Voting, Part Many

Three election cycles after my first (disappointing) brush with democracy, my time finally came.

Truth be told, my time came early. The law is, if you are eligible to vote in the general election, then you are eligible to vote in the primary. So, I voted in my first primary election as a 17-year-old.

Of course, Indiana has such a late primary election that the nominees are usually decided before Hoosiers get to visit the polls (although, to be fair, not this year). As I recall, Senator Lugar ran for president that year, but was out long before I had a chance to vote for him.

My parents voted early the day of my first primary, but I had to wait until after school ("had to" because I wasn't willing to get up early enough to go before school). There was a woman ahead of me, and she pointed out her name on the list because the volunteer was having trouble finding it. I don't remember what ballot her husband had requested, but when the volunteer asked if the woman wanted the same one, she asked for the other one. The volunteer seemed like she didn't know what to say to smooth over her "blunder," but fortunately, the woman laughed and said, "We're a divided household."

Then it was my turn, and I also pointed out my own name on list. My mother had voted Democrat, my father Republican. The woman looked at the list, looked at me, and asked which ballot I wanted. (Indiana is an open primary state; you can request whichever ballot you like.) I couldn't suppress a smile (and probably a giggle) when I asked for a Republican ballot.

So, first vote accomplished, extra credit (for government class) earned.