Voting: It's Not as Easy as it Looks

Today was my second San Francisco election. Boy, did I think I was ready. Well, I wasn't. Perhaps I went into it too cocky or I didn't stretch enough beforehand, but whatever it was, this voting day really caught me off-guard.

First, there wasn't a line. Without a line, I had no prep time. It was just walk in and vote. Freaky. Second, they didn't ask for photo identification. As long as I knew the name and address of the person I was claiming to be, I was set. Third, I had done all the research beforehand and had even brought a cheat sheet. My first mistake was not embracing the speed that was already given to me. My second mistake was trying to make it go even faster. You see, there were a number of propositions on the ballot. I decided while in the midst of filling out the ballot that if I went through first and filled in all of the nos, then went back for all of the yeses, I'd be out in seconds. Well, it was working beautifully until Proposition M. Apparently, I can't make my mind up about violent solicitation because I voted yes and no.

The mistake caused quite a scene too. I believe the election officials couldn't believe that someone would attempt to vote yes and no to something. The ballot machine made a loud noise and spat out some problem report. The only other guy voting snickered. It was a mess. In the end, if you mess up they give you another ballot and you have to start over, but they will make snide comments like, "let's try not to mess this one up too."

Good thing I gave them the wrong name.

P.S. I didn't get an "I voted" sticker this time either, but this time it may have been performance related...