In the five years I have lived in Redford, I have always gone to vote at 7:00 AM. And usually there are 3 or 4 other people in front of me or 10 or 12 on national elections. So, I was quite shocked when I got there at 6:57 AM this morning and the parking lot was almost full!
The first few people in line had even brought lawn chairs. I went to the back and stopped counting at 50 people in front of me. I was a bit chilly without my coat, but I know what happens. You get inside and it's always too warm. Sure enough, especially with all those people, it was stifling.
You gotta love the volunteers, but I think they should practice more or something. Even when I got to the desk, there were always three or four empty voting booths. The hold up was getting checked in. I found out I was the 60th person to vote here.
So, I did my thing, fed the paper ballot into the machine, got my "I voted" sticker and left at 7:55 AM for work.
That was my experience! What was yours?
Oh by the way, speaking of turnout, no offense but Democrats are traditionally known as "fair weather" voters (meaning if it's cold or rainy, they stay home). Turnout has not topped 60% since the 1968 election won by Richard Nixon. With todays near perfect weather (sunny and 70) I think we will beat that today!
Well, we got to the polls (a rather small elementary school) about twenty to seven and joined our neighbors (from across the street and down the street) in line.
ReplyDeleteIt was hard to get an accurate count because we were standing in the parking lot and the line went inside the building but I would say we were about fifty to sixty people back. However, since our station serves two precincts I was the thirtieth person to vote in our precinct.
There was a bit of commotion when a voter miss fed his ballot into the shredder or whatever it's called. The unit jammed and the centenarian volunteers started freaking out. The people in line, ever the patriots, started calling out that his vote needed to be counted. A ten minute discussion ensued as to whether they should call in the malfunction. Thankfully, one of the volunteers suggested that his ballot be voided and he be provided a new one. This opened up several spots and we finally got in.
Now, I have to flash back to this past weekend. On our way to Shiro and a movie we encountered a gentleman with a pony tail, a suit and a hand painted sign campaigning on 8 mile and Haggerty. He had the lights timed perfectly so that his sign was always presented to oncoming traffic. It was quite the show watching him run around and wave.
I was happy to his name on the ballot and give him my vote. Until I looked him up and found out the bastard's position. Thankfully, he's in a crappy party and won't be elected anyway but I was still pissed at myself for not checking first.
I finished bubbling, we got out and headed for work around twenty to eight.
Yesterday, I rented some educational videos from the library to celebrate the occasion with the kids. One, naturally, was called "Why Vote?" The other video had something to do with American Mobsters, which just made me chuckle in a cynical sort of way. :) This morning, cars were jammed into the parking lots at Riesey's school (folks vote in the gym there). I have not seen our voting area yet, because your kid has asked me to wait until he gets home from work. The plan is to take the kids with us to the booths, then let them stay up late to watch the results on-line.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note: P.J., I will not shatter your adorable little granddaughter's heart by telling her that you voted against the guy she had carved into her Jack-O-Lantern this year: Barack Obama. Just FYI. :)
Speaking of voting against people I think it'd be nice to setup a website where voters could complete sample ballots. The site would then match you (based on 29 dimensions of personality) with a voter who had the exact opposite view. You would then both agree to stay home. This way we would lower the lines, people could get to work on time, election results would be faster. I think it'd streamline the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteRedford Update.
ReplyDeleteI went home at lunch, and on the way back to work, I drove by the polling place (just out of curiosity). At 12:30 PM, the parking lot is full and people are parking on the grass and down the street!
My experience with the family was quick and enjoyable. There were double the normal amount of people in line, yet quadruple the number of volunteers and voting booths. The volunteers moved at a brisk pace, and aside from a hiccup when they ran out of pens, handled the crowd with ease. We were in and out in about ten minutes, then we headed to dinner.
ReplyDeleteHow long do we get to enjoy the Obama Piece Offerings logo?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Obama!
ReplyDelete