This Idiot Voted

Months ago, I decided to not commit myself to any one presidential candidate. The field was wide. My time is valuable. I didn’t want to spend hours researching everyone’s stance on every issue. I knew the field would narrow before I had to cast my vote on Super Tuesday. Monday came and I still didn’t have a candidate I felt passionate about. I sat at my computer Monday night, reading On the Issues and trying to make a decision that would allow me to sleep at night. I went to bed undecided. And, when I say “undecided,” I really mean “undecided.” I don’t always vote along party lines. I vote for whom I think is the best person for the job, Republican or Democrat. Tuesday morning came and I knew I had to make a decision. I got to work. I read more on the issues. By mid-afternoon, my left eye was twitching from the stress. Seriously. The vote was closing in and I had to commit. I left work, driving to the polls around 4:45 p.m. My eye twitching, my mind racing. What is the right thing to do? I don’t agree with everyone on everything. What’s more important? Two miles from my polling station, I made a decision. I don’t remember my eye twitching after that.

I walked in to fill out my form. A long line quickly formed behind me. “You have to check one of these primaries this time,” the woman said. I looked. Democrat? Republican? I don’t want to choose, I thought. What will this mean anyway? Does it matter? I’m a registered Republican, but maybe I don’t want to vote Republican today. I could feel the pressure of those waiting behind me. It’s a good thing my eye was no longer twitching. There I would have been, leaning over the table, talking to myself, my hand going back and forth between the two check boxes, with a suspicious twitch. You know how the Red Cross serves cookies and kool-aid after you give blood? I think the polling stations should serve cocktails. Knowing I had to move, I quickly checked a box and moved on. What difference would it make anyway? A LOT.

In my stress, I overlooked the fact that my ballot would be based on what primary I checked. This is my political ignorance. So, there I stood, staring at a ballot that did not list the candidate I had finally chosen. I finally cast my vote for someone I felt okay about. On my way out, I stopped to get a sticker, but they were all out of the “This Idiot Voted” designs.