thank g-d voting happens only every 4 years

As any 22 year old would do, I registered to vote exactly 1 month in advance of the Presidential election. Being a new resident of Virginia, I made the decision to go to the polls; all previous elections (aka the only other one I voted in) was completed via absentee ballot. I believed that when the clock stroke 6 am on November 4, who would possibly be up that early?

To futher make my life a little bit more…interesting, I found out about 3 weeks before the election was supposed to occur that I would be going to Hartford, CT for work. A co-worker was going as well, so we decided to carpool to work and then the airport. I felt that this would not cause any problems as I was going to go to the polls as soon as they opened, and then catch a ride with my co-worker right after.

After packing 75% of all necessary items the night before, I set my alarm for 5:45am, resolved to wake up, do my American duty in choosing a future president, and then return home, finish packing, and get dressed to go. As I strolled out of my apartment, looking especially….haggard in my baggy-yet-too-short sweat pants, ankle-mismatched socks, boyfriend sweatshirt, side high ponytail, and glasses (to obviously complete my look) I saw that the poll line stretch WAYYYYY around the block…and the doors had not even been opened. To further complicate matters, Rossyln had set up 2 polling stations next to each other,  confusing all potential voters as to which line to get in.

After everyone finally figured out what line they needed to be in, the poll doors opened, and I realized that I would most definitely be in line for the next hour. Lucky for me, the young woman standing behind me was a news anchor for a hip, online tv station, and gave the 411 on the election, candidates, trends, and most importantly poll-line standing statitistics. Based on her filiming experience, she assured me that I would make it through the line by 7am, with even a few minutes to spare. As the minutes ticked on, I realized I had two main regrets: one being that I should have realized that I live right by the nation’s capital and knowingly come to the polls at 4 am, the second being that I should have put on a bit of make-up since a lot of cuties were in line and I could have found a potential politician boyfriend!

I finally made it to the front of the polling line at about 7:00am. With only 10 individuals before me, I finally was checked in and given the option of voting electronically or by paper ballot. As the paper ballot line was non-existent, I opted for that option as it seemed the fastest. As i quickly bubbled in the circles voicing my choice for president, I placed the ballot in the machine, but ALAS! the machine stated “Error, ballot not read.” After repeating this process 3 more TIMES, the ballot finally was taken and I bolted OUT of the polling station, with 7 minutes left to run home, change, finish packing, and wait for my carpool to come.

Yes, due to sheer luck, all of this WAS completed with me being only 3 minutes late AND most importantly to note, no consumption of coffee!!

All I can say is…at least now I know that for the next election…ABSENTEE BALLOT!

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