Barbecued in the name of democracy . . .

Yesterday, I was barbecued in the name of democracy.

Yesterday was the very first day of early voting in my county.  There is only one place where people can go to vote (until more satellite stations open up in about a week or so), and it's at the Department of Elections in the county seat.

I am tired of this election, and a while back, I decided that I would go on the first day of early voting and get it over with.

Time of arrival:  about 11 a.m.

Time of departure:  about 3:45 p.m.

Yep.  I spent FOUR AND A HALF HOURS in line waiting to vote.  And as a result, I have a sunburn on my face.

During those four and a half hours, I stood outside in a line reminiscent of that you would find at Disney.  Complete with movable portable separators.

I had no hat, no sunscreen, one bottle of water, and two electronic devices unable to be charged.

I did have a small notebook, so I took a few notes about what was going on around me.

I also had a nice chat with the women waiting with me.

The weather was unseasonably warm for this time of the year.  Two people had to be treated by the EMTs for heat exhaustion.  Several left the line to go sit down.

But despite the heat, people didn't get angry with each other.  They grew impatient, but no riots or fights broke out.

Once we FINALLY got inside, I showed my ID, got my voting card, was shown to where the voting machines were, and pulled up my ballot.

First, I voted down ballot.  There was a US Senate race and a US Representative race I voted for; four amendments, several local races, and a SPLOST initiative (special local sales tax.)

Then, I moved back up to the top of the ballot and touched "write-in", trying to figure out what the procedure was.

I was confronted with a QWERTY keyboard.

So I took my index finger, and very slowly, and very deliberately, I pecked out the letters S-N-O-O-P-Y.

Then I hit "cast ballot".

My duty was done.

Yes.  I voted for Snoopy for president.  THAT is how disgusted I am with the slate we are being offered this year.  We had three candidates on the ballot, and I picked none of them.

Because, you see, for me it all came down to this:

I don't trust one candidate, I don't think one candidate is qualified, and I don't think one candidate knows what they are talking about.  Therefore, my conscience won't let me vote for either of them.

Why, you may ask, did I cast a protest vote for Snoopy instead of just leaving it blank?

And why not vote for any of the above?

I cast a protest vote to make a statement.

And I didn't vote for any of the above because . . . ?

In this election, it was not that I wouldn't vote for any of them.

It was that I couldn't vote for any of them.

I hope it was worth getting barbecued for the sake of democracy.

Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.