Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The word I jammed into the search box tonight to find my last missive on voting wasn’t “civic duty,” tellingly enough, nor was it even “vote.” It was “stripperly,” and that about describes the size of it. I hit the booth today to take advantage of early voting. But the experience was markedly different–different era, different motivation, different frame of mind.

That’s one of the benefits of maintaining a journal like this, I guess. I mean, I referenced the Nintendo Wii, last time I submitted a ballot. There’s a bittersweet symmetry about this, because I’d say I was as excited about voting today as I am about the Wii. Now, I understand the electoral process is a privilege, at least on paper. It’s also a circus, with the barrage of tasteless ads and carney-looking campaigners and small plots of grass crucified by garish placards with unfamiliar names on them. The wait in line was short, thankfully, which meant I only had to feign interest in whatever the elderly gentleman in front of me had to say for 10 minutes.

I sound salty here, I know. I’m not exactly sure why I went, honestly. Probably some vestigial sense of civic duty to be performed via touchscreen as quickly as possible. I put some effort into checking the big boxes, certainly, but then it was a free-for-all. Whereas I sought to sow balance last time in the ensuing five pages of state offices, chaos was my directive this time, and neither party was spared. If I was asked to choose three candidates for a position, I picked one. Questions were answered out of order, in the interest of watching the little swatch of paper go apeshit. I held true to one of my voting principles, though: never vote for anybody who stands outside the precinct and asks for my support or, even worse, my hand. It’s annoying and smacks of desperation. And when I finally grabbed my sticker, I realized my political apathy wasn’t new by any stretch. It’s been the real incumbent, all along.