As I type this, it is 6:40 in the morning, and I am quite proud of the people in my neighborhood and surrounding district. We got up and spoke at the polls.
The wait at the polls was made a lot shorter thanks to my iPhone and Twitterific. Wow! It wasn’t me going to the polls but me going to the polls…with a bunch of friends…from all around the world. I started sending photos to TwitPic, giving a play-by-play of the line status, where I was, and finally, when I was done. It is amazing how our personal tech (Social Media, iPhone, etc.) has changed the way we live. And this is why I am also filing this under Geek Chic. Even with my unkempt hair, my morning breath, and sleep funk, I was the sexiest voter there because I was tweeting from the iPhone.
Dead. Sexy. Geek.
Voting in Virginia is a terrific, orderly, and simple process. It is also quite geeky. First you show up with your license and registration. What’s handy is when you get your driver’s license or renew it, you are automatically registered to vote. Very nice. After you identify yourself by full name and address and you are double-checked by your photo ID (the afore mentioned driver’s license), you are handed one of these…
Feels kind of “Ye Olde School” but here’s where we go geek. After you pass the second checkpoint, you hand in your permit for an activation card (which looks like a tiny credit card) and then you wait for a hooded monitor to open up. When one is made available, you are ushered to one…
OHIO, FLORIDA, YOU’LL WANT TO PAY ATTENTION HERE!!!!
…and then you follow the instructions on the touch-screen. You are given a chance to review at the end, and then you vote. After a visual confirmation…
…you’re done. You hand the volunteer the card, get your sticker, and you go home. No dimples. No pull levers. All digital. High Tech Democracy. It can happen! (At least, in Virginia. I don’t know about elsewhere…)
What I was particularly impressed by was how many people on Twitter — especially those who were voting today — wanted to know where my votes were going. I was flattered and a little perplexed. Why would anyone really care how I vote? This is, after all, my choice. My voice. My opinion on who should be the representatives of America on the global stage. Would it change your opinion of me as a person or as a writer? Does it make me less skilled in my Podcasting (and now Blogging) Fu if I go against your political opinions? Will you deny me Halloween candy?
Sorry, that was yesterday’s post. I’m still a bit torqued over that one…
The polls are now closed in Virginia. If you want to know how I voted, here it is…
You may have issues with my choice and you know what — that’s cool! If you want to tell me here just how wrong I was in my choice, though, I will guarantee you those comments will not make it here. Why?
- I waited until the polls were closed before telling anyone how I voted.
- The choice is mine. I looked at both parties objectively, watched how they ran campaigns, weighed decisions they made on the road to the White House, and then I chose. This is what being an American is all about. Don’t tell me how to vote. Let me size up the options and I made the call.
- How I voted in the election isn’t the point of this post.
The point of this post is that I got up and I voted. Did you? And if you did, did you speak your voice, or the voice of others? Regardless of the outcome tonight, if you voted, then you did what was right. It doesn’t matter who wins or loses, it’s your voice, your vote. If you are in a different time zone and haven’t voted, you still have time. If you want to contribute to my vote or try and cancel it out, you can…but to do that, you will have to vote.
Otherwise, if it’s just not worth your time and effort, I refer you to this wise Patron Saint of Talking Heads…