I Voted
Just got back from my local polling place early this morning and, while it seemed somewhat chaotic with plenty of people whining about standing in line for (gasp) a whole twenty minutes while others cast their votes, it was good.
Some observations:
There weren't a lot of people from my age demographic voting; in fact, I was easily the youngest one there (with the next youngest person probably in their mid-to-late forties). This shouldn't be that surprising (ritzy Creve Coeur isn't exactly THE hang-out township for thirty-somethings like myself, and those who are married with kids have their hands full in the morning with little ones), but I felt lonely.
I got to use a digital voting machine for the first time, and it was pretty cool. Every time I cast a vote for something, there was a paper print-out (kind of like the ones on the gas pumps) on the side of it that recorded my vote, so I'm guessing that was back-up so my selections wouldn't be lost in the People's Republic of Cyberspace. All in all, it took about three minutes and I was finished.
In case anybody cares, I voted against Amendment 2, which is cleverly worded but deceitfully wrong. Missourians, if you still haven't made up your minds on this one, check out this helpful post from Jon Barlow. It's important.
Sadly, I had to ask for my own "I Voted" sticker, which kind of felt like being a five-year-old who wanted everyone to notice that he did something. Indeed, there were some (stickers, not five-year-olds), but it's too bad I had to justify my inquiry by saying, "I just want to help encourage people to vote." The lady looked at me a little strangely, handed me a still-taped-up roll of the stickers, and went back to her work. In my zeal, I could have ripped off a thousand or so and walked out with my my body covered, but I didn't; I just took one, applied it to my sweatshirt, and left.
All that to say, 40 minutes later (which includes travel), I voted today. If you haven't yet or are wondering if you will, let me encourage you to do so, as it's a simple but significant way to remind yourself that you are a citizen of this country whose freedom was not free (though the "I Voted" stickers are - you might just have to ask for one on your way out).