Political Giggles

(note: this post may not be of great interest to some people. I will not be offended by your lack of interest)

I try to leave my politics out of most arenas of my life, but I had to share a funny story that is a touch political.

I went to go vote yesterday for the Utah Primary. I recognize that the primary is not until Tuesday, but you can vote early in all elections (did you know that? It's true. And wonderful.)

I consider myself to be a fairly well-educated voter. I not only am familiar with the candidates and issues before I go to vote, but I also check out voting procedures so that I am prepared for the big event. I take my voting VERY seriously. :)

I went to the county building to vote and had to wait in a bit of a line. Once it was my turn, I handed my driver's license to the voting clerk (standard procedure for early voting). He looked up my information, and we proceeded to have the following conversation.

Voting Clerk: You're unaffiliated, so you'll need to affiliate with the Republican party to vote in its primary, or you can vote in the Democratic primary without affiliating with either.

Me: Yeah. (I already knew this. I was planning on voting in the Democratic Primary.)

VC: So...did you want to affiliate as a Republican then?

Me: No. I want to vote in the Democratic Primary.

VC: (long stare) Uh, okay... (long stare again. His eyes seem to say, "You know this is Provo, right?")

At this point, VC handed the next clerk my voting card. She proceded to write my information on the sign in sheet, and passed me the book to sign in. Above me were the names of many others who had come to vote before me. Next to each name was a column with the letter "R", indicating that the person voted in the Republican Primary. The clerk gave me a strange look, looked again at VC sitting next to her for a reassuring nod, and slowly wrote a "D" next to my name. She looked back up at me, as if she were expecting me to jump in revulsion at the little D. I smiled and took my card to the voting booth, cast my ballot, returned the card, got my "I voted" sticker and left.

I spent the rest of the day wondering if I was the only early-voting person in the Democratic Primary in Utah County, and giggling. A lot.


However you feel about the issues and however you vote, be sure to get out to your primaries next week! Happy Voting!