TUESDAY

Our polling place is Melrose Ave. Elementary, which, as it happens, is where I went to school. So whenever I go there to vote, and see that little auditorium, with all its little seats intended for its little students, it’s a little strange.

This morning, expecting a big crowd, Peg and I arrived at 6:40, twenty minutes before the poll opened, and found no one outside. Hmm, we thought, not bad. We walked in to find 150 people scrunched into those little seats.

Everybody was good natured, though, and pleasant, sensing the historic nature of this election and feeling proud to be part of it. The poll workers gathered into what looked like a football huddle, raised their right hands and took an oath. They seemed to have the process well in hand . . . until the clock struck seven.

The woman in charge told everyone to stand up, go outside, and form a line. By now, there were lines going out both doors. We in the auditorium had two choices: we could be angry or we could be amused. Fortunately for her, we chose the latter and suggested she come up with a new plan. After a moment’s delay, she got everyone out of their seats, into the aisles and moving toward the registration tables. Progress was slow but spirits were high.

What I noticed most about the voting itself was the method. We used a small device, into which the ballot was placed. There were holes down the center, into which a “pen” was inserted which marked the ballot with an ink blot. It was entirely mechanical – as opposed to electronic – and I couldn’t see any way to cheat. Of course I don’t know how they’re going to count the ballots, but it all looked pretty straight forward to me. Each voting apparatus couldn’t have cost more than $5 or $10.

The mystery is why any county in the country would spend millions on computerized voting machines which: (a) are completely vulnerable to malfeasance (see: Hacking Democracy on HBO), and (b) have ultra-secret software codes that the owners refuse to submit to oversight . . . by anyone! This is a formula for disaster.

As I have said before, the vote is at the heart of any democracy, and in order to be valid it must be reliable and be perceived as reliable. Without both, it ain’t democracy.

Now we go home and wait for the results. Let’s hope for the best.