Two years ago we had to provide our Drivers License & sign next to our name in a book..YES it designated our party affiliation. After signing they gave me a voter number which was entered next to my name. Then I got i line. When I got to the machine to vote, the poll worker put in an oversized flash drive, entered my voter number, explained how to use, & walked away so I could vote in private. There were NO voting booths…just every voting machine separated far enough apart that it would be difficult to see the next person’s vote.
This time, they didn’t have a book.They had a laptop positioned so I couldn’t see the screen. I think they etered my DL number on the computer. They kept a list on a sheet of paper with your Voter Number & name & I had to sign out next to it. After that everything remained the same as before. What concerns me is that by following my Voter Number throughout the process including ID’ing my particular recording mechanism, they are keeping track of exactly how I voted. It is NO longer a private vote…it’s ALL recorded. IF at any point, a politician decided to become a dictator, they would have access to exactly WHO did or did NOT vote for them & could easily punish those who voted against them!!!
Even worse, with ALL the crap going on with our governor’s race, I discovered today that they keep a record of ALL names & addresses by county which they sell for $50 per county or $250 for the entire state. They claim that they do NOT give out SSN’s, DL numbers, & party affiliation…just names & addresses. That bothers me MORE than them keeping a record of how I voted. I spend a LOT of time protecting my privacy & for the state to sell my info to anyone with $50…WITHOUT my permission really burns me up!!!