Yes the Big Day is here and its time to make your voice count as a citizen of the United States (provided you have registered to do so which I really hope you have if you are of legal age). I don’t generally soapbox this kind of thing and I shall not get political at all but will say that despite what you think about the process, your vote does count and your voice as well. The Presidential Election this year is surely one loaded with a lot of drama as we have seen in the debates and in the press as Donald Trump goes head to head with Hillary Clinton. I hit my local voting center (a nearby school) a little while ago and when you sign in they hand you the ballot and this massive folder to protect your decision.
Here’s a part of the ballot where you see the names of Trump and Clinton along with some Independent Party names like Jill Stein and Gary Johnson. I’m voting for one of the main two but will not disclose in this narrative and I honestly feel that in this case a third party candidate or a write in is not the best course of action to take. Many of us are torn with what to do in this one since both candidates have been considered quite unpopular among the people despite having their strong support side. If you are frozen into what side you should vote perhaps view it as the one that you like just a tad more than the other one. Each has some good ideas and each has some truly “out there” ideas. I’ll be honest and say that I don’t like either of them but I am not staying home and avoiding my chance to vote. I always do this no matter what the outcome is. I only hope for the best.
In addition to the nominees for the presidential race there are a bunch of Senate names and some court justices. Take a stand on those as well since some directly affect your community. I filled out every possible item on the ballot but only snapped the single shot that you see above. After you have finished with your choices, you go to a scanner and load the ballot into it and give the person watching the process that big folder. There is no more punching cards or pulling the giant lever. Technology has won out. Once you have voted you get one of these stickers and its the perfect snapshot for your Instagram or Facebook timeline since that is what people seem to do with them nowadays. Oh or Snapchat. Everyone is doing things in Snapchat as well now.
I did my part and got my sticker to prove it. Some friends have reported on their Facebook status that the stickers were gone which surprises me since its still early. Just make sure you do it since its your right. Let’s hope for the country’s best since this is a big job to do. I’ve never been so nervous before about a decision and with that I say see you next time.
THIS JUST IN: It’s just about 2AM as I add this note in and I’ve just gotten home from the Marillion show that I had attended. Since I had WiFi access I was watching the numbers tally over the course of the night and shared it with some of the fans I was near. I started following the known results a little after 9PM and Donald Trump was ahead of Clinton by some leaps but as Yogi Berra used to say “it ain’t over till its over” and the bigger Electoral College numbers hadn’t come in yet. That was different at 2AM and it was pretty clear that Donald J. Trump was going to be the next President of The United States. When I left the show around 12:30AM I would come back up into Times Square and there were thousands of people assembled and all glued to overhead screens flashing the latest news. It was fascinating to observe the level of actual quiet present despite all of these masses. Let’s hope for the best.
Interesting Weblinks:
Electorial College: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_College_(United_States)
Republican Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)
Democratic Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)
Donald J. Trump: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
Hillary Rodham Clinton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton