Early Voting

By Chris

With travel on the schedule, I arose early to record my vote. I found some surprises. First, I was greeted by the normal partisan greeter in the parking lot from party "x" . . . and my polling place also had a volunteer from party "y" for the first time that I can remember. Not sure why, but until now a certain side of the political spectrum had never decided working my small precinct was worth it, at least not while I was there. Anyway, the two old guys from both parties were very pleasant, and I noticed they were chit-chatting like old buddies. They probably were. Watching and listening to the cable news and talk radio scream-at-each-other-the-opposition-is-the-devil dialogue (a generous description) makes that kind of scene seem weird. These guys were not following the drill! Doesn't that D fellow know that his R friend is a heartless gun touting racist out to get rich! Surely Mr. R understands that Mr. D is a Jesus hating bleeding heart! Hmmm. Can't we all just get along. Apparently, at least in this little neigborhood, we can. Very cool.

I also found my usual "hanging chad" machines had been replaced by the electronic, touch-screen devices. And, the usual poll workers were not on hand. A new lady, and what looked to be her young daughter, checked me in. Just the two of them at the registration table, instead of the normal 4-6 older ladies. As usual, a sign declared "STATE LAW REQUIRES YOU STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS OUT LOUD AND SHOW A PICTURE ID." I was asked to state nothing. But, this younger version was way quicker finding my name in the huge binder! The child did the computer part. Yikes! The whole touchscreen experience didn't inspire a lot of confidence. Sure, it seemed to work o.k. But, that old piece of paper, fed confidentially and personally by me into the counting machine seemed a little more, shall I say, trackable and real. Heck, even at 7-11 when you make an electronic transaction, you get a receipt confirming the details. ATM's too. And Target. Yep, Wal-Mart does the same. But, not for your vote on these things. Sure, a nice little message comes up at the end assuring you that your vote has been successfully cast. I don't trust it. I'd feel a little better with a receipt for my vote, if you know what I mean. Something written down that could be checked later if needed. You could even turn it in, just like the chad cards of old, as you leave, just in case. I mean, what would a re-count look like in this case? I know computers never ever do this, but suppose some system locked up and votes needed to be re-entered?

I predict these devices will soon land us in a contitutional crises that will make the Florida hanging chad fiasco look minor. God Bless America!