Yesterday afternoon I went to my local branch of the large county library system, which has a meeting room that for part of last week and this next couple of weeks is set up as an extra polling place for voters in my precinct. Much more convenient than going to the actual precinct polling place on November 5th! I've been enjoying Early Voting ever since it was implemented a few years ago here. Many of the branch libraries in my county in Northern Virginia are being utilized this way during all elections now, which I think is great. I think neighboring jurisdictions are also using meeting room facilities in their public libraries in the same way, which really makes so much sense.
So first I returned the books which were due at the library, then went into the meeting room/temporary polling place and cast my vote. My timing was great, as I went about an hour and a half after they'd first started for the day, so that when I arrived, the first mad rush had just cleared out and it was surprisingly speedy to do my thing during the (undoubtedly brief) lull. Right now it's early days yet, but since this is a major election, a scarily serious one at that, there have been and certainly will continue to be long lines going from inside the building to all around the outside of the building. I stood in one of those lines four years ago.
I have to say, it's really cool to again see a woman's name listed on the ballot as the presidential candidate!
The name of someone who is ready and willing to take on a new challenge in her life: one for which I think she is ready. Maybe back in 2016 we (or at least a surprising number of some citizens) just weren't quite ready for Hillary? That had disastrous results, as we all saw and experienced. Unfortunately, also many of us also were a little bit too confident about the anticipated outcome of that election. That really was a crushing blow realizing that Hillary was not going to be our first woman president. Subsequently we had to go through the awful experience of four years of The Orange Menace.
Things are different now, the mood of the country in many areas is somewhat different now. Also, more importantly, knowledge and experience and realization has significantly increased about the need to take specific precautions ahead of the election and in the time frame following it until the results are well and truly officially certified. I just hope that in the end, all of this is different enough that this time we WILL safely and securely and unequivocally have our first woman president moving into the White House, ready to take on her new responsibilities.
Smiling, I happily cast my votes (D all the way!) on the paper ballot, filling in the appropriate holes indicating my choices, and after that, under a poll worker's appropriate supervision and verbal guidance, inserted my ballot sheet into the machine which is designed for that purpose. My smile broadened into a frank and delighted grin when she handed me a sticker and I was able to proudly affix the "Presidential Election: I VOTED" sticker on my jacket. Then it was time to go back into the library proper to select some new reading matter for this next week or so.....
November 5th is going to be a nail-biter, that is for sure, but we also know to be cautious about what happens after that as well.
