Early Voting Begins in Trinidad

Early voting is now open at Trinidad Recreation Center. Here’s a refresher from my previous how to vote post:

Voting early: You can also vote before Election Day at any of 32 election sites (map) between Tuesday, October 27 and Election Day, November 3. Within Trinidad, you can vote at Trinidad Recreation Center on Childress Street from 8:30am to 7:00pm. If you aren’t registered to vote, you can register in person with a valid D.C. ID or proof of residence. 

A couple important notes: You can’t vote early at Joe Cole Rec Center, but you can vote there on Election Day. I forgot this and had to look up my own blog standing in front of the closed building. Also, while you need some identification to register, you don’t need your license or anything to vote if you are already registered. And you can send a mail-in ballot through the mail, but the better option may be to just drop it off in one of the official drop-off boxes:

Trinidad has one of these in front of Wheatley and the Joseph Cole Recreation Center on Neal Street, and it is unlocked and available for drop off from now until 8:00pm on Election Day, November 3. There is also one nearby at Union Market and another at Rosedale Library.

I went to Trinidad Rec Center around 11am yesterday, a few hours after early voting began. Candidates Sean Barry (above) and Zachary Hoffman were out on the sidewalk, and Barry told me that Kathy Henderson had been there earlier. According to Barry, around 8:30am, when voting began, there was a line down the block, but there had only been a trickle of voters since.

I went in to vote and was back outside in seven minutes. You can check this Board of Elections site before going to see what the current wait is like at any of the polling sites. It felt safe and careful, with not a lot of people close together and everyone in masks. Everything is spaced out: registration, voting machines, ballot scan and deposit. And amidst an election where there is a lot of worry about errors and interference, I found it reassuring that the machine prints out a paper record of your vote. I was voter number 154 at about 11:15 on the first day, for what it’s worth.

I spoke briefly with Barry, who is running for ANC in 5D03, against James Butler and Latoya Moore. Because I started this blog late in election season, I haven’t really had a chance to dig into the races outside of Trinidad. So in fairness to all the candidates in 5D01, 5D03, 5D04 and 5D05, I’m not really going to cover any of them until after the election. Best of luck to all the candidates. Vote!

All photos by me. Yes, I know my hair is long, I'm finally getting it cut this afternoon. And yes, that is the official Metro mask you can buy from WMATA.