What I Saw at the Polling Place

Last post about the Virginia election, I promise. But I did witness something yesterday that told a tale of how informed the American electorate is, and deemed it worth sharing. (I deemed it worth sharing because when I just read this out loud to my dog, he appeared to be fascinated).

I was a pollwatcher yesterday at a precinct where Republicans traditionally underperform, a charitable way of saying we always get crucified. Because of voter apathy this year on the Dem side, low turnout was anticipated. In the end, 472 out of 1229 registered voters actually voted. This was a 100% African-American precinct, and I concluded that once they rolled the tape after the polls closed, I’d see at best 5 McDonnell votes. Surprise! Of those 472 votes, he actually received 82. But that's not the story...

The highlight of the day was the woman who showed up to vote mid-afternoon. She was probably mid-fifties and swept dramatically into the building, announcing she was here to vote for Obama. The pleasant pollworker lady informed her he was not on the ballot this year, but she could vote for the statewide candidates. She insisted no, this is where she voted for Obama last year and she wanted to do it again. Pleasant pollworker lady showed her a sample ballot and indicated who she COULD vote for. She was having none of this, insisting she needed to vote for Obama. After all, wasn't it Election Day? The Chief Election Officer finally intervened and told her she couldn’t vote for Obama for a few more years, guiding her toward the door as she spoke. The woman walked out grumbling, and my Democratic pollwatching counterpart leapt from his chair, exclaiming ‘that is a Democratic voter! You are disenfranchising her!’ I was ready to leap from my own chair when pleasant pollworker lady, who had to have been 88 years old, smacked him down hard.

It would be insulting to many voters, and downright wrong, to suggest that people like this are how Obama got elected. But they certainly contributed.