SOLVED!

Sakebomb

I work as a full-time National Guardsman. My boss is releasing people from the office at 3:30 if they havent voted yet, he says he's going to run a query to make sure they actually used the extra time to go vote. He says he has "connections"

Personally I think he's full of shit. What does the forum think?

Rend

Scare tactics! But actually use the time to vote, because voting is good for the soul.

stratslinger

Seconded - voting is anonymous and impossible to "query." Also, it's very very important - do it now!!! Depending on your polling place, it may not even take much time. I was in and out of the polls in under 10 minutes this morning. Maybe under 5.

Sakebomb

I took advantage of early voting myself.
I just thought what he said was in very poor taste.

RUNN1NGMAN

Who you voted for is anonymous. However, whether you voted or not is public record. Anyone can go to a town/city/county records office and ask for a list of every person who cast a ballot in a given election, and I'm sure that if you had a specific person you were interested in, you could find out which elections they cast ballots in. Also, if you vote in a primary election, and therefore have to vote on one party's ballot or another, anyone can find out what party you are voting for.

Septus

Yeah, I definitely remember using a database that listed everyone who had cast a ballot in a republican primary.

CoJoeTheLawyer

That or he may know the person in charge at your local polling place, so if you don't show up, he'll know...

Rubick

Even if your boss would pull the list of people who cast a ballot in an election, can he narrow down the day and time you voted? Since you early voted and your ballot has been cast, would you be good to go (unless, as noted above, he's staking out your polling location)?

Sakebomb

Rubick wrote: »

Even if your boss would pull the list of people who cast a ballot in an election, can he narrow down the day and time you voted? Since you early voted and your ballot has been cast, would you be good to go (unless, as noted above, he's staking out your polling location)?

Well since I voted early, I get to stay in my cubicle and work a full 10 hour shift.....

MrIamMe

Hey here in Australia they take our weekend away from us to vote.

You should count yourself lucky they give you time off work - most of us who work sats have to go vote after works over and stand in queue for an hour or so.

Kate of Lokys

I think you have a constitutional right to be granted time off work to go vote. In many states, you even have the right to be compensated for your time off.

You do not, however, have any sort of right to try to game the system by claiming time off when you've already voted. Maybe your boss does know somebody at the polling station, maybe he plans on pulling the voting records after the fact, maybe he's just trying to convince people that cheating isn't worth it. Either way, I highly recommend that you just deal with having to work your regular shift instead of trying to find a way out of it. Losing the goodwill of your employer by getting caught lying to his face isn't worth a couple of hours off work.

Pure Din

A few weeks ago I was asked to participate in a study about how many people say they vote and how many actually vote. At the end of the survey it said that the researchers would look us up later to see if we actually voted. So I guess they could really do it.

RUNN1NGMAN

Pure Din wrote: »

A few weeks ago I was asked to participate in a study about how many people say they vote and how many actually vote. At the end of the survey it said that the researchers would look us up later to see if we actually voted. So I guess they could really do it.

I read a study a couple weeks ago in which one of the experimental groups got a mailing that listed all their neighbors and said which ones had voted, and also said that the same thing would be mailed out after the election. Apparently, almost everyone in that particular group voted :P

Jobastion

Kate of Lokys wrote: »

I think you have a constitutional right to be granted time off work to go vote. In many states, you even have the right to be compensated for your time off.

On a related note: No constitutional right. Many states rights. Some states suck.

Florida. I'm looking at you.D:

And google maps linked a cool thing today from find law what that shows the states color coded by what your rights are to skip out on work on election day, with more details here - http://www.findlaw.com/voting-rights-law.html

Sakebomb

Kate of Lokys wrote: »

I think you have a constitutional right to be granted time off work to go vote. In many states, you even have the right to be compensated for your time off.

You do not, however, have any sort of right to try to game the system by claiming time off when you've already voted. Maybe your boss does know somebody at the polling station, maybe he plans on pulling the voting records after the fact, maybe he's just trying to convince people that cheating isn't worth it. Either way, I highly recommend that you just deal with having to work your regular shift instead of trying to find a way out of it. Losing the goodwill of your employer by getting caught lying to his face isn't worth a couple of hours off work.

I never had any intention of lying to my employers face. I thought he overstepped his authority in a distasteful way by telling us he was going to pull voting records. I also feel that it was unfair that me and one other person (who also made the time to go vote early) were stuck holding down the fort. It wouldve been better for him to just release the entire office at the same time instead of probing everyone individually. The boss lost points from me on that one.
BUT thats all beside the point.
I was really just curious if individual voting records are public knowledge. Thanks to RUNN1NGMAN.


LOCKAROO!!!