This is something that I believe is inherent in all software engineers.  Here is a short list of some possible solutions to help make the voting process in Missouri run more smoothly.

1. Provide a week or more to cast your vote.  This can be either through a mail-in ballot, or by keeping some of the polls open for a week.  I am willing to pay a couple dollars more a year just so that everyone can vote.

2. Put a sign at the end of the line to estimate how much time it will take to reach the front of the line.  It would say, 1 hour to the front of line, and maybe 30 minutes to the front in the middle of the line.

3. Have more polling places.  We had two precincts in the same polling place that I used today, we could have separated them into two different polling locations.

4. If you are going to offer paper ballots offer good pens to use instead of small little pencils.  Voting with a pencil these days seems odd to me.  Fortunately I had brought a good pen.

5. Offer seating throughout the line, or allow elderly people to have a separate line that goes faster.  I do not think we should make elderly people have to wait in these long lines, it is disenfranchising to do so.

6. Provide enough space to vote.  I voted on the floor because there wasn't enough space.  Other people were voting on walls.  This should never happen, we should all have a desk and plenty of space to vote.

 

My plan is to do something about this.  I do not like to sit on possible solutions, so I will in the least contact my elections board and offer these suggestions.  I would like to pursue point 1 above, so that we allow everyone in the state ample time to vote.

 

Here is a list of the favorite songs of McCain and Obama