Early Voting

Or as some forgotten old Pol used to say, "Vote Early, Vote Often!"

The first half are wise words to heed. The first year Bush ran for Prez, I somehow forgot to vote early and had to go vote on Election day. What a nightmare THAT was. And I even went prepared for a long wait! I swung through Sonic and got a Large, Diet, Vanilla Coke. Then I went to Long John Silver's and got some fish and fries with plenty of tartar sauce. Dropped that in my back pack along with my book and some notes for the grad class I was taking so I could study after I ate while I was in line. If I had time.
I had time. I got there at 6:15 p.m. As I sat in the non-moving line, eating my supper, I was the envy of the other would-be voters. They had not anticipated the wait like I had. I may have only made it through the Brownie level of Girl Scouts but I DID learn to be prepared.
I ate, I drank, I studied. I even went outside and smoked, a couple of times. And came back in and took my former place back. There were a lot of smokers in line and we held each others places in line. The non-smokers glared, but we just gave them smiles when we came back.
I studied. The line inched forward. Slowly. It was like watchin' grass grow. After I finished studyin' I pulled out a novel I had also put in my backpack and started reading it!
I finally voted and left. At 8:30!

So yesterday's voting experience wasn't that bad, all things considered. But it was a NEW experience. Our county got those new fangled electronic voting machines. Thank Goddess they gave me an instruction sheet on how to use it! Pluse there were instructions on the electronic screen.
When you go through the registration process, showing them your voter's card or Driver's License, if you're in TX, they give you a slip of paper with a 4 digit code number on it. Then you enter that code number into the voting machine and you're good to go.
Just be careful which way you spin the little wheel! If you spin it the wrong way it takes you back to a previous page. Then you have to turn it the other way to get back to where you were.
If you have just a little touch of directional dyslexia, like I do, it's a bit confusing. But I managed.

At the end, it gives you a recap. Shows you who you voted for in all the races, and how you voted on all the propositions. Our city propositioned us just about to death! Like Frat boys during Rush Week! But I made it thru okay. Got my little "I Voted" sticker. I put it on my purse, so I could keep it for a few days.

OH, I almost forgot. When you push the button to confirm your vote at the end, you get a screen with a waving American Flag! I felt so Patriotic. But also exhausted, somehow. Like I'd taken a really hard test. Now, it's like waiting for the results of my GRE exams. Wonder what my scores will be like.