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the Stem Cell Page time and ignorance are the enemies |
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Election Day Diary |
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PART II
I headed out the door at Rosewood, toward my car parked in front, when I heard a shout, “Hey! Can you take some more?” I turned and there were three more elderly women, all with canes and walkers.
“Sure, let’s go!” And we all loaded up in the buggy for another trip.
In the car, one woman said, “I just moved here and I’m registered to vote in a different precinct. Do you think they’ll let me vote here?” She had her voter registration card and an ID with her. I explained that she would probably be allowed to vote, but likely it would be with a provisional ballot, subject to review, and she’d have to fill out some sort of affidavit. “Thank heaven,” she said. “I’ve never missed an election and I wouldn’t want to start now.”
Back at the church, I escorted the women to the polls and located an official to assist the one who had just moved into the Center. The fellow was very helpful. He got her the forms and made all the arrangements. But when the women were asked whether they wanted to use the touch screen machines or Opti-scan ballots, each one came to me for advice. After Jeff Kopolow’s early experience, I recommended the Opti-scan. “It takes a little longer,” I explained, “but at least you can see the paper trail.”
Once they completed their ballots we got situated in the car again and returned to Rosewood. As they departed, each one gave me a kiss! They must have seen their friend give me one earlier and they all decided to join in the fun. What a hoot.
By now it was past 11:00. I decided it was time for me to vote. It was perfectly sandwiched after the morning rush and before lunch hour. I drove to Logos School. It was mobbed. The parking lot was completely full with overflow spilling onto the grass. There were cars sitting idled in the driving lanes, the drivers waiting for someone to leave so they could grab a space.
I opted to pass it up and park on the street. I walked toward the gym entrance and the line was out the door and backed up to the parking lot. I considered leaving and returning later, but let the thought pass. If it was this full during an off hour, it would only be worse later.
I had never seen voter turnout like this. Typically I would vote between 10:00 and 11:30 am. I’d walk in and there would be a short line, maybe three to six people, and there were always empty booths. Not this time. It took about 15 or 20 minutes just to get in the building. Once inside, I spotted the election judge, Bob Pope. Bob had been our next door neighbor when I was a kid growing up and he always takes a few minutes to chat with me when we see each other on election days. When he saw me he smiled and asked about my family, which he does every time I vote, but given the crowd, it was a notably shortened conversation from our usual.
Several years ago, they combined two precincts into one at my voting location, and ballots were printed to distinguish between the votes from the two precincts. This time, they had set up two individual sections, one for each precinct. Bob made certain that voters were directed to the proper “precinct.” There were two lines, two sets of tables with two teams of election officials, and they were in two distinct voting areas. Once Bob pointed me toward the proper area I got in line.
There was a fellow in front of me asking whether he should vote using the touch screen or Opti-scan. Nobody in front of him gave him a sufficient answer. He turned around to ask me. It was Jerry Feldman. We shook hands and said hello. Jerry had been City Manager of our little suburb for many years and retired about 8 years ago. It was great to see Jerry had gotten out to vote. Recently, Jerry has exhibited Parkinsonian symptoms, though his doctors aren’t convinced it’s actually Parkinson’s disease. He has good days and bad, but fortunately he seemed to be doing fairly well just then.
Jerry had been a pilot in the Army Air Corps at the end of World War II. It was his group that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. He continued to serve, rising to the rank of colonel, but retired from the Air Force once medical conditions prevented him from flying. I had signed Jerry up as a member of the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures and recruited him to be featured in a brochure promoting Amendment 2 that was designed specifically for the military. We had distributed those brochures at the VFW convention and the air show at Whiteman Air Force base, among others.
Answering his question, I explained to Jerry that I preferred the Opti-scan system since the ballot was the paper trail and you could actually see it. He thanked me and requested the Opti-scan. He voted. I voted.
Then I headed back to the McCaskill headquarters.
- Jeff Eisen
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