California Primary Vote

This morning I woke on Sol's couch because a neighbor called me last night when I was in the office, informing me that our block was closed off with police activity. There was a shooting at the far end of the block.

I didn't want to deal with that. So I crashed in the city.

And I had trouble sleeping, but finally the buzz about a shooting where I lived faded and I found comfort and sleep. Thank you, Sol for letting me crash.

I woke up, plucky and excited about this California primary.

A lot of interesting tidbits for me as an Alameda County voter...there are a slew of folks running for Oakland Mayor, for example.

Then there are bond issues for California Libraries and Universal Preschool. Rob Reiner came to speak to the Full Circle Fund on this one. And I heard a stat that only 65% of our toddlers currently attend preschool, which is statistically a significant factor in how students perform in school. Preparedness. We want students to be prepared for school, non?

There was the little issue of the fact that I've moved twice this year. So where was I registered to vote?

I called the voter registration number and found out I was registered at my former address. They gave me my polling address, and I went eastward on the 580 toward my former address and wound my way above my former address to an adorable little neighborhood and a person's garage to vote.

It was early.

I was given a provisional ballot because of my address change. AND because Alameda County didn't get the right machines in time for the primary, we got to vote with felt pens and paper ballots that will be fed through scan-tron like machines.

Neato.

I register non-partisan. I like primaries. It's like a preview for the fall collection.

I have a receipt for my ballot, which won't be counted until tomorrow. Within 28 days I will know if my vote has been counted.

Considering the expectation is that only 1 in 3 eligible California voters will head to the polls today, it's one of the rare moments when my mark may actually be counted.