Democracy was running smoothly this morning in Bay View, with short wait times and upbeat attitudes from poll workers and voters alike.
It took me only about 20 minutes to vote at the South Shore Pavilion, but the crowd was lively at 8:15 a.m. I spent a good 10 minutes filling out a change of address form, which still remains an oddly low-tech procedure.
A few things stood out to me this morning:
It took me only about 20 minutes to vote at the South Shore Pavilion, but the crowd was lively at 8:15 a.m. I spent a good 10 minutes filling out a change of address form, which still remains an oddly low-tech procedure.
A few things stood out to me this morning:
- The poll workers, usually a day older than dirt, were more sprightly this morning. Most were senior citizens, of course, but few were downright elderly. And I noticed a smattering of younger volunteers helping out, not counting the attorneys lingering around in suits making sure everything was copasetic (which it was).
- A volunteer greeted me immediately to help me find my ward. The lines were orderly and organized, and people looked upbeat and optimistic. Voters were even smiling and chatting.
- The voters appeared diverse, at least in terms of age. The homogeneity of race and ethnicity may be more of a statement on the ward than on the election process -- but I was pleased to see young and old getting out to vote.
- I cast my vote alongside Milwaukee historian John Gurda. That's one more celebrity than I usually see while voting (usually it's zero).
- I'm still amazed by the paper ballot. It first struck me as odd back in 1998, I think, that we hadn't computerized this process. Now, I'm boggled. I understand the implications of fraud when it comes to digitizing an election, but hey … dangling chad.
- On that note, I was asked for an ID when I filed for a change of address, but I wasn't when getting my ballot. Which means I could've very easy voted at least twice (at my old precinct and my new one). Again, I understand how requiring a driver's license can disenfranchise certain voters, but is it too much to ask that a voter carries any form of ID at all? Even in Iraq they put some purple ink on your thumb when you vote. In Milwaukee, we get a sticker.
- I'm wearing my sticker.
- Finally, the individual polling stations were positioned to face east, looking out over Lake Michigan. The cynic in me, the guy who threatens to move to Mexico every time my candidate loses, usually doesn't care about that stuff. But for just a moment, I saw a bunch of engaged, voting Americans in a beautiful Milwaukee building, overlooking our stunning lake. It's hard to articulate, but something about that scene transcended the partisan politics that will dominate for the next 18 hours. Sort of the calm before the storm.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
