Election Day

Well, I did my civic duty and voted this morning. I even have the sticker they gave me to prove it.

 

I was hoping that voting would have been quick and easy and that I would be out the door and on my way to work in just a few minutes. It took a little longer than the five minutes for which I was hoping, but I suppose that 20 minutes was too bad. As part of its election coverage this morning, the Chicago Sun-Times ran an aerial picture of a snaking line of South Africans who were waiting to vote in the first free post-apartheid elections in that country. Waiting out in the sun in a line that would make even the most ardent roller coster entusiast pass up that ride just to be able vote should diminsh anyone's complaints about the voting process.

 

This year, I was more observant of what was going on around me when I voted. First of all, when I went in to the polling place I noticed a man and woman dressed in business attire just standing there watching people go inside. I have to admit that they gave off bad vibes. Now, it could have been because the polling place was at an evangelical church, but I half expected these two individuals to accost me and ask me if I had found Jesus. I don't know what their purpose was, they could have been waiting for someone, have been observing in some official capacity, or whatever, but it made me think how easily voter intimidation could happen. I almost felt like scurrying back to my car under their gaze, so I can imagine how aggressive tactics might have affected some voters, especially those who are marginalized or disinfranshised.

 

Inside, I got in line and an older gentlemen immediately snapped at me. Apparently, he thought I was going to occupy his voting booth while he went to ask a question. He didn't even apologize when I pointed out the end of the line. In his denim, cowboy boots, and Stetson hat he looked very out of place among the rest of us suburban commuters. This gentlemen did get very angry when someone did occupy the booth he had temporarily vacated even though the other man was directed to the "open" booth. The cowboy did seem confused by the ballot and took almost the entire time I was there to complete his ballot. I know that one should not rush through the voting process, but it was a simple ballot with few contentious races and almost no pressing referendums. I wonder what took so long.

 

I gave the poll worker my name and they retrieved the card for me to sign. The next poll worker, sho was positively apoplectic, practically had a meltdown because the card had not been signed yet and yelled out "Someone needs to sign this!" when I was right in front of him. It was only 7:45 a.m. and I thought that he was going to have a breakdown because of the pressure.

 

As I waited for the next available booth I observed two people have difficulty with a new electronic voter booth that was being used for one of the three precincts that were combined in one polling place. I also overheard the poll workers complain that over 400 paper ballots of a certain type had not been delivered. Another poll worker complained that things were moving too fast to keep up as she called out the name of a voter whose signed card she had. They were unable to determine whether he had left or had finished voting and decided to sort it out later.

 

This all occured in one ordinary suburban polling place. Although the glitches were minor, it makes one consider the ramifications of voting irregularities on a larger scale. On the global stage, we always hear about international observers montioring elections in other countries to make sure they were free and just. You kind of expect elections to be difficult in countries with poor infrastructure, lack of education, political upheaval, and secterian violence. However, most people would agree that open elections are something that we should be able to count on in the developed world. Still, with the outcomes and irregularities of the past two elections couple with my own personal observations, one has to take pause and wonder if the outcomes are accurate. Maybe instead of worrying about punch cards, electronic ballots, and hand counting we need to just line up and toss our pebble in a bowl.