I’ve often been amazed at the number
of people who whine about our government officials, yet those same people
rarely, if ever, can be bothered to get off their bums to actually cast a
vote.
In Australia, voting is
compulsory. Of course there are still
countless numbers who whinge about their elected officials, but in my mind,
they have a better right to do so. At
least they tried to get someone else elected.
Last week we had primary elections
here and I discovered some of the reasons Americans prefer to stay home on
polling day. I believe it’s called stink
and frustration!
For years my polling place has been
across the street from my house in the local middle school cafeteria. A leisurely stroll on a lovely morning. But not this year. This
year some brilliant bureaucrat decided that was all too easy and I should now drive
several miles to a further school. This
particular establishment of learning has very limited parking so it was
necessary to line up, cool my heels and wait for a parking stall to become
vacant.
Ah, but why quibble? I was there to do my civic duty. After all wasn’t this one of the reasons I
became a US
citizen? So, by golly, not even a huge
inconvenience was going to stop me!
As I entered the actual polling room
decorated with twenty or so privacy cubicles I was nearly knocked over by the
pong. It was apparent the last time the
canvas material used to create these cubicles had seen the light of day was at
least four years ago. And no one had
thought to give them a bit of an airing or at least given them a squirt of
Febreeze before erecting them for our use now.
I was given the choice of voting
manually or electronically. I chose
manually mainly because there was a short line in front of the electronic
gadget and I didn’t know how long I’d be able to continue to hold my breath.
But my decision
was a mistake. The pong of mildew was
nearly overwhelming inside the cubicle.
Then I discovered how the government
was going to save us all tons of loot.
Pens and string! Attached to the
shelf by a string was one of these el cheapo plastic biros. The kind you can buy for about $1 for a
packet of 100. I’m ambidextrous but I
usually prefer to fill out forms with my left hand. Unfortunately this was not to be that
day. The string was so short that I
could barely stretch it toward the form with my right hand and try to fill in
all the little squares. What an exercise
in futility. Did the bureaucrats really
believe that we poor dingbat voters were going to abscond with their crummy
little pens if they didn’t tie them securely to the cubicle frames?
But, I did my duty. And I do applaud all the volunteers who
manned the various polling stations around the state. I’m sure it’s a fairly thankless job, not to
mention a real stinky one around my way.
I just hope someone has the good sense to give those canvas squares a
good whip through the washing machines before November comes.
Let’s face it. It’s hard enough to get voters off their bums
under perfect conditions, why give them the excuse of pongy polling places to
add to their list of reasons why they can’t/won’t vote?
