Election Day Report

Don't ask me why D. didn't vote yesterday, because I just wouldn't be able to explain without sniggering. I, however, did my civic duty. I have always been a very enthusiastic voter. Like the saying goes, I like to vote early and vote often.

So yesterday morning, I was all raring to vote. Then I realized that I didn't know where my voter registration card was, and if you remember the dire warning that the town sent me with the card, you'll know I didn't want to show up without it. I didn't want to be turned away from my opportunity to vote for school board or sheriff or whatever else rinky-dink little offices were at stake. It's a Red county, so my minority vote is important.

On my lunch break, I looked through my files and found the precious card, but didn't make it to the Municipal Building (a half block from our house) until my way home from work (I know, I know, I'll get to it someday). I walked over with one of the faculty members who was going the same way. We compared voting strategies and notes about candidates. As we walk up to the polling place, which actually turns out to be the Town Council chambers, the Green Party candidate for Town Council was campaigning outside the door., And a nice older gentleman tells us to vote for his candidate for Sheriff. My friend and I are non-committal as it's not clear what party his candidate is.

We walk in, I sign in just like usual. During a slight lull in the action, I ask the nice voting registration lady (no different in appearance from the nice voting registration ladies in all eight precincts I've voted in over the last 13 years of BIG City life) if it would be alright for me to laminate my voter registration card (what with me being required to carry it with me at all times). She said she couldn't see why not and ushered me along to a nice gentleman, who handed me an aluminum clipboard type of thingy???? and a pencil????? I hadn't been able to see how people were voting, because of the drapes of course, and it still didn't register.

Even when I got into the booth.

And didn't see any levers or switches.

Or punch cards and a stylus.

Or when I read the sign that said I MUST use the pencil provided.

And I MUST fill in each circle completely.

Only after I pulled the piece of paper out of the metal container did I realize that I was going to be voting with a pencil and paper!!!!!

Almost every category had a write-in option, and I found out this morning from our town newspaper that the "Democratic" candidate for Sheriff was actually a registered Republican who had been written in during the primary. I voted for the Green candidates and the Dems and the women, filling in my circles just like back in high school, then it was done.

I left the booth and waited for the nice gentleman again - what do I do with this? He was very kind and patient. "You rip off this piece here as your reciept, then you put this here." He demonstrated by inserting the metal ballot container into a slot in a metal box, tipping it, and pulling it out again empty. My vote was cast! In a box! Can you imagine?

I was happy this morning to find out that some of my candidates won, but disappointed that the Green party woman didn't. And that Sheriff candidate that the campaigner told me about, the one who was a "Democrat" so I voted for him, he won...by 32 votes.

[Not including the 282 absentee ballots that will be counted on Monday.]