but we do get the day off, which I will likely celebrate by beginning the replacement of my carport’s support pillars.
Love early voting! Maricopa County (AZ) already reports that my mail in ballot has been received back AND counted.
Haven’t voted cause it’s such a breeze and a pleasure to vote in my town on election day.
But how about that debate, huh?
After living in the UK for a few years and voting in a couple of elections there, I concluded that the Aus/NZ tradition of Saturday polling with a sausage sizzle was much more sensible.
I only wish New York had early voting.
No early voting in MJ, alas. I’ll be going on what I now call ‘taco tuesday’ to vote… and perhaps have a taco salad afterwards!
Argh. NJ not MJ
We can make new t shirts now with madam presidents face and ” Who does that!” On the back. Take away line from the debate.
I’m skipping classes to make sure that I vote on the 8th. I can’t morally allow a treacherous, un-American threat to the very fabric of our democracy like the septic mound of human waste called Donald Trump to win this election. I just can’t. I’m still in shock after that godawful shitshow of a debate.
Taking November 8th off of work to vote (and get a physical). The polling place is an elementary school about 5 minutes walk from home.
Two spoons? May we assume you shared with either Kristine or Athena? Or has the election been such a trial you needed to eat churros and ice cream with both hands?
I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a churro. What’s that yellow and white stuff? Churro dip?
Spoilsport! You are deliberately attempting to take all of the fun out of this.
Hell, with voting early you might even miss the Zombie Apocalypse. Well, maybe just the chance to ask the True believers what flavor of Kool-Aid you should avoid or maybe seek out.
“Pat Munson-Siter says:
OCTOBER 20, 2016 AT 7:14 AM
Argh. NJ not MJ”
I was wondering what state that was and had my mind set to pack my bags to move! :)
I love the Ohio voting stickers so much. I moved to Minnesota and haven’t voted yet but I can’t imagine they’re anywhere near as awesome.
I did my voting yesterday afternoon. My husband called me in the afternoon and said “One of my students cancelled; we can go now if you’re ready” and I said “I’ve been working in the shop but I’ll throw on clean clothes while you drive back here and we’ll go.”
I was expecting it to be quiet but we had to stand in line to vote, and while I was showing my ID one of the poll workers glanced at the security cameras and said “Hey, the line doesn’t extend out the door anymore; we’re doing good.”
So I think I was not the only one who said “Oh hell no; I’m done and I’ll vote now thanks.”
Martin, the stickers I’ve always gotten in MN are just a generic red circle that says “I voted.” So you’re right, they are on the un-awesome end of the sticker spectrum.
I voted on Tuesday — I have to go to work before the polls open on Election Day, and tend to get last-minute “can you work overtime” calls on a semi-regular basis, so I prefer early voting just in case.
No churros, but I did treat myself to a pizza and Caesar salad.
I usually vote in person, though sometimes I’ve driven to the county office for early voting. The polling place is about a mile away, a few blocks past the taco truck. (Nearest churros are probably at Costco, but I’ve never been that impressed with churros, unlike my wife who had them as a kid in LA.)
California’s ballot is extra-messy this year, plus I really need to do more research on the two Senate candidates (both Democrats, because of CA’s top-two primary system, and the one I used to prefer started going off the rails in the recent past.)
Wait, there are churros in Ohio now?!
Maybe the Songwriter is right. Maybe it is time to move home.
Voted this morning; sealed, signed (order of operations important here!), and collected, and I trust in our Postal Service, that great federal institution, that it shall be delivered. I believe I’ll have some ice cream tonight to celebrate.