Maggie's Farm

Voted today since NJ does not have in-person voting.  Here are my thoughts.
Let's just say I was careful to read the instructions. And while it's not hard to do - it is NOT easy either.
In other words, I fully expect to see some large percentage of the elderly vote just fall off the map in NJ. Or be manipulated as they request assistance.
I was careful - and I could easily have made mistakes.

Some examples of where errors may occur:
1.Wrong color pen. Blue and black only. But there are 3 different instruction sets. The most useful part of the instruction set is the pictures...which are for the easiest part of the process - filling the circles and putting it in the envelope. I noticed it said nothing about pen color, which I'd read was an ongoing issue. But there were instructions about the pen color...on a small slip that has "IMPORTANT" on the top of it and then a list of additional instructions. Seems to me, it would be useful to have that pen color information on the part about filling in circles.  Maybe I expect too much from people.
2. A mistake I almost made was tearing off the certification slip. There is a dotted line across it, at the top. I almost tore it off on the dotted line to put in the envelope then noticed it said "Do Not Tear". So I looked around and found the 3rd set of instructions, which explains you just fill out the certification and leave it on. So WHY is there a dotted tearing line there? No idea...definitely misleading.
3. Signatures.  There are several places for signatures.  There is only one for yours, as the voter.  But if someone assists you, or transports it, they must sign it as well.   Which makes some sense, but could theoretically mean some get disqualified if they forget or ignore this.
4. Signature.  I was assured my signature will be checked to verify and avoid a false vote.  Except my signature on record is 26 years old...and my signature is not the same today.  I get away with that in-person as the people at the voting booth know me.  Some schlub in our vote verification center does not.

I don't need to go further. The reality is that mail-in is trouble waiting to happen.  In addition, the box is at the county center (you can use regular mail if you choose, but I can walk to the county center and I don't trust USPS) and while there is a video camera trained on the box, do you really think that's enough? Some sketchy guy (I know who he was and have seen him around town...but why he was at the box was beyond my comprehension) was hanging out there, just staring at it when we arrived.
I do not like, nor do I trust, the mail-in process. It is designed for fraud. I will not be at all surprised to hear many complaints.

The town square in Jackson (for what it's worth, the town is Jackson and Jackson Hole is the surrounding region leading up to the Tetons), has entrances adorned with elk antler arches.  Every year the Boy Scouts go to the elk refuge and collect antlers.  The story of the elk is both interesting and contentious.  They should just pass through but growth of the town has blocked migration routes, and a bad winter many years ago trapped them in the valley.  So many died it was said you couldn't walk without stepping on them.  Originally, a privately funded rescue was created and the elk were fed in the area.  Now it is a National Refuge and they are fed there every winter.  It is a mixed blessing...and one which has detractors on both sides.  An unnatural state of affairs but a great tourist opportunity. 

 (more below the fold)

Just going to post a few pictures of my vacation, an off-season visit to Montana, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons.  We had to leave 2 days early due to snow, but it was still one of the best trips we've had as a family.  Lots of hiking.  Lots of driving.  Lots of steak.  Flew into Bozeman, drove down through Red Lodge and stopped at Cody.  Nice towns to visit. We had to skip Livingston, too much snow and the road condition reports were not good.  The next day, the drive from Cody to Yellowstone is magnificent, and we did it in the snow, again.  Pictures of our Yellowstone Welcome Wagon below.  Saw Old Faithful (the boys were underwhelmed, but it did go off right at the time we were told it would).

Spent 2 days in Jackson, hiked the Tetons and met some moose.  No squirrel.  Definitely need to return and do more hiking there.  Amphitheater Lake looks wonderful, and the hike to 9,000 feet isn't horrible.

Drove through Idaho, where we ran into a cattle drive in Rexburg, to West Yellowstone.  A tourist town, but in the offseason it has a charm all its own.  Spent another day hiking and taking pictures of geothermal activity, waterfalls, and ran into Wile E. Coyote on a short hike to Clear Lake (which is really quite green and smells like sulphur). 

The weather in Yellowstone changes on a whim.  We had fog, rain, clear skies and snow all in a 5 hour period.    The first few snow storms were pretty mild.  Unfortunately, the snow kept getting worse.  When 4 inches fell, the park closed and a larger storm was on the way.  So we changed the flights and headed home.  It was the right decision.  Bozeman got 10 inches on Saturday, and we would have had to drive in that snow...

Some pictures below the fold, more to follow...