When I was little, maybe ten, tenish, I remember going with my Parents to the High School Auditorium to Vote. Big metal mechanical voting machines with 1970s colored curtains were set up in the lobby in front of the HS Aud.
Mommy and I, we stepped inside the Voting Machine (that is what we called them) and pulled a lever, to let the machine know that we were inside and ready for our Voting Gig. Like the Wizard of Oz, pull the lever and the curtain closes, slides around us, my Mommy and Me.
And then inside, like an old aircraft cockpit, more levers to pull. Pull this lever to vote - Nixon, pull another lever to vote McGovern. Tarkey Lombardi, John Mulroy, James Walsh, Politician names from way back when, names that don’t mean much to me, I was too young, but these names I remember.
Pull the lever Voting Machines, and what happens then. In my minds eye I remember thinking that there must have been some Mouse Trap (board game) mechanism, some Willie Wonka gumballs, or marbles rolling around, down chutes and ladders depending upon which lever was pulled, the marble rolls along and ends up in one vote pot or another. Clink. (Monkey counts marble. Declares WINNER.)
A very mechanical Voting Machine.
*****
Then we moved to Florida.
Voting nightmares. Good Lord.
Chads, punch cards with hanging chads. Check - we were there. We did that.
We transitioned to Computerized Voting Machines. Nope. Fail. Claims of computer geek hacks and shenanigans. Were there really hacks? Was that ever proven? I don’t remember all the details. No matter. Garbage, expensive garbage. Computer Voting Machines go the curb. Gone.
And when we left, we were doing Number Two pencil, fill in the blank Scan Voting. Multiple choice, fill in the blank of the Pol you dislike the least. Feed the card into the Tabulatiing Scanner - and Good Boy, Good Girl - Go Get Your Sticker.
*****
And now, Texas - El Paso, Texas. It is the best system I’ve seen to date, so far, in my Voting Life.
Show ID, sign in and some specialized printer spits out a long stip of paper with my ID information printed on it.
Take my long stip - permission to vote stip of paper to the nice lady at the entrance to voting room in nearby Elementary School, Counselor's Room, (sounds fancy - - - it’s not), there’s an open Computer Voting Machine (oh no, computers again) for you, Mr. Scott.
Insert my Voting Permission Slip into scan machine and my Ballot appears on Computer Screen (oh know, am I being hacked)?
I pick my Pol Peeps, and I like this, I really, really, like this - when I’m done, hit “DONE”, another long strip of paper spits out, with my Votes, the Pol Peeps I picked.
I take this 2nd strip of paper (are you following) back to the nice Lady at the Elementary School, Counselors Room (kids need Elementary School Counseling? Who knew. Digress)
The nice Lady (might she be an Elementary School Counselor, day job?) helps Scotty feed 2nd long stip of paper with his wonderful choices into a scanner.
Wow, paper, computers, and machines. The Everything Bagel. The Whole Enchilada. All of That and A Bag of Chips.
And the best part - I get my Sticker. A real hootin’ tootin’, please no shootin’ - Texas Sticker, with an image of a Cactus on it.
I VOTED Peeps. I VOTED.
Good job! ... and a sticker too :)