I was in meetings all day today at the county complex where our board of education is located.  Since early voting was being held in the same building, I voted immediately after the meeting this afternoon.  I had hoped to do it earlier in the day.  Several times during the day - during breaks and during lunch - I had checked the voting line - hoping to find a short line so I could vote quickly, and each time I postponed voting because the line was too long.   I was surprised.  It rained all day.  People were lining up in droves on a rainy day to exercise this great American privilege.

At the end of the meeting, the line was longer than ever - but I was determined to vote today.  So I stood in line.  From start to finish it took about 45 minutes.  Lots of people expressed surprise at the high turn-out.

It was wonderfully reassuring to me to see American voters - men, women, young, old, all ethnic groups.  One woman had her two young sons by her side to watch as she voted.  She quietly talked to them as she read the ballot.  I couldn’t hear her, of course, but I think it’s safe to assume she was talking to them about her selections and the reasons for them.   

The other conversations around me were varied.  Immediately after I first got in line an elderly woman lined up behind me.  She asked if I’d hold her place while she went to the front to look at the sample ballots.  I noticed she was limping as she slowly walked down the hall.  When she returned she told me and the young woman in line behind us that she was 80 years old. She said that the phrase ”80 years old” was still a shock to her because she sure didn’t feel that old.  She told us that she had injured her foot while exercising at the Y, that it was still quite painful and that she thought she’d wait till next week to vote. 

We told her she could go to the front of the line, and they’d let her vote immediately.  There was a prominently displayed sign stating that anyone with disabilities, frailties or an visible pregnancy could bypass the line.  However, this lady didn’t want to go ahead of the others who had been waiting.  She said it just wouldn’t be fair.  She had a legitimate reason to go ahead, but no matter how much we tried to convince her she should do it and that no one would mind, she ended up leaving.  She said she had to be back at the county offices next week anyway, and she’d vote then.

I enjoyed listening to all the conversations that were going on and watching the senior citizens who were handling the voting booths - escorting people to the booth, showing them how to operate the machine, and then giving them their “I Voted” sticker as they were leaving. 

When it was my turn, I read each proposal carefully and made my selection.  I read through the list of candidates and for the first time in life based my vote only on party affiliation.  Before clicking the final “Vote” button, I made sure that all my votes were as I wished.

No one knows how the election will turn out.  Regardless of the outcome, though, I am glad that people are out in force to vote.  People care about what happens to our country, and people care about who will lead us.  God bless America.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 27th, 2006 at 6:24 pm and is filed under Headlines/Current Events, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.