Monday evening I stopped by the election office to volunteer as a poll worker for Tuesday afternoon, and today I was privileged to help over 500 people cast their ballots. The work was mundane, and repetitive, and uplifting, and I couldn’t stop smiling while I was doing it.

I was relieved to learn more about how the elections in my town work, how the votes are counted and how the voter rolls work. I checked people off on the voter rolls and handed out ballots, explained how the ballot scanner works and reassured people that their votes were being counted, and helped voters get replacement ballots to fill out when their first ballot was rejected by the scanner due to overvotes or stray marks. Half a dozen times or more, a voter came back to the scanner with their replacement ballot, and every time the replacement ballot was perfect. I saw parents explaining the voting process to their children, and families and friends coming to the polls together, and neighbors catching up, and people returning to the polls to accompany other family members long after they had voted themselves. I saw people who were voting for the first time as an adult, or for the first time as an American citizen, or for the first time for a presidential candidate who inspired them. I saw a woman with portable oxygen, and some people who could barely walk, and some in wheelchairs, and some who could barely see, or hear, or speak. And I played my small part in helping them all vote, and I truly could not stop smiling.

I was unsure about this choice ahead of time. I had strong feelings about parts of this election, and being a poll worker meant I couldn’t hold a sign or distribute information outside the polling place. I had to put my own opinions aside in favor of helping the voting process run smoothly for all voters. In the end it was easy to do because I believe we need a democracy as much as anything.

See pic: images42.fotki.com/v1311/photos/5/571666/2597259/vote2-vi.jpg

Alas, though once inside, it looked like I was not going ot be able to vote. I had changed my voter registration with my change of address at the RMV in Chinatown in Jan 2008, however the local precinct did not have me on their list. I was reassured though, that they would indeed allow me to vote via Provisional Ballot. However, my vote would not be confirmed for approximately 2 weeks. Having been a registered voter for 18 years now, this is the most melancholy I have felt after casting my ballot.

Ballot: images45.fotki.com/v1361/photos/5/571666/2597259/vote1-vi.jpg

On the otherhand, I dug up a rermixed dance track that i edited in 2004 that has kept my inspiration high today, and hopes alive, and hope that I can share it here with you:
youtube.com/watch?v=2tadzppe96s

See pic: http://images42.fotki.com/v1311/photos/5/571666/2597259/vote2-vi.jpg

Alas, though once inside, it looked like I was not going ot be able to vote. I had changed my voter registration with my change of address at the RMV in Chinatown in Jan 2008, however the local precinct did not have me on their list. I was reassured though, that they would indeed allow me to vote via Provisional Ballot. However, my vote would not be confirmed for approximately 2 weeks. Having been a registered voter for 18 years now, this is the most melancholy I have felt after casting my ballot.

Ballot: http://images45.fotki.com/v1361/photos/5/571666/2597259/vote1-vi.jpg

On the otherhand, I dug up a rermixed dance track that i edited in 2004 that has kept my inspiration high today, and hopes alive, and hope that I can share it here with you:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2tadzppe96s

It seems as though I’m not the only student in Canada who is having troubles either. I read a story on the Globe’s site this morning about American students in Montreal who never even received their absentee ballots and were trying to find rides down to the Boston area so they could vote at the polls.

Seeing the voter lists with so many names checked off that they’d been in to vote was wonderful! Looked like every single person on my block had already been in.

I’m on my way to vote now, and hopefully it will go well.

I was properly registered in Ward 20/Precinct 9. My name was on the list, I should have been able to vote no problem, right? Wrong.

My wife (same last name, also a first name beginning with D) went to vote earlier this morning, got in and out no problem. The problem? She wasn’t on the voter rolls and when she voted they checked off my name. When I went to vote, I had to vote provisional, even though I was on the rolls because there are no ID requirements in MA and the poll workers couldn’t distinguish between Deirdre and Demetria.

So back to the original line, 5 minutes and a number of people later. The feeling in line was upbeat despite the line and it seemed to be moving relatively well. As I was about 30 people from the door, a man came around asking for our ward number. I am in 10 / 9 so he wasn’t interested in me. He was pulling out people from 19 / 3 and 19 /1. When I entered the room with another 10-15 minute wait, I saw that there were three table for the three wards. The tables for 19 /3 and 19/1 were clear with one person at a time at the table and no waiting.

A few of asked the staff, who were very friendly, why the discrepancy between wards but they didn’t seem to have an answer. One man said was that the move of ward 10/9 was last minute. One volunteer went up to a man in a suit to register the complaint. She pointed around to us, to the line, to the table, to us. He looked around at us, at the line, at the table, at us. Then he said something to her and sat back down.

So a bizarrely long wait. Maybe they need to reshuffle the wards. In general the mood was very pleasant. Maybe we are all glad its finally over.