Conquering Vertigo

I love paper ballots

In San Francisco, we have paper ballots. And seven-digit dialing...even from cell phones! I love living here.

Last year, I voted early in Texas before the marriage and move, so couldn't vote in California. So today was my first election as a Kalyfornyan.

The picture is from the SF Chron's web site, of college students waiting in line to vote. The scene was much the same at the Presidio where I voted: sandals, sneakers and backpacks, although the median age was about 50 in my line.

In Texas, most polling places seemed to be churches, schools, libraries, etc. Here, almost any place can be a polling location -- cafes, coffee shops, car dealerships, art galleries. Our new polling place will be about two blocks from our house -- a fire station.

I'm not sure what my favorite part of the ballot was...

• the option to choose Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Gobernador (or not)
  
• the tri-lingual iteration (English, Chinese, Spanish)
• Proposition J, which reads, "Shall it be City policy to call for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice-President Cheney?"
• the fact that it is still paper, and not some evil hacked vote-stealing Diebold machine
  

I think my favorite part is that it's paper. As I handed it in to the Blessed Elder, who had just been telling another poll worker he was born almost 100 years ago in China, I felt tears stinging my eyes. Despite the atrocities perpetrated on our civil liberties and the ugly, ridiculous partisan fighting, people still come to America and vote. This time, I felt as if my vote counted.

posted by Woman In Love @ 3:52 PM