I went to my polling place this morning before work - two booths with burgundy vinyl flaps in the basement of a church. One woman and two men sat at a folding table adjacent to the booths. One line would face the woman as she took IDs, looked through the registration book, and called out the names and spelling. Another would form perpendicularly towards the booths. The men would write the names down on their sheets as she called them out. I wished I had an amusing name to bring some enjoyment to their jobs. The whole environment was a real downer. For all the sacrifices people have made to allow this to happen, you’d think there would be some type of excitement.

As my mind wandered half-asleep while waiting in line, I wondered what our founding fathers would say about voting in the basement of a church? Does this cross the line of the separation of church and state? Is it appropriate to man a voting booth while wearing a Jesus t-shirt? Didn’t Bush switch Christian affiliations a couple times over to end up being a Methodist when he married Laura, the same affiliation of the church I was standing in? Something about it all triggered an alarm in my head. How does one become a polling place anyway? Keep your mind in the gutter and a Bourbon St t-shirt is in the making.

Another, more serious issue:
In the recent past (as previously documented here on metblogs New Orleans) I dealt with the government bureaucracy in confirming my registration and finding my appropriate polling place. I found that because I was registered at my old address, I had to go to my old polling place uptown, vote, and fill out a change of address form for the future. This was after I mailed in a new registration to make extra sure I was registered. Turns out that Saturday I got a voter registration card with my current address and a polling place two blocks from my home. The big question: Am I registered twice? I wouldn’t be surprised. Maybe I’ll use my other vote for Spicy. “El caliente es rojo caliente!!!”

Related posts:

1. Voting Confirmation
2. Slow, Hot, Moist, and Smooth
3. A fatal mix of “misinformation and authority”
4. Delaying Elections
5. Your Right to Bitch