I just got back from voting in Snoqualmie. Forgive me, but it was exciting!
Being my first election, and deciding presidential, gubernatorial, and state senator races made it particularly stirring. I voted at my local elementary school, and as of 10:20 a.m., nearly 240 people had already voted (the polls opened at 7 o’clock).
Charlotte, an elderly retiree volunteering as a poll worker, said that "...we've been very busy so far today..." and there was every indication that she was right. I waited for a good forty-five minutes in a line that was easily a hundred strong, and it seemed that for every person who finished and went on their way, another entered. This was during the supposed “lull time” too!
The school had a hushed, excited atmosphere, as average folks from all walks of life filtered in and out, many clutching voter's guides and actually studying them as they waited in line.
I saw no “problems” whatsoever, and any hiccups that did occur (a missing pen in a voting booth, misplaced addresses, etc.) were addressed quickly and quietly by the poll workers. "That was easy..." I heard an elderly gentleman say, and I agree, everything seemed to be going fine.
Ordinary citizens, many looking a bit tired and cold, leaned over rickety, plastic and-metal foldout voting booths, filling in little ovals. There were kindly retired folks, many wearing red-white-and-blue (or some combination thereof) sitting behind folding tables and chairs, helping people with signing in. It was quite a sight, democracy in action.
There wasn’t anything glamorous about it. In fact, the whole process appeared quite mundane, a humdrum civic affair that involved you, your pen, and a piece of paper. In the end, that’s how we govern ourselves. We won’t let some demented terrorist threaten us. We will vote our conscience, and that, as ordinary and average as it gets, is what makes our country such a great place to live.
Being part of this Backyard Blog project has been a distinct privilege, and I am very grateful for the experience. Like sports analysts prepping for the Super Bowl, we bloggers have been passionately debating, discussing, and sometimes
arguing as the election drew near. As it’s now arrived, and all electoral bets are off, it’ll be exciting to see how everything works out. Thank you all for reading
and responding. Here’s to a decisive and definite election.
Let’s go vote!
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