A Brief Word: The Vote

Joseph and I prepare to run errands, so I must make this short.

For those wondering where my weekly picks have gone, they'll be comin' round the mountain this evening...

As some of you know, I'm going to Florida tomorrow and I'm returning Wednesday. That means, of course, that I won't be here for the election. It also means I wouldn't have been here to vote. Since I do not vote by absentee ballot - as many in Washington do - I must vote in person.

I therefore left work early yesterday and headed down to Renton where sits the seat of elections in King County. As expected, the place was packed. I filled out the paperwork to vote electronically and began my stay in line. I brought a book, of course, but I must admit that I was rather too fascinated with the likes of the people. The complainers. The texters. The mothers with their six children. The barely-able-to-walk. The students. The little old women handing out candy. The mask-wearers (it was Halloween after all).

After a 45 minute wait, a plump woman came down the hall and called out for those who chose to vote electronically. I and six others - out of the 50 standing in the hallway - walked with her. In the early voting room, we found that there were, in fact, two ways to vote.

1. Vote electronically and have your ballot cast before your very eyes.

2. Vote by paper. This means sitting down at a desk with a nice young man and reviewing exactly what you need to do in order to fill out the paper ballot and put it in a box designated for voting.

I will never understand why people are so afraid of automation. Can the vote be lost in the electronic machine? Sure. But can't someone just choose not to acknowledge a written vote too?

In any case, while others waited 2-3 hours to vote, I was able to vote in just under an hour. And that suited me just fine.

Washington is talking about going to all absentee ballot. I'm not personally in favor because I think the vote is a communal activity. It's not a waste of our time to stand in line for a period of time and involve ourselves in government.

In any case, I can now disregard the political ads - thank God - and move on to Election Day when we'll discover who our next president will be. Among other elected officials.

Oh, and of course I voted for...

Did you think I'd actually tell?