Voting in the 2016 Presidential Election

November 8, 2016

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Liz and I went in to vote before work today, circa 8:30 AM. Normally, our little neighborhod polling place isn’t too bad. We were both surprised to see a decent-sized line, so early in the day.

We waited for a good 20 minutes, I’d say, before we got our ballots. Liz did keep herself busy.

Funny story: As I was filling out my ballots, in the booth next to me… there’s an older guy. His phone started ringing.

It keeps ringing for a while. I glance over, and see he seems to have some trouble turning it off. After a moment, I realize he’s actually trying to turn it on. Because he then puts the phone to his ear and says “Hello?”

I thought he was going to have a full on conversation right then and there, in the voting booth. But luckily – I guess he didn’t answer the call in time.

The older man finshes a bit before I did. And as I’m walking to turn my ballots in, I see that the machine is having trouble processing his ballots.

The volunteer tells him he failed to fill out anything for the ballot with the referendums. On closer inspection, she sees the problem. She then tells him that he filled out the ballot wrong. That he circled the arrows, instead of drawing a line to complete the arrows.

She then tells him he’ll need new ballots. He takes one and starts walking away, and the woman has to call after him, to tell him he needs the additional ballot with the state referendums.

I get done, and I’m outside waiting for Liz. A minute or two goes by – and I see the same guy walk out of the polling area, holding his ballots and his cover sheet.

He then proceeds to walk into the bathroom, located right next to the entrance, with his ballots and cover sheet.

At first, I was thinking WTF? But then I realized – it’s probably a legal thing. Once you have your ballot(s) in your hand, they probably can’t leave your possession. Even if you have to go to the bathroom. Which… this guy needed to do, apparently.

Watching all this unfold, I was thinking… well, God Bless America.

This older gent seemed to be having some challenges while casting his votes, and the volunteers at our polling place were doing their best to assist him. So it goes.

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Really wish we had some stickers, instead of these concert wrist bracelet things. But I wore mine anyway.

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We had a bit of extra time before the next Metra train arrived, so I suggested we stop in to the nearby French bakery for a quick snack. What better way to celebrate the American Presidential election than with a pastry from France?