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I arrived at Buder Elementary at about 8 this morning. With voter ID card in hand, I easily bypassed the 2 men standing in front of the door handing out literature for their respective causes. I'm done with TV ads, mailers and phones calls, gentleman, I know how I'm voting.
An older man was slowly limping his way towards the sign-in table. I walked behind him for a few steps, trying to be polite and all, but the pace was excruciatingly slow, so I passed the elderly man and made my way to the table. The line was surprisingly short. Given all the media hype I expected the gym to be packed with voters, as it has been in the past. Perhaps I just got there before the rush. I waited patiently in the short line, but the the limping old man apparently had someplace else to be. When he finally reached his destination, he cut in front of me in line. Ah, the privileges of age.
When I reached the front of my particular line, I presented my ID card, signed the book and told the judge that I would like to vote electronically, please. Here's where I get frustrated. It's not with the voting machines, I actually found them quite user friendly and very easy to use. I got frustrated with my fellow voters.
Perhaps it's because I'm not really all that intimidated by technology, maybe it was a generational thing, or maybe it's because I read the ballot beforehand and knew how I was going to vote on each issue, but COME ON, it should not take you upwards of 15 minutes to cast a ballot! There were 3 electronic machines in use, and all of them were being used by...morons? Slow readers? Dolts? Careful voters? Whichever label I assigned to the 3 voters, I was still getting frustrated. People who decided to do a paper ballot and sat down at the same time I got in line for the electronic machine were finishing up their ballots before I even had a chance to vote!
I know, I know, in the scheme of things it's not that big of a deal...but all you had to do was press a button! Anyway, despite that minor frustration I found the poll workers helpful and friendly.
Ever since I've been a city resident, I feel a strong desire to be a part of the democratic process. I don't know what changed when I moved to St. Louis, perhaps I realized that I had a say in how our City is run, etc. etc., but I feel a responsibility to vote, and I vote during every election, big or small.
If you haven't yet, I urge you to vote. Especially this year, each vote will count. Good luck!
An older man was slowly limping his way towards the sign-in table. I walked behind him for a few steps, trying to be polite and all, but the pace was excruciatingly slow, so I passed the elderly man and made my way to the table. The line was surprisingly short. Given all the media hype I expected the gym to be packed with voters, as it has been in the past. Perhaps I just got there before the rush. I waited patiently in the short line, but the the limping old man apparently had someplace else to be. When he finally reached his destination, he cut in front of me in line. Ah, the privileges of age.
When I reached the front of my particular line, I presented my ID card, signed the book and told the judge that I would like to vote electronically, please. Here's where I get frustrated. It's not with the voting machines, I actually found them quite user friendly and very easy to use. I got frustrated with my fellow voters.
Perhaps it's because I'm not really all that intimidated by technology, maybe it was a generational thing, or maybe it's because I read the ballot beforehand and knew how I was going to vote on each issue, but COME ON, it should not take you upwards of 15 minutes to cast a ballot! There were 3 electronic machines in use, and all of them were being used by...morons? Slow readers? Dolts? Careful voters? Whichever label I assigned to the 3 voters, I was still getting frustrated. People who decided to do a paper ballot and sat down at the same time I got in line for the electronic machine were finishing up their ballots before I even had a chance to vote!
I know, I know, in the scheme of things it's not that big of a deal...but all you had to do was press a button! Anyway, despite that minor frustration I found the poll workers helpful and friendly.
Ever since I've been a city resident, I feel a strong desire to be a part of the democratic process. I don't know what changed when I moved to St. Louis, perhaps I realized that I had a say in how our City is run, etc. etc., but I feel a responsibility to vote, and I vote during every election, big or small.
If you haven't yet, I urge you to vote. Especially this year, each vote will count. Good luck!
2 comments:
I had an identical experience voting. There was a woman in front of me (elderly, vietnamese) who wanted to write in a candidate on the machines. It took every poll worker in the gym to help her.
It reminded me of the self check out lanes at the grocery store. I always get the people in front of me who have bakery and produce items without UPC's and they cannot figure out how to ring them. Frustrating!!!
Good thing you voted though!
By
Christy, at
6:00 PM
The line for the paper ballot in my precinct this morning was moving considerably faster than the electronic line, which is why I chose it.
After hearing a couple of scary stories about machines crashing and not being able to re-vote, I was glad I did.
I did have a problem putting my ballot into the ballot sleeve though. The fourth time was a charm.