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Civic Duty, Performed
a year ago
A Peek Into My Mind. Be Afraid.
I got up at 5.45, showered, and headed over to the polling station in my neighborhood, a nearby school's gym. There was a line of, I'd say, about 20 folks waiting for the polls to open at 6.00, which they did, promptly. I was, I think, the first at my particular district's table, and I voted. I did my traditional thing and wrote my name in for each of the judgeship slots open. The optical scanner took my ballot after a little gentle coaxing. No stickers on offer this year, though I got to keep my pen.
In other news, Dixville Notch, NH was tied 3-3, which is a swing to Trump, who lost 0-5 to Biden in 2020 and 2-4 to Clinton in 2016. The GOP hasn't carried the hamlet since 2004; the population of the hamlet has declined over the last number of years, to the point where it had only 4 residents in the 2020 census, and nearly lost its polling place, until a nearby resident moved in to preserve it. Hart's Landing, nearby, apparently did not do the midnight voting thing this time around.
In other news, Dixville Notch, NH was tied 3-3, which is a swing to Trump, who lost 0-5 to Biden in 2020 and 2-4 to Clinton in 2016. The GOP hasn't carried the hamlet since 2004; the population of the hamlet has declined over the last number of years, to the point where it had only 4 residents in the 2020 census, and nearly lost its polling place, until a nearby resident moved in to preserve it. Hart's Landing, nearby, apparently did not do the midnight voting thing this time around.
I took the walker back inside and the newbie started screaming at me. I refused to leave and she told the other information clerk to notify the Resident State Trooper that I was "causing problems." She had attracted a lot of attention by then and the other election folks were trying to shush her. I signed in anyway and got my voting underway without further interruption.
I mentioned the situation to my girlfriend this evening; she said it's a kind of neurosis that occurs when some people are given a little authority for the first time. Treatment is available but it's probably the last election that woman will ever work.