Did ya vote?

Okay, we're talking about a presidential election and an historic election so I'm getting out of my PJs this morning and heading to my local polling place.  Already know where it is and I'm dragging Draw along so he can soak up this amazing experience.

I figure to head to the polling place at 10am.  After the initial rush hour madness and before the lunch madness.  Makes sense, yeah?

We're voting at the local township fire department and I'm wondering what happens if one of the fire trucks needs to make a run and I'm in the middle of casting my vote.  As it turned out, they did have to make an emergency run but they'd already moved the trucks and equipment out of the garage which is where the voting is taking place.

Get in the line which is snaking outside the building but it seems to be moving pretty fast (at least faster than the haunted house line which is the most recent line I've stood in) so I'm chatting and happy and it's a pretty day.

We finally get inside the fire station which only took about 10 minutes and I figure hey, that's not bad.  Cast my vote and then blow this pop stand 20 minutes tops.  Plus, Starbucks is passing out free coffee and I'm excited about that.  What I don't notice right away because they have the line snake right to go around a table and then snake left to file into the garage, was the enormous snaking line inside the garage.

So, here's the scoop.  I live in one of the fastest growing cities in the US.  One of the five best places to live according to US News or one of those magazines and there are two... TWO voting booths in my precinct.  Well, actually four voting booths but some shmuckety shmuck got it in their mind to have TWO precincts voting at one location.  So there are four voting booths total, divided between two precincts.

The pudgy lady standing at the doughnut table (the doughnuts are not for the cranky voters who are standing in the two snaking lines) is supposed to be directing traffic and alerting the voters as to which of the lines they should be standing in based on which side of the railroad tracks they live.  Unfortunately, she's got a donut in her mouth and can't talk too good.  I stood in line for over an hour before she actually waddled on by close enough for me to ask "what line should I be in?"  It was sheer dumb luck that I happened to be in the right line. 

So, all told, I stood in line for an hour and forty five minutes to take two minutes to cast my vote in one of the two voting booths set up for the 50,000 +/- voters in my precinct.

I'm not gonna ask you who you voted for, I'm more interested in if you had a worse voting experience than I did this morning. 

Hey.  Don't forget your free Starbucks.  House Blend or their Pumpkin Blend.

Comments

[Kim V]

Well , we had no line and went directly from door to table , but I did have one little snafu - I did a paper vote (the electronic booths were busy) and got all the way to side two , scrupulously filling in my dots , before I messed up - which meant I had to go get a new sheet and start all over lol.

[Jan Thomason]

oh, my gosh. ROTF!
"the pudgy lady...." - you're lucky you only have four people that read your blog or SHE might be one of your readers! LOL
you cracked me up:)!
the election results, however, did NOT.
hahaha

oh, gale, you are a hoot.
and, thanks, girlfriend, for the xmas words - i'm hoping one of the colors, pink or sepia, will work on my swap ornaments which i was working on just a few minutes ago - i say that even though i've already made "o' holy night" words for them.
mine are no where as cute as yours! NO WHERE.

xoxo, jan

[sarahfishburn]

I got nothin' free! But the ABSOLUTE pleasure of voting!! YAY!!!
xxo
sarah

[William]

I was just awondering where Draw was all the time you had to Q? Maybe making doughnuts!!!!!