I had my first voting experience in the state of Texas this past week. It was pretty exciting, especially since all the voting I did in California was completed via absentee ballot. Ted and I headed to the polls early and had to help the little old ladies figure out how to process us. Then, we headed back to the polls later that evening to caucus. There was a fairly long line when we arrived. We were just ahead of some boisterous Baylor students and were oh so lucky to listen to their insightful analyses of a variety of political topics. When we were finally allowed in, they had run out of ballots. We cast our votes on blank pieces of lavender paper. I wasn't exactly comfortable with writing out my information and candidate in front of all of Precinct 3 and leaving with no guarantee that my handwritten entry would not be changed, but apparently this was the situation throughout the whole state. None of the polling stations were prepared for such a large voter turn out. Most places ran out of ballots, and some people had to wait several hours to caucus. All this took place the evening before the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) test, so many parents had to leave before caucusing in order to make sure their kids got a full night's rest. Talk about poor planning.
In any event, I've enjoyed following the primaries thus far and it gives me a lot to talk about with my students. Also, I can say that I've been a part of an historic election season
No comments:
Post a Comment