Time to Vote

I didn't want to take pictures of all the folks (including some of our local very famous celebrities!) waiting in line to vote, or the voting machines (we had the old-fashioned kind with the levers, no electronic machines for us, thank goodness!) For some reason it just seemed, well, unseemly. (If you want to see what voting in Sharon looks like -- very simple and plain, but sometimes democracy looks that way-here are my pics from primary day - the main post links to my other blog with a mini-photo essay.)

Anyway, this gentleman was taking his time to check out the ballot before he went inside. It was a bit complicated - five or six parties were fielding candidates, and there were about eight important offices up for grabs, everything from state representative and state senator, secretary of state and state treasurer, to congressional rep, senator, governor, and a new office, probate judge (actually the most local of all of them.) Of course our state has gotten the most attention for the battle between Senator Lieberman and his challenger, anti-war candidate Ned Lamont, but many of the other races are just as important to those of us living here. (Luckily none of the others got nearly as nasty - the political ads in the senate race were just awful, and the congressional race was just as bad.)

One final note: just before I sat down to compose this, the phone rang. I picked it up and heard, "Hi, this is President Bill Clinton...." It was a recording, of course, but I still enjoyed sitting at my kitchen table listening to Bill encouraging me, personally, to get out and vote! The polls stay open for another few hours, then we'll all sit back in front of the TV and find out at long last what the people want!