SHARKWATER

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Election Day: Progress By Regression

How cool...that image looks just like the little sticker I got for voting.

Anyway, the best news is that not only did I vote (and apparently there was a mid-morning "rush," as all four little carrels were in use, with at least one person waiting), but I voted with a paper ballot! Apparently this time, unlike in the primary in June, we scrounged up enough scanners.

And the poll workers had a good attitude, chuckling as they handed me my "voting device," which looked suspiciously like a black ballpoint pen, and my privacy shroud, which strongly resembles a manila file folder. Cool.

So I voted. The way it should be, with human interaction. There's a paper trail. I even have the torn-off tops of my ballots so I can prove it.

And I have a little sticker, of course. Very important.

Make sure you get your sticker, too. Vote!

3 comments:

David Schuetz said...

I was able to get in-and-out (including driving two the school & back home again) in about 15 minutes. We had about 6 or 8 voting machines, and all were in use when I got there (I had to wait about 30 seconds in line).

We're still hooked on the electronic things, and they seemed to work pretty well, at least from a user's perspective. They even displayed Jim Webb's full name on the summary screen! (as expected -- it was another VA county which was screwed up).

Now we just have to make it through the evening, with all the inevitable interruptions in our favorite TV shows. Why they insist on showing new programming on election day is beyond me.

Chard said...

Well, you know, that whole last name thing is overrated. Besides, "Webb" is just one of those long, foreign names, anyway. He has no chance.

For some reason I'm reminded today of an article published some 20 years ago called "Mr. Stupid Goes to Washington," and among the 10 stupidest people in Congress at the time (yes, the list included Dan Quayle, before the Peter Principle lifted him to even higher levels of incompetence) it listed "Virginia's Senate delegation: past, present, and future." I sure believed that when I heard that George Allen had been elected to join the former Mr. Elizabeth Taylor. Webb would be a significant improvement.

Good luck!

Chard said...

Tell you what...they gave me an extra one (ostensibly for your cousin). I'll stick in on Mr. Bear for you.