Okay, I've dealt with the most important thing on my to-do
list for today. As usual, it took me not quite twice as long
to walk to the polling place and back as I spent inside getting
checked in and voting (even though I didn't realize there were
two different precincts' polling stations at the same building in
adjoining rooms, and I'd gone to the wrong one first -- and the
fact that my polling place is so close that it would take longer
to start the car, fasten my seat belt, and look for a parking
spot than it does to walk there). There were other people
already voting, but no line. I asked one poll worker how the
day was going, and she said it hadn't been terribly busy, but
"it's been steady, and that's encouraging." The Diebold
voting machine did not malfunction in any visible way -- no
last-page vote switching. Though of course the big problem
with paperless voting is the lack of any way to check for
not-immediately-visible errors.
Of course, going over the sample ballot beforehand and
searching the web for information about the various ballot
initiatives (deciding between the candidates in various races
was easier this year than some times) took longer than all
the rest put together, which is as it should be: the effort
of this civic duty should be in the deciding, not in the
recording of the decision. (It probably helps that I voted
in the middle of the afternoon, not close to either rush
hour.) I haven't peeked at LJ in the
past few hours, so I don't know whether anyone's had headaches,
hassles, or long waits this time. Here's hoping that things
are going smoothly elsewhere.
Alas, I didn't sleep much last night, and my body is
now saying, "nap!". Let's see if I can get by with an hour or
and hour and a half, and make it to 3LF tonight.