Yesterday was exciting, I did my first ever early vote. As soon as the Democrats gained full control of the New York State government, they instituted it. Things worked out particularly well as this is an off-year election, the perfect time to work out the kinks. I was not pleased with my assigned early voting location. In the future they may let you choose any but for the first time they wanted to keep it simpler. I voted at Monroe College 1.2 miles away; I walked. As people from different districts are voting at the same place, they print out your ballot when you arrive. The place was empty so there was no wait. I was the only one voting while I was there.
Instead of the old paper voting roles the record was kept on a tablet. I gave them my name and I had to confirm my address. I was the only one with my name who votes at that location so that was simple. If I had a common name, I can see some confusing arising.
There were two sides to the ballot, one side for elective offices and the other for propositions. I was more interested in the propositions as most of the candidates ran uncontested; the Bronx is a one-party town. That’s not healthy. You won’t find much support for Republicans here, so the Working Families Party should run candidates to keep the Dems honest. I’m a strong Democrat but you need competition to prevent corruption.
I voted in the one contested election, for New York City, Public Advocate. I am a bit ashamed of myself for not writing in candidates as a protest in every uncontested election. I usually have fun with that. I often vote for fictional characters with a common theme. One year I voted for hobbits. This time I did two write-ins. I made sure to vote for Bronx DA as that’s an important position and never be uncontested. I wanted someone with experience, so I wrote for Harvey Dent. Batman fans got that. I skipped most of the judges which should not be elected. The way you get to be a judge is being loyal to the party. For Civil Court I voted for Eleanor Shellstrop. Just a girl from Arizona is what we need. At least that made Bri laugh.
After voting I decided to take a walk. I tell people that I live in walking distance of Yankee Stadium, so I put it to the test. The entire walk was under the 4 train. Els do not make for pleasant neighborhoods; it was not a pretty walk. It was long, 4.2 miles from home. That’s about how far I was from Citi Field when I lived in Briarwood. I did walk to games then.
I missed the last three World Series games because I was out. Those are the three games the team I’m rooting for, the Astros, won. People like rooting for the underdog. I like rooting for the best team, I think they should be rewarded. The Astros are a historically great team. It would be a shame if they didn’t win it all. I hope I don’t jinx them.
Wise Madness 