Election Night Fright: Where was Invasive Technology When I Needed It?

But I did visit the site for New York state voter public information to confirm what I already knew I was indeed registered but my voter status was listed rather unsettlingly as amp8220inactiveamp8221 For those unfamiliar with Federal Election verbiage as I was an inactive voter is defined by the New York City Board of Elections as one amp8220who does not vote in two consecutive Federal Electionsamp8221 and amp8220is in the fifth year removed from the list of registeramp8221 and also placed in amp8220a category of registered voters who have failed to respond to a residence confirmation noticeamp8221amp160As I spent the entire night Googling inactive voter status and what that meant towards my chance of casting a ballot the next morning I was met with much confusion Some Redditors offered that voters deemed inactive should have no problem voting and doing so would reactivate their voter status while more legitimate sources suggested inactive voters must vote via affidavit ballotI nervously anticipated causing a scene at my polling place which was exactly what happened on Election Day when my name was nowhere to be found in the black book of voters from my district The confused volunteers were not quite sure what to do with me My sister growing impatient apologized to the crowds that formed behind me She was being awfully smug considering that she too had failed in part at voter registration In an attempt to register as an independent my sister is now a card carrying member of the Independence partyEventually I was handed an absentee ballot which upon completion I was to turn into a volunteer making the whole event feel very much like a final examNow I have attempted to figure out why I was deemed amp8220inactiveamp8221 It is true I did not vote in 2015 but I am almost certain I voted in the 2014 New York Gubernatorial Election When I reviewed my voter registration information however my mailing address was listed as my freshman year college dorm room from where I would have sent in my very first absentee ballot for the 2009 New York City Mayoral Election So I just may have fallen into the elite class of voters that had amp8220failed to respond to a residence confirmation noticeamp8221Voting is not just a right but a responsibility and it may have behooved me to look into all of this a little earlier I could have saved many Upper East Side voters a few minutes by updating my mailing address six months agoYet I am still baffled by the fact that the government could have been sending mail to an address that was in use for all of nine months seven years ago instead of the apartment that I have inhabited for my entire life Why after failing to reach me had the Board of Elections not sought to send mail to the address listed as my permanent address and residence Why had I not received an email or call to make me aware of the failure to make contactIn an era where past browsing history informs discovery on digital television can target consumers with custom messaging and music streaming services offer curated playlists based on listening preferences it is so easy to be spoiled by the sense that personalized information will constantly be made available Technology has the power to deter us from taking the initiative when it is necessary to do soWe are lulled into thinking that our media and devices will constantly have our backs so the government should right When I got a new credit card recently a whole host of automated email messages appeared in my inbox to remind me to update my credit card information The Board of Elections may have failed to alert me to outdated information but International Animal Rescue did not and my adopted slow loris Lily is back to receiving my monthly contributionsFurthermore when the most intimate details of a personamp8217s financial health and purchase history can be accessed online with various usernames and passwords it is easy to assume that oneamp8217s voting history might also be accessible Iamp8217m wracking my brain over whether or not Governor Cuomo actually got my vote in 2014There have been many takeaways from this historic election but for me there is the recognition that relying on assumptions can be a very stupid thing to do from pollsters who assumed an easy win for Secretary Clinton to voters who assumed they were qualified to vote For what itamp8217s worth there was one other person at my polling place who was also inactive and 44K Brooklyn voters who were declared inactive prior to the Democratic PrimaryThe democratization of information has its advantages but also its pitfalls especially where it concerns our actual democracy It will be an interesting topic to reflect on in four yearsamp8217 time when itamp8217s time again to vote for President assuming Iamp8217m an active voter thenClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggersamp160

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Election Night Fright: Where was Invasive Technology When I Needed It?

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Charlotte Lipman

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