I was in charge of treats, so stopped by Legacy Chocolate’s to get Calvin’s favorites –Betty Lou’s (cashew toffee covered in white chocolate and topped with toasted coconut). I like to vote. It was a great little family night.
Our state adopted mail-in ballots a few years ago. One good thing about them is you can read the pamphlet and discuss the issues while you’re voting – no cramming on the initiatives, running into the booth, and trying to remember if yes means “for” or “against” in this case.
But one bad thing is there is no sense of community when you vote by mail.
My favorite community service thus far was serving as an election judge. A handful of us community ladies met at the grange hall early in the morning, armed with a lunch and some hand-sewing, ready to man the sign-in table and voting booths. Because some of our neighbors traveled more than fifty miles to cast their ballots, voting was often a destination not just a drop-by. The farmers discussed cattle and crop prices over the hoods of their pickups while the women gathered in the kitchen and sipped coffee from green jadite coffee cups and talked of recipes and . . . neighbors. There was never a rush on the booths; people trickled in throughout the day. And all the while our handful of community ladies guarded the votes (and one year even kept close watch on G.K. when our election official caught wind he planned to stand sentinel and intimidate other voters).
courtesy of Times-News
This was a picture printed in our hometown newspaper. It’s of election officials in a neighboring precinct. I’ll bet $5 that they each have a lunch and a bag of hand-sewing under that table.
6 comments:
i am so annoyed...my ballot hasn't come, now i have to call that darn number...grrrr!! Although, i have never been to a voting booth, and i want to, and i want to wear around that sticker that says, "I voted!" Man i was SOOO looking foward to that day. But i like the mail in ballots just so i can talk it over with David...he knows WAY more about politics than me. I am pretty dumb when it comes to politics! I do try...to an extent, they just don't make any sense to me!
I've never voted by mail before.
I'll bet you $10 dollars the one is commenting, "Are we measuring in centimeters or inches? Dorthy, move that darn hand... it's blocking my magnifying glass."
I remember those old voting booths set up in the grange. They had curtains and you pulled a lever... did I go with you, or come down with dad later when he came to vote?
I love your memories... they are things I want everyone to remember.
Cali
ps. I finished my book on tape... but I still have 2 more hours of painting. I hate it when things aren't in sync.
Cali, I even KNOW one of the ladies in that picture . . . but for the life of me I can't remember her name. Her husband's name is Howard and her son's name is Glen and her grandson's name is Alex and . . . but for the life of me I can't think of her name.
I've never voted by mail, either. How I love your description of being an election judge. I'm pretty sure it's not like that here...
I, too, miss going to the grange and seeing the same three ladies manning the station. Sometimes they had sack lunches, but sometimes they had soup or stew in a crockpot and then the whole grange smelled like supper. They never checked out ID because they knew every person that showed up. I'd gladly take my envelope over there just for the nostalgia of it all (and the "I voted" sticker, Tiffany)!
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