by the example of our power." - Bill Clinton, August 2008 I should note that, at least in Chicago, mail-in absentee ballots are opened and counted after election night, along with provisional ballots. So you are sort of treated as a second-class voter, in that you don't get counted on election night. That's crazy!  Our AV ballots are counted throughout the day and are included in the night's totals.  The more I hear about what's going on from state to state, the madder I'm getting that we don't have some kind of standard across the country for national elections.  This is nuts... "People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power." - Bill Clinton, August 2008 But people have different reasons why they want to vote in person, and to vote on election day. I've stood at a lot of precincts as people vote in person (both early and on election day), and I have a sense these are the two general reasons: * Distrust of the mail-in system.  Definitely a legitimate concern.  I've verified with my supervisor of elections that if my signature gets rejected, I would be notified on a timely basis. Even so, I don't feel 100% confident that my vote will count. * Joy of taking part in the timeless tradition of showing up and casting a vote in person. I had read an article (I think its posted somewhere above) that many