Well, Julie and I just got back from voting, and I'm pleased to say that a) I was wrong about it not being possible to do write-in votes for president in Texas, and b) Mr. Wendell Berry of Kentucky will be able to claim two votes from Dallas. I was pleased that I didn't have to withhold my vote this year, and that even though a write-in candidate is basically stunt balloting, at least I was able to exercise my franchise, however hopeless the gesture.
We had a long ballot this year, and I voted for Republicans, Democrats and even a couple of Libertarians. I must say that being on a newspaper editorial board, and getting to meet most of the candidates and put questions to them, made a big difference in how I voted. As a conservative Republican, I would naturally have defaulted to the GOP candidate in every race. But we sat through some election interviews in which the Republican was clearly inferior to the Democrat. We also sat through interviews in which the Democrat was really lousy by comparison -- too bad that many Democratic voters will just choose the Democrat because there's a D behind the candidate's name.
It's a lovely warm fall day here in Dallas, and I have to say at the risk of being schmaltzy that going to the polls made me feel pretty damn good about being an American. Standing in front of me in line was a young woman who told the pollworkers that this was her first election ever. They all saluted her. As I was filling out my ballot, I heard a woman behind me telling a pollworker that her dad was with her, and she was going to have to translate for him -- an immigrant voter, in other words. As I turned to leave, an elderly black man came shuffling in behind a walker, cheerfully shouting his name out to the pollworker receiving voters.
"Watson! Watson!" he said, grinning broadly. No matter who wins tonight, any day that the American people can choose their own leaders is a great day for America.
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We voted early on Saturday morning, arrived right as the polls opened. The line was already stretched down the block from the courthouse. This was an unheared of amount of people voting early in southwestern Oklahoma. Our wait time was an hour and 45 minutes.
In front of us were two elderly black women, sisters, one walked with a cane. They stood and waited without a word of complaint. As we approached the courthouse steps, a middle aged white man helped them both up the stairs as gently as he would with his own grandmother. That was my teary, American moment.
Treebeard,
I'm am unsure whether BrianB is correct that those who vote for an anti-abortion write in candidate will spend their time in purgatory, God willing, explaining their vote individually to the victims of the Obamacaust. But surely Obama voters will. So you've got that going for you.
My first presidential election ever tonight! Not much in particular to tell...apparently I'm going to lose. :-( But still, I've got suffrage. A cause for celebration anyway, I think. :-D
God bless!
Rod,
No, Wendell Berry did not get two votes.
In your booth, there should have been a list of declared write-in candidates for President and Vice President.
Only votes for those people will be counted. All other W-I votes will be discarded.
I happened on this blog entry on a search to see if any Berry essays can be found online. If ever there was a man to smart enough to stay out of politics, you named him on your ballot.
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