Tuesday, November 4, 2008

My democratic right

To kick off Election Day, I thought it only fitting, as the word smith I am, to bring up several words that bear particular relevance to today (and in fact to the last couple of months). These were brought to my attention by (bear with me here) the venerable blogger of "Web2.Doh!," who was informed of these oddly perfect words by Very Short List (VSL is a daily e-mail of random and yet awesome finds on the Web) which found them listed on Anu Garg's A.Word.A.Day Web site. So without further ado (or really, too much ado):

~barrack (verb): 1. To shout in support: to cheer. 2. To shout against: to jeer [from a Northern Ireland word for 'to brag']
~obambulate (verb): To walk about [from Latin word for 'to walk']
~meeken (verb): To make or become meek or submissive. [from an Old Norse word meaning 'meek, soft']
~bidentate (adjective): Having two teeth or toothlike parts [from Latin - 'two' and 'teeth']
~palinode (noun): A poem in which the author retracts something said in an earlier poem [from the Greek words for 'again' and 'song']

So I finally exercised my democratic right in the normal way (i.e. actually going to polls as opposed to sending in an absentee ballot). Virginia was supposed to be one of those states with ridiculous lines out the door. No.
I bundle up in three thick layers(for a stint waiting in the rain), grab a book to read during the 'long' wait and pack the Daily Press Voter's Guide for my roommates and we walk to the polls. The walk takes us like five minutes. We walk into the polling place expecting a huge line. Granted, we went at 9 to miss the 9-5'ers so we were expecting less people. But after we enter we realize there is absolutely no line. We literally walk up to our specific sign-in station (three separate tables according to alphabet), immediately sign in, go to the next table to pick up a ballot and then walk up to the tables with 'privacy' things. We fill out the ballot, pop it in the box (I, of course, freak out cause I can't remember if I filled in the right holes - just like i did after tests in school) and then grab an "I Voted" sticker and leave, all in about 3 minutes tops. It took us longer to walk to and from the polls than to actually vote. I was so worried that the line would be longer but now I kind of feel gipped that it wasn't. But then again this just might prove that voting is ten times easier than most people (including me) thought.
It's also my first Election Night in a real newspaper during a presidential election. It's going to be interesting once things start hopping. I hope to offer some thoughts on my experience later tonight, so stay tuned for tomorrows post on the subject.

1 comment:

  1. i was in the rain for over 30 minutes. amanda sent me a text after being stuck in line for over 2 hours and still hadn't voted. i've heard some ridiculous stories and saw a few traffic accidents. consider yourself lucky- i'm jealous! :-)

    and good luck at the paper tonight love. should be exciting!?

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