Should a bill be introduced to remove voting booths from Churches

[shiner]

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
If there's a civic center and a church, use the civic center, if not, there's no real problem with the church. Here in Canada, most of the polling places seem to be schools, but that might just be my experience, and it might not be done in the US, I don't know.

I unnderstand .. and I am guessing that 99% of areas that held voting in churches could have used a school instead.

Voting is usually on a Tuesday...schools just happen to be open on Tuesday. Soooo....buy having the school be a polling place you end up disrupting the school. Happened in my precinct......one year they moved voting to the school because the church that is the normal polling place had been flooded the week before by a water line break. The end result......they disrupted the school due to the voting taking place there. The school administration vowed to never let it happen again after many kids and parents complained.

Was this in a really small rural area?

Why can't they use just the school gymnasium.. no need to close the school for that.

No.

That's what they did, but it disrupted the gym classes, the cheerleading practice, wrestling practice, basketball practice, and various other things...

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: shinerburke
Why? Oh lemme guess....separation of church and state right? Well gee......if that's the reason I suggest you look up what that really means.

Here's a hint....it's about the Federal Govt setting up an official state religion...nothing more....nothing less......all the other arguments are nothing more than mental masturbation.

Is the President a "religious man" and what religion does he follow?

I wonder what Christians would do if they were forced to vote in a mosque?


In this election we had one candidate who would like to overturn Roe V Wade and one candidate who was pro-choice

We had Catholics coming out and saying you cannot be a Catholic if you vote for kerry

Irrelevant to this discussion

I know of at least one precinct around here where that is the case. The polling place is a Mosque, didn't hear anyone raising hell about it. Try again......

Irrelevant to this discussion

I have friends who are Catholic and feel that way about Kerry. Why? Because he claims to be a Catholic yet he holds many views which are contrary to that religion. Gee....imagine that.....he was trying to play both sides.

Gee ... imagine that Bush claims he is a Christian and yet he attacked Iraq when unprovoked... isn't that definitely against Christian Morals? (many of which I happen to be in agreement with)

 

[gutharius]

Why risk an influence? Seperate them.

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
If there's a civic center and a church, use the civic center, if not, there's no real problem with the church. Here in Canada, most of the polling places seem to be schools, but that might just be my experience, and it might not be done in the US, I don't know.

I unnderstand .. and I am guessing that 99% of areas that held voting in churches could have used a school instead.

Voting is usually on a Tuesday...schools just happen to be open on Tuesday. Soooo....buy having the school be a polling place you end up disrupting the school. Happened in my precinct......one year they moved voting to the school because the church that is the normal polling place had been flooded the week before by a water line break. The end result......they disrupted the school due to the voting taking place there. The school administration vowed to never let it happen again after many kids and parents complained.

Was this in a really small rural area?

Why can't they use just the school gymnasium.. no need to close the school for that.

No.

That's what they did, but it disrupted the gym classes, the cheerleading practice, wrestling practice, basketball practice, and various other things...

Those poor children.. Can't miss one day for the most important day for Americans?

 

[shiner]

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: shinerburke
Why? Oh lemme guess....separation of church and state right? Well gee......if that's the reason I suggest you look up what that really means.

Here's a hint....it's about the Federal Govt setting up an official state religion...nothing more....nothing less......all the other arguments are nothing more than mental masturbation.

Is the President a "religious man" and what religion does he follow?

I wonder what Christians would do if they were forced to vote in a mosque?


In this election we had one candidate who would like to overturn Roe V Wade and one candidate who was pro-choice

We had Catholics coming out and saying you cannot be a Catholic if you vote for kerry

Irrelevant to this discussion

I know of at least one precinct around here where that is the case. The polling place is a Mosque, didn't hear anyone raising hell about it. Try again......

Irrelevant to this discussion

I have friends who are Catholic and feel that way about Kerry. Why? Because he claims to be a Catholic yet he holds many views which are contrary to that religion. Gee....imagine that.....he was trying to play both sides.

Gee ... imagine that Bush claims he is a Christian and yet he attacked Iraq when unprovoked... isn't that definitely against Christian Morals? (many of which I happen to be in agreement with)

Irrelevant to this discussion

 

[shiner]

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
If there's a civic center and a church, use the civic center, if not, there's no real problem with the church. Here in Canada, most of the polling places seem to be schools, but that might just be my experience, and it might not be done in the US, I don't know.

I unnderstand .. and I am guessing that 99% of areas that held voting in churches could have used a school instead.

Voting is usually on a Tuesday...schools just happen to be open on Tuesday. Soooo....buy having the school be a polling place you end up disrupting the school. Happened in my precinct......one year they moved voting to the school because the church that is the normal polling place had been flooded the week before by a water line break. The end result......they disrupted the school due to the voting taking place there. The school administration vowed to never let it happen again after many kids and parents complained.

Was this in a really small rural area?

Why can't they use just the school gymnasium.. no need to close the school for that.

No.

That's what they did, but it disrupted the gym classes, the cheerleading practice, wrestling practice, basketball practice, and various other things...

Those poor children.. Can't miss one day for the most important day for Americans?

Why should they have to? My property taxes pay to keep that school open....that's what it should be used for.....school.

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
If there's a civic center and a church, use the civic center, if not, there's no real problem with the church. Here in Canada, most of the polling places seem to be schools, but that might just be my experience, and it might not be done in the US, I don't know.

I unnderstand .. and I am guessing that 99% of areas that held voting in churches could have used a school instead.

Voting is usually on a Tuesday...schools just happen to be open on Tuesday. Soooo....buy having the school be a polling place you end up disrupting the school. Happened in my precinct......one year they moved voting to the school because the church that is the normal polling place had been flooded the week before by a water line break. The end result......they disrupted the school due to the voting taking place there. The school administration vowed to never let it happen again after many kids and parents complained.

Was this in a really small rural area?

Why can't they use just the school gymnasium.. no need to close the school for that.

No.

That's what they did, but it disrupted the gym classes, the cheerleading practice, wrestling practice, basketball practice, and various other things...

Those poor children.. Can't miss one day for the most important day for Americans?

Why should they have to? My property taxes pay to keep that school open....that's what it should be used for.....school.

Irrelevant to this discussion -


the kids did not need to stay home.. just no P/E for a day.


Your property taxes are also higher because the Church doesn't have to pay any.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
If there's a civic center and a church, use the civic center, if not, there's no real problem with the church. Here in Canada, most of the polling places seem to be schools, but that might just be my experience, and it might not be done in the US, I don't know.

I unnderstand .. and I am guessing that 99% of areas that held voting in churches could have used a school instead.

Voting is usually on a Tuesday...schools just happen to be open on Tuesday. Soooo....buy having the school be a polling place you end up disrupting the school. Happened in my precinct......one year they moved voting to the school because the church that is the normal polling place had been flooded the week before by a water line break. The end result......they disrupted the school due to the voting taking place there. The school administration vowed to never let it happen again after many kids and parents complained.

Was this in a really small rural area?

Why can't they use just the school gymnasium.. no need to close the school for that.

Yeah, we parents just *love* it when hundreds of strangers walk in and out of our children's school all day. 😛

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: dahunan
[
What if the only place Kerry supporters were ALLOWED to vote in their precinct was at a Catholic Church?

You mean they would have to declare who they were voting for and then be send to a location based on that? That's not what's happening.

I guess I'm not understanding your point.

I am wondering if in some precincts that the only place open for voting was possibly a Catholic church. The Catholics tried to tell their followers that they cannot consider themselves to be Catholic if they vote for Kerry.

That's why we have secret ballots. Are the Priests standing over the voters' shoulders the whole time? Would they even been allowed *in* the polling place? I think this whole thing is a non-issue.

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: dahunan
[
What if the only place Kerry supporters were ALLOWED to vote in their precinct was at a Catholic Church?

You mean they would have to declare who they were voting for and then be send to a location based on that? That's not what's happening.

I guess I'm not understanding your point.

I am wondering if in some precincts that the only place open for voting was possibly a Catholic church. The Catholics tried to tell their followers that they cannot consider themselves to be Catholic if they vote for Kerry.

That's why we have secret ballots. Are the Priests standing over the voters' shoulders the whole time? Would they even been allowed *in* the polling place? I think this whole thing is a non-issue.

Can you tell what a building is before you enter it?

Will there be paintings on the walls and pictures and bibles and other paraphenalia?

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: dahunan
[
What if the only place Kerry supporters were ALLOWED to vote in their precinct was at a Catholic Church?

You mean they would have to declare who they were voting for and then be send to a location based on that? That's not what's happening.

I guess I'm not understanding your point.

I am wondering if in some precincts that the only place open for voting was possibly a Catholic church. The Catholics tried to tell their followers that they cannot consider themselves to be Catholic if they vote for Kerry.

That's why we have secret ballots. Are the Priests standing over the voters' shoulders the whole time? Would they even been allowed *in* the polling place? I think this whole thing is a non-issue.

Can you tell what a building is before you enter it?

Will there be paintings on the walls and pictures and bibles and other paraphenalia?

Again, I'm totally missing whatever point you are trying to make. Are you implying that the style and decoration of the building will have an influence on how a voter casts his or her ballot? 😕

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: dahunan
Topic Title: Should a bill be introduced to remove voting booths from Churches

Why bother? The Church rules the Govt now anyway along with the Corporations.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
Yeah, we parents just *love* it when hundreds of strangers walk in and out of our children's school all day. 😛

I really can't see the argument that one day of PE classes every 2 years or so is a big deal - the disruption is pretty minimal, and the nice thing about schools is they tend to be spread around roughly in proportion to poulation, so they are pretty much anywhere that voters are (not in some small towns, which bus students, of course; churches and city-halls and such can easily be used in these places).

As for security, IIRC, the school locked down the highschool near me locked down the gymnasium hallway, and voters came and left through the outside-gym doors. This, I think, was a pretty good measure to ensure school security. I've voted in other schools, and I assume they took similar precautions. Realistically, the security argument is the only one I can see against using schools, as most are well-equipped to handle voting, lineups, etc due to having gyms. I don't particularly accept the argument, as I think ensuring security is not so very difficult, but it's the best argument I can think of for not having polling stations in schools. In addition, I think using high schools preferentially instead of primary schools might be a good concession to any student-security concerns, though I think it's pretty safe to use all schools, as long as there is enough presence of school staff and election officials.

It was also an opportunity for interested students to spend the day working the polls and assisting in other ways if they wanted (about 20-30 kids usually volunteered for about half the school day, out of a school population of ~2000). These kids got a chance to participate, to some degree, in the democratic process, besides simply being able to cast a vote.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
Yeah, we parents just *love* it when hundreds of strangers walk in and out of our children's school all day. 😛

I really can't see the argument that one day of PE classes every 2 years or so is a big deal - the disruption is pretty minimal, and the nice thing about schools is they tend to be spread around roughly in proportion to poulation, so they are pretty much anywhere that voters are (not in some small towns, which bus students, of course; churches and city-halls and such can easily be used in these places).

As for security, IIRC, the school locked down the highschool near me locked down the gymnasium hallway, and voters came and left through the outside-gym doors. This, I think, was a pretty good measure to ensure school security. I've voted in other schools, and I assume they took similar precautions. Realistically, the security argument is the only one I can see against using schools, as most are well-equipped to handle voting, lineups, etc due to having gyms. I don't particularly accept the argument, as I think ensuring security is not so very difficult, but it's the best argument I can think of for not having polling stations in schools. In addition, I think using high schools preferentially instead of primary schools might be a good concession to any student-security concerns, though I think it's pretty safe to use all schools, as long as there is enough presence of school staff and election officials.

It was also an opportunity for interested students to spend the day working the polls and assisting in other ways if they wanted (about 20-30 kids usually volunteered for about half the school day, out of a school population of ~2000). These kids got a chance to participate, to some degree, in the democratic process, besides simply being able to cast a vote.

They just always closed the school for elections where I lived. But then again, that was in Louisiana, which isn't exactly known for its high regard of education. 😛

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

They just always closed the school for elections where I lived. But then again, that was in Louisiana, which isn't exactly known for its high regard of education. 😛

(opens mouth)

"..."

(thinks again)

(closes mouth) 😉

I can see being upset about it if the school were closed; elections aren't supposed to truly disrupt education, and the aren't supposed to force parents to pay for an all-day sitter either (I think that's in the constitution somewhere, right?)

 

[her209]

We need a vote to tell us where to vote.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

They just always closed the school for elections where I lived. But then again, that was in Louisiana, which isn't exactly known for its high regard of education. 😛

(opens mouth)

"..."

(thinks again)

(closes mouth) 😉

I can see being upset about it if the school were closed; elections aren't supposed to truly disrupt education, and the aren't supposed to force parents to pay for an all-day sitter either (I think that's in the constitution somewhere, right?)

I think you have me confused with someone else. I kinda forget what the topic was, but I'm all for having elections at schools. I just think they should close them on those days.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Sorry, but this is a silly thread.

What if someone drives down a street and sees a church? It's on a publically (read goverment maintained road). We need to cover the naughty bits! What if someone actually sees a cross?

Anyone who is adult enough to vote can walk into and out of a church "uncontaminated".

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
I think you have me confused with someone else. I kinda forget what the topic was, but I'm all for having elections at schools. I just think they should close them on those days.

Oh okay - I misinterpretted 'parents just love it' as suggesting that elections shouldn't be in schools, but you were only suggesting that they be closed if they are used as polling stations. Got it😉

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
Yeah, we parents just *love* it when hundreds of strangers walk in and out of our children's school all day. 😛

I really can't see the argument that one day of PE classes every 2 years or so is a big deal - the disruption is pretty minimal, and the nice thing about schools is they tend to be spread around roughly in proportion

Actually they are not even interrupted. They just do outside and play on the football field or something like that.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: gutharius
Actually they are not even interrupted. They just do outside and play on the football field or something like that.

Point taken - You've never tried to take kids outside with 3 feet of slush on the ground and freezing rain in the air though, have you 😉

 

[gutharius]

Uhm yeah we have. It is called playing in the snow. We do it all the time. /Sorry for the hint of sarcasm P&N gets under my skin sometimes. it is not directed at you.

 

[ATIuser]

I used to vote in a Jewish Synagogue and now I vote in a School and it makes absolutely no difference in how I vote.
Alot of small communities do not have Schools big enough fpr voting anyways. Busing their kids in to big towns to go to school. Take my town here , not one neighbooring town has a High School. Every area kid gets bused into the city. But voting must take place in the correct district, even if schooling does not.
For the people without transportation can walk to the polls. If a curch is all there is then that is good enough.

 

[Vadatajs]

Yes. I voted in a church this year, but the local high school is right across the street. If we are going to separate church and state, we must be consistent.

 

[mwtgg]

*sigh*

What does it matter?