A Patriotic Meal…

on election day, when I don’t have my voter registraton card and drove around for an hour to find our polling place.  Even though the registration deadline is October 6 my application was processed and accepted on October 1, which means that as of November 1 they have to send me a voter registration card.

I checked online and I’m registered but couldn’t vote early as my registration doesn’t begin until a month after I’ve become “accepted” into the system, which is tomorrow and today was the last day of early voting.

It’s not easy to vote here.  Trying to get rudimentary voter guidelines and a sample ballot online I was plagued with a task force pre-2004 trying to get a statewide system in place but given a scan of their meeting minutes all they were doing was trying to qualify for federal funding, probably to spend on something else.  Why should I be surprised.

Politics as usual.  I wonder if I find my elusive polling place, that my vote will even count.  I’ll go in with no voter ID number, a driver’s license, passport and not even a utiltily bill because we do everything online except for two bills that come by mail to my husband.

It is difficult for a smart, English-speaking college grad to try to vote.  Imagine what it’s like for a voter who is eligible and has registered, but doesn’t speak much English or have a high school education.  And please don’t lecture me on illegal immigrants.  I’m talking about registered voters.

If I wanted to cook a patriotic meal on Election Day, what would I choose?  Something English, Irish, French, German, Ashkenazi/Sephardic, Turkish, Greek, Italian, Swiss, Moroccan, Chinese, Lebanese, Japanese, Thai and many more.  Don’t forget Catholics and Protestants.

That’s who we are.  Remember our founding fathers convened us as a melting pot and tried to take religion out of the national agenda so we could get along with each other.  Perhaps we can remember this next week when we go to the polls.

Take care, enjoy an extra hour of sleep this weekend.  Cheers, Dee