It's really no wonder that George Bush and his ilk have taken control of this country with barely a struggle.
I was moving slow this morning and got to my polling place at 9:15 a.m. I was number 15 to vote in this primary election where several "nonpartisan" judgeships and the But important choice of a congressional candidate to challenge The Execrable Robin Hayes (NC-8) were at issue. Number 15. After the "morning voting rush" was over, no less. The mind boggles.
I got to use the new (ES&S, I think) touchscreen voting systems with integrated paper trail that have been mandated by the NC legislature. They weren't in place last time I voted (in fall) but in my precinct at least they've managed to switch out the paperless machines completely. The NC Democratic Party is justifiably proud of the legislative effort to get this paper trail requirement into place and run Diebold out of the state; Howard Dean even mentioned it in his speech in Charlotte on Friday.
Anyone who tells you that paper-trail voting can't be done is simply lying. The touchscreen systems responded properly to my poking fingers, and registered every vote as I intended. The paper tape, which was neatly self contained, showed every vote the same as the screen, and once I pushed the big green button, it scrolled away neatly into the interior of the box, invisible to the next voter. No mess, no fuss, no bother. I'm sure there would still be ways to tamper with these machines and votes but they'd be harder, and without a way to create a duplicate tape that registered the improper votes, a recount would actually work.
I pushed the button for Larry Kissell in the NC-8 Congressional primary. It was the obvious choice. Dunn, who had dropped out, was still on the ballot. Autry had seemed like less of a forceful personality than Kissell, and Ortiz (whose signs have been highly visible along the roadways in East Charlotte) had been a no-show at events where the other candidates turned up to speak.
The Mecklenburg Democrats had made a point of emphasizing the importance of judgeships at the convention I attended a few weeks ago, and I had heard a couple of the candidates' spiels at party events, but it turned out that I still should have researched the down-ballot races more, because it turned out that there was one where I still didn't recognize any of the names. At least I was able to cast informed votes in most of the races.
Voting is hard work. I should have worked harder checking out candidates for the down-ballot races. But the bigger deal is getting our friends and neighbors to vote. I promised myself I'd canvass on Saturday and then didn't because I let a homeowner emergency of sorts take priority. I should have worked harder.
Everyone in my little neighborhood (a 50s-vintage inner suburb with a lot of young people and a mix of races) lives within easy walking distance, on quiet traffic-free streets, of the Precinct 29 polling place. Every one of them could get there in less than five minutes in a car, stroll in, and cast their vote. Maybe it's not so important that they didn't vote in this primary. Maybe. Maybe they would have if I'd just gone around and reminded them, though.