Election Woes
*Cover photo is of Ben Raffensperger, the Secretary of State of Georgia, photo credit: Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP
I just want to know if anyone else has had as much of a headache as I have had with TRYING TO JUST VOTE. I presume not, because I’m currently out of the country, but now that EVERYONE in Georgia is being encouraged to vote in via absentee, I figured I would tell a little story about all the craziness and deadlines and lack of information that I have gone through. Think of it as a primer/timeline/guide/rant about voting - whether or not it be in the time of the Pandemic of ‘20 - as many of the issues I have faced here were pre-COVID. The pandemic has just magnified the inadequacies of our current system.
*A note about 2020 election dates. First, I’ll stick with pre-COVID-19 times:
March 24: Original Presidential Preference Primary (PPP) election
* must register 180 days before the election date, which for a March 24 election, the earliest date to register for absentee ballot was September 26, 2019
May 19: Original local/state election, also known as the General Primary Election
* 180 days prior to May 19, the earliest date to register for an absentee ballot was November 21, 2019
—BEGIN TIMELINE—
November 22, 2019: Armed with the above knowledge, I decided to make it easier on myself and the DeKalb election office by registering for both elections at the same time. So, I filled out 2 absentee applications, 1 for each election, and e-mailed both PDFs to voterreg@dekalbcountyga.gov on November 22, 2019. A friendly woman, Shari Hillman, replied that she had submitted my applications to the Absentee Department. Glenda Woods, the Election Coordinator for Voter Registration and Elections, then responded from absenteeballot@dekalbcountyga.gov. She told me to choose a party for both elections, that the “checkmark” box on the application form was not checked. I had checked them (and double-checked that I checked it) but it must have been an Adobe compatibility issue. Regardless, I informed her of my party choice, she thanked me, and that was that. (*Note: I know someone who had the same issue in Fulton County, where the checked box didn’t show up, but just in case, he wrote his party choice in the e-mail body. Regardless, he received no response and later found out through the My Voter Page website (mvp.sos.ga.gov) that his absentee application had been denied due to no party affiliation. Again, this was pre-coronavirus, back in December.)
Copy of my e-mail to the DeKalb Voter Registration Office on November 22.
February 4: Earliest date (49 days before the election) to submit absentee ballot for the PPP election on March 24.
*Note: mailed absentee ballot deadline is 4 days before the election (March 20). I think it must be received by this date, not just postmarked, but not certain about that.
February 8: Absentee ballot arrived for the PPP election on March 24.
—CORONAVIRUS HAPPENS/GETS BAD IN GEORGIA (first confirmed case in Georgia occurred on March 2)—
Announced on March 14 (10 days before PPP election): PPP pushed to same date as local/state election for a combined ballot: May 19 (Does this make the original March 20 deadline moot?)
Announced on March 24: the Secretary of State will be mailing absentee ballots to all registered Georgia voters (presumably, this also means those half million who have already registered absentee).
*The SoS office did not begin mailing out absentee forms to all 6.9 million registered Georgia voters until April 20, nearly a month later.
March 31: Earliest date (49 days before the election) to submit absentee ballot for the PPP election on May 19.
*Note: mailed absentee ballot deadline is 4 days before the election (May 15), again, not certain about this.
April 9: I receive the abovementioned absentee application (sent to all registered voters) in the mail for the election on May 19. *Note: I still received this even though I was already registered.
Also announced on April 9 (67 days before combined election): Both PPP and local/station election pushed back again to June 9 (Does this make both the original March 20 and May 15 deadlines moot?)
* earliest day to submit a filled-out ballot for the June 9 election is April 21.
April 18: filled out and mailed the original absentee ballot for the original March 24 election (because why not, even though it might be moot), and just in case, also filled out and mailed the application for absentee voting for the June 9 election (because why not, even though I’m already registered, who knows, they could have decided to throw the old one out).
April 20: Secretary of State office began mailing absentee ballot registrations to all registered voters, nearly a month after their announcement to do so, and weeks after the SoS had already announced an additional postponement of the election to be June 9.
April 21: again, earliest date (49 days before election) to submit absentee ballot for the combined election on June 9.
April 29: my absentee ballot for the postponed May 19 election arrived in the mail (will this even count if I fill it out?).
May 11: last day to register to vote absentee and still be able to vote on June 9 (I already registered (more than enough times), info just FYI).
June 5: my absentee ballot must be received by this date (4 days before the June 9 election)
So, I am left with these questions:
Does the original March 24 election ballot I filled out even count? In a word, it seems like “no.” The earliest date I could have returned it was the same day I received it, on February 8. Presidential candidates were dropping like flies, so I wanted to hold on to my ballot as long as possible and vote for a realistic nominee. (Now, unfortunately, we are down to 1 democratic candidate, so my logic for this is moot). This meant that I was still holding onto it when the Secretary of State announced the postponement of the March 24 election. If that hadn’t happened, I would have mailed it around March 16 to give it time to arrive by the March 20 deadline. Instead, I held on to it. What do I do with it? Do I just go ahead and fill it out and send it in anyway? That’s what I ended up doing, according to the AJC, anything arriving past March 24 will not be counted, and the only thing that will count will be on the new ballot. As of March 24, nearly 30,000 ballots for the PPP had yet to be returned (mine included).
Why did the Secretary of State mail out absentee registration forms to ALL of Georgia’s 7.2 million registered voters? By March 2, 14,000 absentee voters had mailed in ballots for the March 24 PPP, and as of March 24, an additional 30,000 ballots had yet to be returned (as mentioned above, I was in this category). No word on how many absentee ballots were mailed back between those two dates. If absolutely none, the max amount of absentee ballots that had at some point been mailed to voters was at least 44,000; but likely many more. Now all 44,000 (+) registered absentee voters are being sent the same paperwork (like me) and are likely just as confused about it as I am. If they ignore it because they’ve already registered, will their previous registration be canceled? Does everyone need to register again? I can’t find any sources that answer this question.
What is the difference between an in-person “early” vote and an in-person “absentee” vote? Are they the same? Different sources call these different things. I was always under the impression that early voting was in-person and that absentee was …not in-person. But some sources say there are two types of absentee: absentee mail and absentee in-person. Huh?
If it was announced on April 9 that the May 19 election would be postponed until June 9, then why were absentee registration forms sent out on April 20 for the now-obsolete May 19 election? It seems like that would have been adequate time to change the absentee registration form to say “for the election on June 9” rather than what is currently says, “for the election on May 19” to avoid mass confusion:
Application for absentee ballot for the May 19 election. Sent out on April 20, more than a week after the announcement that the election would be postponed until June 9. (Note circled date at top left of application form.)
4. Why can’t the election calendar be more clear? Much of the information on the Election Calendar page on the Georgia Secretary of State website is for people who want to run for office. That’s fine, but it garbles information that is only pertinent to the voter. Further, there are no deadlines listed for the mail-in ballot (e.g., the 4 days prior to the election deadline). I had to find that deadline on another, non-governmental website. It should definitely be listed here as well. Below, I have edited the document to list additional information in purple text.
And I haven’t even BEGUN to dig in to the ridiculousness of the new ballot itself. I’ll save that one for next time.
Galápagos: Puerto Ayora
*storm-petrel cover photo by Athene Blakeman
We made landing on the other side of Santa Cruz island from where we last were (Cerro Dragon). We arrived on the solid ground of Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the Galápagos at around 12,000 people. It is also home to multiple giant tortoise breeding programs, including at the Charles Darwin Research Station. We had the day to wander the town, find internet (!) (we had no wifi on the boat), go to a corner store, and generally have a little freedom from the normally active itinerary.
A very unique Catholic church with beautiful stained class and murals — on Av. Charles Darwin nonetheless. And of course, it is no surprise to see St. Francis on the right side, the patron saint of animals (and namesake of the Franciscan order, of which this church is a member). Note the tortoise on the left looking over to him with curiosity, or longing?
A peek inside the church.
Some of the architecture on Ave Charles Darwin.
Iguanas are so nonchalant, and can rest anywhere they like without worrying about people bugging them.
At the fish market, where sea lions begged for scraps like dogs!
Looking out onto Academy Bay.
A bust of Darwin on the way to the research institute.
Up next: a trip to see the amazing Galápagos tortoises!
Galápagos: Cerro Dragon
As we made our way from Chinese Hat to Dragon Hill (so named (I hope) because of its large colony of mini dragons: land iguanas!), we first passed by this insane crater island called Bainbridge Rocks. The ocean water is cut off from the lagoon, so it is a very safe spot for pink flamingos to rest.
Image from AmusingPlant.com
We crept up to the rocks as close as our boat could safely go, then peering over the edge, we saw a flock of flamingos! They are those pink things on the far shore of the lagoon. Zoom in if you can! (And don’t worry, I got much closer to flamingos later on in the trip.) What an amazing oasis!
Next, we zipped onto Cerro Dragon, which has the only colony of land iguanas on all of Santa Cruz island.
Do you see the iguana in the above image? In the center? They blend in so well that I often did see them until I was right next to them.
Great blue heron!
The salt water lagoon with tons of birdlife.
Dried salt from the lagoon that you sometimes see iguanas lickin’ up.
I would hide under the shade of that bush too.
Galápagos: Sombrero Chino
A typical day on the boat went something like this:
On this particular day, our first stop was at Sombrero Chino (“China hat” in English), so named because the old remains of the volcanic cone taper upward and stop at a plateau, looking very similar to the shape of a …Chinese hat.
This is one of the best places in the Galápagos to see marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus). There are innumerable individuals on this particular island (I’m sure someone has tried to numerate it, but it’s not easy enough to find!). The landscape is that of a barren, hot, lava field. Marine iguanas eat mainly underwater plant life. They can survive underwater for longer than other iguanas — up to an hour! They can dive 15 or so feet to the bottom and then using their claws to cling to the rocks while they eat algae. They take in a lot of sea water when they swim. They have a clever adaptation to deal with the excess salt - they store it in a special sac behind their sinuses and then sneeze out the salt, expelling it from their system. It’s not uncommon to see a lot of marine iguanas lazing around together, casually blowing salt water out of their noses. Here’s a link to an excellent video of the sneezing: https://youtu.be/6G6ZL0fbLHQ.
Below is my own video of a colony of sun-basking iguanas.
The top of the sombrero in the background, Paola in the foreground.
Lava fields and “hornitos” (little ovens) cover the landscape.
Far in the background, you can see a mountain peak tall enough to create its own weather:
Looking out from Sombrero Chino over to Isla Santa Fe.
Do you spy the penguin??!!
And, finally, a few more snorkeling videos of white-tipped reef sharks and swimming penguins!
Next up: Cerro Dragon
Galápagos: Snorkeling pt. II
Enjoy this compilation of videos from our time snorkeling! We snorkeled almost everyday, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Galápagos: Isla Santa Fe
*cover photo by Athene Blakeman.
Our next stop on Day 2 was Barrington Bay, a beautiful little bay on the coast of Santa Fe Island. As soon as we entered the bay on the pangas, we were greeted by a group of sting rays!
The Archipel II centers the frame!
The best part about Barrington Bay was its huge colony of endangered Galápagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki). As soon as we got there, a curious and territorial male began parking at us from across the beach, running in and out of the water and swimming back and forth. There were also so many sea lion pups!
A word about how close I seem to be to the pup: We were instructed to maintain a 2m radius around the animals. Despite our diligence, sometimes animals were unavoidably close. This sea lion and many others nearby were parked right in the middle of the walking path. They didn’t seem to mind our presence (which is another fascinating side note about the Galápagos wildlife - they allow such close proximity in large part due to their lack of predators), so we carefully did our best to circumvent them. And camera zoom helps a lot too.
See the lizard on the baby sea lion to the right and another lizard on a rock above the adult sea lion to the left? As these sea lions sleep and lounge, they are ravaged by flies. The lava lizard is a mutualist with the sea lions (and other creatures), whereby lizards hop up on top of the sea lions and catch flies, so it’s not uncommon sight to see so many lava lizards nearby sleeping lions.
Getting some use out of my new Moment macro lens for my iPhone.
Lava lizard! I made friends with this one. Flies were swarming on me and as I swatted them, the lava lizard would immediately pluck them from the ground. I was closely watched.
Hermit crab! I love the pattern it makes in the sand.
At the end of the day, coming back onto the boat with these guys was a treat. Our brilliant naturalist guide, Paola, is 2nd to right. (And she’s starting a PhD program at Arizona State this fall!)
Because I would find things like this on my bed — a ray with my glasses and little chocolates for eyes.
It doesn’t get much better than this.
Galápagos: Isla Plaza Sur
Isla Plaza Sur, Isla Santa Cruz
On the second day, we traveled from Isla San Cristóbal to Isla Plaza Sur, a small island off the coast of the larger Isla Santa Cruz (there is also an Isla Plaza Norte, but it’s off-limits to humans).
Each day began with a nearby walk. We would hop on the pangas (aka “little boats” in Spanish, another word for a dinghy), and zoom up to a beach or a rocky outcrop, and then spend an hour or more roaming the island with Paola as our guide. I tried to write down as much as I possibly could to varying degrees of success.
The Galápagos are a series of volcanic islands, and the islands in the west of the archipelago are younger than the islands to the east. The Galápagos are relatively young, geologically speaking, arising around 5 million years ago. As species from the mainland began to colonize the different islands by air or by sea, populations diverged from their ancestral groups. Some of the western-most islands, which have the most volcanic activity, may be only hundreds of thousands of years old. As islands formed, animals and plants continued to move westward. Many of the species on each island are closely related to others in the Galápagos, but they have subtle differences.
(click on the below maps to make them bigger)
Land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus). This small island of Isla Plaza Sur is one of the best places in all of the Galápagos to see land iguanas.
The top left image shows a number of land iguana burrows. During his voyage to the Galápagos, Darwin wrote,
We could not for some time find a spot free from their burrows on which to pitch our single tent. (Darwin, 1839, “Voyage of the Beagle”)
A project by researchers and volunteers from the Darwin Research Institute. They are attempting to grow a field prickly pear cacti, which used to be abundant on this island. The cacti are vulnerable until a certain age, which is why there are cages around them to prevent predation by land iguanas.
Oh, and remember that owl from the previous Galápagos birds post? The Galápagos short-eared owl (Asio flammeus ssp. galapagoensis) staring into your soul?
Well, you can tell when one has been around when you see wings of other birds on the ground. Almost as though the body disappeared and left the wings perfectly in place. They grab their prey, typically an unsuspecting shearwater bird, and devour everything but the wings, as shown below.
Galápagos: Isla San Cristóbal
Now that I have the time, I am going to start a series of posts from the Galápagos tour, which was back in January!
—
Upon arrival to the San Cristóbal Airport near Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (the capital of the Galápagos) on the Isla de San Cristóbal, we met our guide Paola and were shuttled to the dock, hopped on a dinghy, and scuttled to our home for the next week: Archipel II (yes, there is an Archipel I, but it’s just “Archipel”). It was a lovely little catamaran that housed about 15 of us at a time, plus the crew. We all came from North America or Europe. And most others had excellent cameras, including Athene Blakeman, whose photos I will mention when I post them but it’s probably going to be quite obvious.
Like this one, the Galápagos yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia aureola), taken by Athene:
The flight into Isla San Cristóbal. This is the northeast side of the island.
My bunk on the boat!
A view of the bay of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.
sunset
The top deck! Many naps were had here.
Lava lizard! Get ready to see a lot of these cuties. Photo by Athene Blakeman.
Galápagos sea lion swimming! Photo by Athene Blakeman.
