There Was a Line When I Went to Vote This Morning
an article by David

There was a line when I went to vote this morning. In all the years I've been voting, I've never seen one like this before.

We waited for almost an hour, and we were told that the wait was even longer at some other polls in our town. One of the people in line said, "This is one line I'm happy to wait in!"

I agree. It means that the people of my town still believe in democracy and that they have a voice in it. And if there were lines around the country, it means that the whole country still believes in democracy.

While waiting in line we met new neighbors we hadn't met before, and we talked about families, schools, wildlife in the woods behind our houses and how relieved we were that the election was coming off without a hitch. The atmosphere was friendly, without any of the nastiness and fear that we have seen on television lately.

The TV news were there filming the voting. At last, I thought, they are getting the real news, not the polls, not the "expert" predictions, not the million-dollar candidate advertisement campaigns that you can't believe, not the hype that made me begin to doubt we still had a democracy.

The machines were the same mechanical voting machines that we have used for years. They are machines where representatives from each candidate can go up and read the numbers at the end of the day to verify that the vote was honest. This also gave me confidence that we are still a democracy.

I don't know yet who will be called the winners of this election or whether the votes will be counted fairly everywhere. But ultimately it is the American people who are still winning by demanding that our voice must be the ultimate power in the land.

DISCUSSION

Question(s) related to this article:

What would it take for the U.S. Presidential election to be fair?


As a reader, you are invited to join in the discussion of this article based on any of the above question(s): just click on the question, read the previous comments and add a new reply. You may also enter a new discussion topic on this article - see bottom of this page.

Thematic forum(s) in which this article is being discussed:

ELECTORAL POLITICS

Latest reader comment:

Our local paper, the Anniston Star, has carried no articles recently about the debate over challenging the electoral vote being led by John Conyers.  This is discouraging, since it is a liberal publication which has been a moderate voice throughout the election.   I have written several letters to the editor with no response.  I will be wearing my Vote 2004 button tomorrow (January 6) to remind myself and others that the election is not over yet.  I hope that this election will spur the necessary changes in our election system to assure that every one votes and every vote is counted (correctly).

This report was posted on November 3, 2004. The moderator is Tony.

If you wish to start a new discussion topic on this article, please copy the title of this article which is There Was a Line When I Went to Vote This Morning and its number which is 191 and enter this information along with your discussion question and a brief text on the new topic form.

A few stories are retained on the main listings if they are considered by readers to be a priority. If you have not already done so, please take the time to check a box below: should this article be considered as a priority?