Friday, November 9, 2012

My First US Presidential Election Experience

 It was about 7pm in the evening when I went to the polling station. The polling station was like many such places in England housed in the annex to a church.

Rows of blocked off tables filled the center of the room, the voting booths. Then down the left sat a row of people behind numbered desks. A man approached my wife and I asked our address and directed us to a table.

The woman at the table greeted us happily, asking me about the next book club meeting at the library, I organize the book club and she has often expressed interest in joining wjen she has prepared my taxes in the Spring. Guess you know that you live in a small town when you know most people at the polling station.

My wife voted first, I stood with a friend from the local community college as we caught up on news and our latest bits of gossip.

Then I moved to a voting booth. My wife elected to fill in the ballot for me. We had actually prepared my votes on a ballot proposal form earlier. It was easy then to merely add the votes to the various parts of the ballot paper.

Happily I placed my ballot into a cover, walked to the man whom had directed us earlier then my ballot was taken from me, placed on a machine and sucked inside.

My first presidential election as a US Citizen was over.

Sad at the knowledge that next time will not be a first but happy to have followed a tradition of having a say in my countries government. I love it!

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