Friday, May 2, 2008 - 12,280 and Counting |
This is the number of early votes counted in Durham County, where I live, as of April 30th. I voted early in North Carolina's primary election yesterday.
I waited nearly 10 minutes just to get inside the building where voting takes place. I can't imagine how long voters may have to wait on Primary day itself, May 6th. However, there will be many more voting locations on that day.
I saw on a sheet attached to the door that the number of early voters has been increasing rapidly since early voting began on April 17th.
In North Carolina, one has to declare a party affiliation (either Democratic or Republican) which I think infringes on my privacy because I've received pre-recorded messages from Barack and Michelle Obama as well as getting mail from various candidates for local city and county positions.
2008 is a special year for me because it will be my first opportunity as a naturalized citizen to vote in the US Presidential elections and my state primary is just the beginning.
For the Democratic Party, the party whose symbol is donkey, the Presidential race is extremely exciting and it's exciting for me to participate in it.
My philosophy about voting is simple. If one doesn't vote, one doesn't have the right to complain about the outcome because one didn't participate. Plus, there are some countries in the world where women do not have the right to vote. e.g. Saudia Arabia, Bhutan, Brunei and Vatican City.
In Durham, NC, there's little excuse for not voting, in particular early. During early voting, one can register and vote on the same day and I saw people doing just that (they got to jump the line in doing so). At my polling station, there was curbside voting too and voters were taking advantage of that. I'm not sure if that's an option on May 6th.
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About Me
Former Londoner, now living in Durham, NC since 2002.
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