Mary's Blog

A Pencil and a Piece of String

posted by Barter Books @ 1:31pm, Wednesday 22 October 2008.

The American election, need I tell you, is almost here, two more weeks and that’s it. I’m glad and not glad all at once. As a Yank, I’ve been so hooked on the whole campaign that I’m used to my daily fix. And not just me but, judging by our customers, so are the British.

But what is currently terrifying me is not so much that my candidate won't win but that neither candidate will win legitimately. Specifically, that there will be a reprise of the Great Hanging Chad episode. And it appears there’s a risk of just that.

Say it isn't so. Believe me, that chad episode was rough on us ex-pats - I mean, the jokes! Can only say that the Europeans had a great time, can you blame them? Including the vicar of St Chad’s church (yes, there actually was a St Chad, v The Venerable Bede) whose website suddenly rocketed from three hits a month to three thousand.

Anyway, in an effort to forestall another such disaster, British friends have asked me to please tell my fellow Americans what the voting procedure is like over here. (They know it's useless; they know they Americans will just laugh and go on about how "quaint" it is. But, hey!, there’s one thing the British system does that ours doesn’t: it works.)

Ready?

1)  First, of course, you must be a registered voter. And registration is the responsibility of the local council who must write to every address to find out who, at that address, is eligible to vote. (The council is also responsible for keeping the list up-to-date.)

2)  When there is an election coming up, you are then sent a postcard that states the date of the election and the location of your polling station.

3)  You then go to the polling station on the day and ‘check in’ at the desk. They will have a list with all the authorized names in that particular district and will duly check your name off.

4)  They will then give you a coded ballot (note: a hard copy), one not tied to an address. This is so that no-one can find out how you voted.

5)  You then go off to the polling booth and draw this little curtain around you. Inside the polling booth you will find a pencil tied to a string (yes, a pencil tied to a string). You will then use that pencil to mark your ballot with Xs.

6)  You will then fold the ballot, go back to the desk, and put it into the slot of a locked metal box.

7)  At the end of the day, the workers at that desk are responsible for getting that box to the counting station, and God help them if they don’t do it.

8)  Should there be any unexplained discrepancy, then or later, either party can ask for a recount. Which almost never happens because there are enough tallies, checks, and counterchecks, to ensure it all happens.

There, how easy is that? And how failsafe, too. (Please, write your Congressman - a pencil will do.)

N.B.  When you exit the polling station, there are sometimes journalists around asking how you voted. Americans generally tell them. The Brits generally don't. In fact, and without apology, they'll even lie. (They don't think it's anyone's business. Be warned.)

Anyway, my vote is already in. Has been for weeks (sent back my absentee ballot by return mail, just to be safe).

As for who did I vote for? Obama, that’s who. Such potential! And what a thrill to actually be excited about a candidate for a change; I didn’t know it was possible. (Barack! Don’t let me down!)

As for John McCain, Stuart always thought that whoever won this election, McCain or Obama, it was, after these past eight years, a win-win situation for America, both men with such strengths. Still, in the past few months, something has happened to John McCain - he seems to have lost more than the election; he seems to have lost himself.

In any event, whatever happens, speed November 4^th!  And a new era.