Democracy!

Today I voted for the first time, ever. I didn't participate in any of the primaries because I'm a registered independent. It was super exciting. I only waited in line for 1.5 hours, and I made friends with a CC freshman, and we talked and played People Games. Someone played a guitar, and it seemed like everyone brought their kids.

It's cool seeing Colorado in the New York Times every day, because of our early voting. (CC puts a newsstand of free NYTs in every dorm.)
Colorado Springs Gazette: Early voting sets records. "More than a third of registered voters already have cast a ballot."

There were some amendments that were really hard to figure out, especially the oil business tax thing. I couldn't remember if I wanted to vote yes or no. It said something like "prohibiting allowing for credit against" and I thought about people who are barely literate trying to figure that out . . . . . . How much of our government is determined by confused people closing their eyes and picking a box?
But thanks to last block, Politics of the Legal Process, I was able to decipher the legalese and make a decision.

I voted here, right where that lady in the red coat is standing.

Oh, and I didn't have any problems. A new law let me use my CC ID as a valid form of identification, and I didn't get harassed or stopped. But there have been major problems right in this county. (The Colorado Independent: Election snafu roundup: Lots of tricks, some treats for voters.) Like that out-of-state registering scare.

"El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink recently made headlines for releasing false information a few months ago, stating that college students cannot register to vote in Colorado if parents living outside of Colorado claim the students as dependents on their income tax returns. Balink released a statement correcting his mistake." CC alumni involved in the 2004 election confirmed that Balink's office had "tried the stunt at least three times before and failed each time."
- C.C.'s Cipher magazine, Vol.XII, Issue II.

I got my electronic voting card with no problem, and everyone seemed to like my costume.


Here's me, dressed as Peter Pan, drinking chocolate milk from a champagne glass, riding to the El Paso County polls in a limo. I'm not making any of that up. Some advocacy group hired a party bus limo to escort CC students to the polls, probably to convince us to vote early.

They even let me take my plastic sword to the booth.