2004-11-02 - 8:52 a.m.
I voted early this morning. I was about the fifth person in line, getting there fifteen minutes before the polls opened. Usually I have voted after work, but I got tired of hearing the news of the winners even before I had a chance to vote--kind of knocks the wind out of your sails, if you know what I mean. I don't suppose that is likely to happen this time, at least not with the president, but still, it's nice to think that my votes will be counted early rather than possibly not at all.
Also, I'm happy that my voting district is "primitive" in that we had no handy dandy touch screen voting machines and the like. Plain old paper ballots for us--you indicated your choices by sticking a stylus into the proper hole and it makes a nice little dark ink spot (the "mascot" of our district was a cute little Dalmatian puppy--you know, he's got voting spots all over his body). Very quick and easy and no "hanging chads".
For a long time, I was very suspicious of the Diebold voting machines. I was SURE they were doctored up. Even though they still make me nervous, I'm less afraid of their implications. My feeling now is that if your business is electronic voting machines, it doesn't do you any good to make them unfair or unreliable--does Diebold want to be put OUT of business? However, in this election, I know that my votes are clear and not under the control of software bugs.
Although I suppose that someday I may just go ahead and follow the "absentee" ballot route (i.e., voting by mail ahead of time), the truth is, I rather like going to the polls. I like the human interaction part of it, such as being with the other people in line or dealing with the polling place volunteers--at least, I think they're volunteers. Maybe they get paid. But it isn't an easy job, really. The woman who had my name on the registration list (administering the "L to Z" book) said it would end up being a sixteen hour day. That's a long time to be finding names on a list, crossing off addresses, and obtaining signatures. Anyway, being there feels very "civic". And then you get to wear your "I Voted" sticker!
My big wish this election is simply that everyone who wants to vote, and is qualified to, gets to. Of course I want my candidates to win, but not at the expense of ruining the democratic process. I've been so burned up at all those shenanigans that have been going on lately (and it seems that both major parties are guilty)--throwing away the collected voter registrations of those registering in the party you don't like, eliminating questionable people from the voting lists, offering to drive people to the registration or polling place, only to harrangue them to vote for your particular candidates or positions--what's up with all that? That's not supporting our way of life, that's undermining it.
And I really don't understand this "voter" challenge business such as what is allowed to go in in Ohio. Who the hell are they going to challenge, and why (on what possible basis)? Hanging around inside the polling place and challenging people to "prove" that they have the right to vote? If you ask me, it's up to the elections board to establish proper procedures (such as have everybody show an I.D. or whatever they think is necessary) and treat everybody the same. This idea of strangers being allowed to pick certain people out and questioning their fitness to vote strikes me as totalitarianism or "vigilante"-ism. These people are part of the problem, if you ask me.
There definitely have been some things that have griped me about this election...such as we hardly ever heard a single word from, or about, ANY of our other candidates (in my area, anyway). It was ALL the president. I had one senator and one congressperson to vote for...it would have been nice to have them do at least a little bit in order to demonstrate why they should be elected. You know what, for the California state legislature, I actually voted for a candidate who is in the party I normally DON'T vote for, because he was the ONLY one who bothered to campaign and what he said made sense. I think it's high time to change the make up of our state legislature, anyway...working in HR the way I do, I've seen too many inane laws affecting how a person can do their business. Honestly, we've got some crazies working up there in Sacramento. So a guy who is a major change and ALSO making an effort to get elected gets my vote.
Normally in elections, I've been peeved over the judges who run. I have long had a policy of not voting for a judge who doesn't at least write up a little blurb about himself or herself for the voting pamphlet--how hard can that be, and how arrogant it is to simply have your name on the ballot and do nothing else. Who knows judges anyway, unless you are a lawyer, or a criminal! However, this time, there were several who wrote pretty extensive descriptions of themselves and their backgrounds, and cited several organizations and civic groups who back their candidacy. It's peculiar for me to vote in an election in which I felt more knowledgeable about the judges running than I did about the legislators. I think our legislators really dropped the ball this go-round. Our country isn't entirely run by the president--we have three branches in our government and all this attention on one (or possibly two, because the president can appoint Supreme Court justices) was just too skewed.
Okay, enough of this--I voted, the results will come in tonight, or so I hope, and now I guess I better get to work!
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