I'm usually pretty good about getting out to vote when I know there's an election. Granted, few ballot measures have been as exciting here as they were in Oregon (where we often voted on issues like whether or not to legalize marijuana posession, or whether to extend the bottle bill to include wine coolers). But I figure it's my right and responsibility, yada yada, and not going out to vote is exactly what the Terrorists would wa... oh, nevermind.
Last night, I checked out the Lake County ballot for today, only to find that, being a resident of unincorporated Lake County, I would have exactly one decision to make: whether or not to extend the extra 1-cent sales tax. I got up this morning and went to my local polling place (our neighborly Century 21 office), bracing for the line I experienced last time... and found one other person voting. (sigh)
The memorable part, though, was signing in. You state your name, show your photo ID, and sign on the line... and this year, they handed me a pencil and had me bubble-in the space next to my name, "Just like you will on the ballot." Seems this is Lake County's response to last year's Florida-voting fiasco. I joked, "I guess they're making sure we get it right this year?", at which the staff member smiled and just said, "You know it!" This way, they instruct you how to complete a ballot and visually verify you can do it, before you get the ballot. Only in Florida.
