Voting

and it was ridiculous.

I went to my local elementary school to vote. There were no greeters or signs as I walked in - just scores of people in very long lines. After hunting around awhile, I found my ward's line and stood in it. I stood in line next to a nice young woman named Mary Beth. It turns out that she and I were in similar situations - we were both recently married and new to the neighborhood.

So after about a half hour we neared the ballot tables. Taped to the side of one of the tables was a tiny 8x11 sign stating that to register with a change of name or address, we had to be in the line on the right. So Mary Beth and I switched lines to register. Now Mary Beth is a lawyer and I'm a teacher, mind you, so we're definitely two intelligent people who could read and follow directions if they're given properly. We waited there another twenty minutes to register. Then we were told to get back in the previously stated long line and wait again to receive our ballots. THEN we waited in another line (behind a garbage man who just got off duty) to actually use the ballots in the booths. We were there for about an hour and a half.

If they really want people to vote, why make it so ridiculously difficult??? A simple sign (with print large enough to see and facing the most visible direction) could go such a long way!

Here are the things that I learned in the elementary school gym while waiting to vote:
They apparently still make kids to Chin-ups, but they do have rock-climbing walls now.
Voter registration people are neither very fast nor very friendly.
Some kid has an interesting hobby of digging little pencil holes through the linoleum floor.
Having a book sale is profitable when there is a captive audience.
If you want to tick people off, have them stand in multiple lines but do not give them any direction as to which line to stand in.
Sanitation engineers definitely do not smell good. Not even a little.
If you're planning to vote, pack a lunch.