We used to slide our ballots into electronic vote-counting machines. Several years ago, King County moved to an absentee ballot system to save money.
I miss the camaraderie of standing in line at a fire station with my whiny kids and a bunch of other concerned citizens, voting for our future.
At this point, I have two voting options. I can mail my ballot by Election Day, or I can drop my voting envelope stamp-free into one of several county ballot boxes. The ballot boxes are big and metal and look like library drop-boxes. They look secure. They look official.
Today, as I pulled into the turnaround at Redmond City Hall, I was greeted by several orange-clad election officials, waiting to take my ballot and put it in… the cardboard box placed in FRONT of the big, official metal drop box.
That’s right. I put my voting envelope into a highly secure, highly official-looking cardboard box. Does this look fishy at all to you?
I woke up this morning, realized what day it is and found myself overjoyed that today is Election Day. It is one of my favorite holidays because today the robo-calls will stop. Thank you, Santa. Best present ever.
Magoo thinks we should vote for Romney because he has better hair. I think President Obama has better (read this: more Dan-like) hair but that doesn’t mean I’m voting for him. This afternoon, when talking about the election, I accidentally referred to the winner as President Obomney. We’ll see how it goes. May all your fondest election dreams and wishes come true.
I’ve actually never voted in person. When I was 18 and started voting, I was away at college and registered as an absentee voter with my home county–thus voting by mail. And by the time I was out of college, Oregon had gone to all vote-by-mail. I’ve never had the camaraderie of standing in line at the fire station, and I kind of feel gypped. I do still usually wait to turn in my ballot at my own town’s big metal drop box though. I haven’t noticed any cardboard ones in my town. What’s the reason for yours? Is the big metal one all filled up?
Love that picture! He kind of looks like he’s saying, “What about me? Please, will you vote for me? Just write me in there, at the bottom.” I’m glad to hear that your kids are involved, even if they can’t go with you to a polling center. My two-year-old was stuck on the name “Mitt Romney” yesterday. As far as she was concerned, he was the only one running. And, she informed me, he’s the one she voted for. I guess his name is a lot more fun to say than “Barack Obama.”
huh, I’m not sure I would have put my ballot in the cardboard box! It’s a strange, confusing world sometimes!