This is an exciting month for us. All three of us voted in our first Canadian election. It was a municipal one which, to me, seems to matter the most in terms of one’s day to day life. Compared to what I’ve done in the US it was very old-school. Take the paper ballot, go behind a cardboard voting screen and then fill in the circle next to the candidates you want to vote for. We had only three this time: Mayor, Councillor, and Public School Trustee. In the end, all three people I voted for were defeated. On the plus side, I don’t feel like the ones who did get in are going to bring any disasters any time soon.
This week I will also send out my absentee ballot in the US Federal election. While they might have voting machines if you vote in person, voting by absentee ballot is almost the same as it was voting in our municipal election. Indicate your choice, toss it in an envelope and put it in the mail. And cross your fingers. I’m lots more concerned about the outcome of this election. I’m voting in a state that could go either way so it really matters to me. And I will feel much more disappointed if my chosen candidates do not win. There’s a bit more at stake, I think.
Go Outside Today 
Congrats on your first responsibility as a citizen
Thanks! It was a proud and exciting moment.
Yea agree.. I can feel you.. Great and happy moments
Congratulations!
good for you but the US election does sound more pertinent … would make me exhausted 😉
Yes – it does a bit!
extremely so …
That “old school” method used here is a step up from the levered voting machines retired just a few years ago.
I remember those! I used those in 1996 in Pennsylvania. They were really cool – the most like what I remember seeing on television as a kid. It’s too bad about the hanging chads they sometimes leave!
The first time I voted – I think it would’ve been 1988 – it was in Vermont and my recollection is that it was a manual paper process just like here. My chosen candidate didn’t win back then either.
I liked being able to pull one lever and vote the “party line.”