We moved here in June and I got mobilized so I never had the opportunity to vote last year. Since coming off mob, i've registered and can vote in the Primary that is today.
I got off work this morning after 16 hours (12 plus 4 mandatory OT), and went right to the polls. Things are very different but very the same from the last state I lived in.
More after the squiggle.
One of the big differences is that in Ohio you pick what party you want to vote in the primary of. By doing that you become enrolled in that party for the general election. In Kentucky you have to pick a party if you want to vote in a primary. You can't change it until after the general election.
This means if you live in an area that has a lot of one party enrolled, the primary is going to be the "real" election. Since no one from the other party is running in Nov, the primary makes the choice who wins. If you are not in the "majority" party, you have no say other than to not vote or vote for the one person. (Or enroll in the major party and get to chose between dumb and dumber).
Another difference is that you have to go to a polling place to vote. In Ohio, you get a letter in the mail that lets you request a ballot be mailed to your home. Then you get a ballot, fill it out and mail it back. No hoping you get done from work on time, (such as my counter parts who work 6 am to 6 pm can't vote they are at work) or having to drive across town to your polling place to vote (find parking, stand in line, etc)
The things that are the same: you have to have ID. Big signs say that in three places. Both states prohibit firearms but only one sign says that. (I guess ID is more of a problem than guns?) Both states seem to have an age requirement to be a polling worker (something like a minimum age of 90)
So I walked in, stood in the wrong line, figured out what line I should have been in (wrong district, I mean how am I to know i'm in #1152, not #2123 when the line changes all the time and will be different after Nov.), they found my name, checked my ID, asked for a second ID because my Metro Gov ID does not have my address on it, gave me a ballot and pointed to a little desk to fill it out, stood in line, went to the booth and filled out the ballot in two minutes, tried to figure out why everyone in front of me took 15 minutes, walked over and turned in my ballot to the oversized trash can with a pad lock on it and something that looked like a shredder that took my ballot.
I left and drove home, and am going to bed, work starts in six hours.