Liberation

So I voted yesterday. I went to my local polling location and was greeted by a line out the door and general disorganization.

Turns out there are two precincts at my polling location. Never has been in the past – this must be one of those new improvements they have been talking about. Yup, add a precinct, but have them vote at the same place – good idea. That way you can get to the polling location, wait in a really long line, only to find out that there are really two lines – one really long, and one really short. Precinct 133 had a long line. Precinct 134 had a short line. Turns out most people don’t know what a precinct is, much less which one they live in. I know which precinct I live in – you can probably guess which one.

So I get to the front of the long line. There is a stop sign to wait to get into one of two more lines – based on your last name. One line is A-L, the other M-Z, one is long, the other is short. I shouldn’t have to tell you which one was long.

At the front of line 2 they ask me my name. I give it. They ask my address. I give it. Insurmountable security, couldn’t work around that. They give me a ballot folder. I open it – empty.

Line 3 is the ballot line. I see people in front of me that showed up after me and had to register. The registration line was shorter than line 1. You can skip from registration straight to line 3. Anyhow, I get to the front of line 3 – there is an old lady there with a pad of ballots and a rubber stamp. Each person walks up, she peels a ballot off, stamps it, and puts it in the folder. Couldn’t have done that stuff before hand. Couldn’t have found someone without arthritis to perform that task either.

On to line 4. This is where you get to wait for an opening in one of the origami cardboard voting booths. They remind me of those temporary trash cans that they use at events – hmm. I wonder if these things say BFI on the side?

So the little old lady at the front of line 4 holds you there and points out when a voting booth opens up. It might have helped if they chose someone for this task that had a little better eyesight. I guess she did have to make sure that everyone was using the official voting pens – the ones that someone spent hours taping a fake leaf to.

Finally I get to vote. Rubbing shoulders with the big dude on the left and the smelly chick on the right I eagerly grab the pen and start filling in bubbles. It took all my concentration to stay in the lines, and to avoid just drawing pictures with the filled in dots like I did in high school.

As I try to figure out what a trustee for the College of Western Idaho is, and why I am voting on them I reflect on the new style ballot. Another new improvement. Apparently moron proof – and it only takes 5 times longer to count than the old ballots. Nice improvement?

So I make my choices, then proceed to the longest line of the day, yes line 5. With my ballot secured in the security folder and the folder firmly in my hand I wait. After a while I give up and engage in small talk with my fellow voters – mostly about the speed of the line, and the fact that Chuck Winder didn’t have an opponent in the election and how bad that sucked. Did I mention Chuck Winder was two people ahead of me in line?

Still in line five.

Still in line five. Dude has to look up your name and call it out, then you can put your ballot in the box and collect the all important ‘I voted’ sticker. Dude has a nice call out voice, very good in fact, but his alphabet skills need some work – hence the delay.

Finally at the front of line five I say my name, toss the security envelope, and jam my ballot into the slot – like a fat kid on a donut. After a little scolding for dropping the ballot in the box before he read my name off the list I get my sticker and am liberated.