My Journey South to Ashland

In search of answers about Missouri’s iVote system and Columbia Libertarians (assuming they are not extinct), I decided to take a road trip. I looked at the list of election centers in Boone County and found the polling place that exuded the most optimism – the Ashland Optimist Club.

Braving the pouring rain (again) and intense lightning, I hopped in the car and took off towards Ashland. About 15 minutes down the road, I finally arrived at the Ashland Optimism Club and my melancholy mood quickly turned when I walked inside and met with election judge Diane La Mar. She was the first iVote troubleshooter I had met, and she knew her stuff.

Apparently, there is a practical reason for Boone County to continue to use these iVote machines. These machines, according to La Mar, accommodate disabled citizens allowing them to vote more easily at the polling places. La Mar was quick to praise Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren and her consistency of ensuring that all ballots in Boone County, including iVote machines, have a paper trail.

To train for the troubleshooter’s job, La Mar and others were required to attend seven hours of classes on how to work and fix the equipment. A key piece of the Boone County iVote troubleshooter’s repertoire is a county issued paper clip – an essential item to reboot, if necessary, the iVote machine. La Mar had her paper clip on-hand, just in case.

At around 3:30 PM, Ashland had 507 votes (the highest total I heard) in the ballot box, but had yet to hand anyone a Libertarian ballot (My Boone County Libertarian ballot count: 1). So I found answers to one of my queries in Ashland, but my time was/is precious, I needed to get to steppin’.

On the way back to the Missourian, I stopped at the polling place located in the Rock Quarry Park Clubhouse at 2002 Grindstone. This is what I had been waiting for: seeing a large throng of college-aged kids getting out the vote. The only thing I can attribute this to is the location – right down the street from Bearfield, Copper Beech Townhomes, Campus Lodge, etc.

As I sat, dripping wet on a metal chair in the corner, there began a trend; one I had yet to see in Boone County polling places. I saw a six person line. Then, it turned into seven. And before I could place the point of my pen to my paper an eighth walked into the room and stood in line to cast a ballot.

This steady flow, of youthful voters, continued for about ten minutes as I sat and waited for my turn to talk. Finally, I was able to speak with the volunteers, but this time the information was not so easy to obtain. An older woman told me they were not allowed to tell me how many Libertarian ballots (or Democratic/Republican ballots) they handed out.

Wish me luck, and I will write you all again when primary results are available.