On November 4, 2008 many Americans drove, walked, or took the bus to vote for the next President of The United States of America. This is a very important election year. After eight years of chaos (not organized) the time arrived to elect a new president.
Isn’t it interesting that in the 21st century Americans still vote using an old school method. This was the first election for Americans who reached 18 years of age. These are the same people who play video games such as Nintendo Wii, Guitar Hero, text message, have an IPod or MP3, and are up-to-date with the latest technologies. Imagine their shock when they had to use a black-tipped felt pen to connect the arrow for their chosen candidate. It reminded me of when my mom used to buy me coloring books and they had connect the dots within the pages!
For those people, such as myself, who moved to another state, this was an experience of a lifetime. You see here in Arizona, apparently rules and regulations are not followed. In fact, according to the woman standing behind me “voting is not taken that seriously in Arizona as compared to Ohio.” She said this because I made a comment about voting in Ohio. Perhaps this is just her opinion but it did raise a red flag with me.
I moved to a new apartment complex in September 2008. Naturally, I changed my address with a click of button through the U.S. Post Office, an official government service. Then it was time to figure out Maricopa County’s Recorder/Elections website. When you change your address you are not allowed to use special characters (# , .). It only took me eight attempts and a phone call before I figured it out. Actually, I was on hold waiting for someone to answer when I said to myself “take out the characters.” After I changed my address, I received a confirmation. Imagine my shock when I showed up to vote and my address was not changed. It gets better…
I was given a provisional ballot to vote not because I moved — I registered for early voting but did not vote early. Why would I register to vote an early ballot and then not follow through with it? I suppose there are many reasons. Perhaps, I was on a fabulous vacation or visiting family back in OH. Nope, I did not go on a fabulous vacation or visit family. I did not receive an early ballot! Wait, there’s more…
Arizona was looking for volunteers for to work the polls so I filled out the application. Needless to say, I was not called to volunteer. When I went to the polls to vote I informed the volunteer checking ID that I moved, and that I had the appropriate information showing my new address. He told me not to say anything to the poll workers because it would confuse them. As long as I had my Arizona drivers license with my old address I was good to go. In fact, you may want to read the press release from the State of Arizona.
Bravo! I was stunned at my voting experience in Arizona. At least other states are suffering voting blunders; strength in numbers, I always say. Hopefully, my vote will be counted. The elderly volunteer (bless her soul) with hand tremors, who was hooked up to oxygen, wrote my old address on the provisional ballot; I did tell her I moved but she probably did not hear me. She told me I could call the Maricopa County Recorder’s office or visit their website to make sure my vote was counted. When I heard those words, I felt very confident in the state of Arizona’s capabilities to count the votes.
The woman standing in front of me had a Kindle, which is an electronic book reader. Our government can’t figure out how to improve our voting system, yet the people at Amazon.com created an electronic device that allows people to download books!
God Bless America! She was once the it-girl among nations. Today, she’s the equivalent to a has been Hollywood actress. Like most actresses, she’s doing her best to make a come back but something keeps getting in her way. What could it be?
As a country we need to come together. Now is the time for each of us to clean up our “inner messes” so the “outer mess” that we all had a hand in creating in one way or another. Let’s start planning how we can reach the goal of reviving America.
The first thing we can do is hire a life coach, start a support group or join a support group, buy a couple of self-help books, visit the self-help section of the library, and start changing our lives so America can once again “shine from sea to shining sea.” The next thing is to advocate for the hiring of Amazon.com’s research and development department so they can create an efficient voting system for the 21st century!
I thought your views on voting in Arizona was very interesting to read and also scary. Heaven helps us.