Voting “Counts”

When people saw the “voting day” banner on Google's search engine this morning, they came out in throngs; it was a day where people thought their vote finally counted, even though they knew nothing of the issues or measures on the ballots.

In Long Beach, Ca. curtains were removed from the voting booths, and bystanders were allowed to wander in and glance over the shoulders of voters, offering advice and critiques on ballot measures. Juanita Esperanza was there.

"Everyone was very nice. They told me what the measures meant, and then how to vote. When these men in dark suits even ticked the boxes for me, I felt like finally my vote counted. And I'm not even a citizen of the U.S.!”

However, some people were not so lucky, as intoxicated homeless people peppered some voting locations, pointing and laughing at voters, asking for spare change and exposing their genitalia. “I personally put a stop to that in my district myself,” said Chamber of Commerce member Alexis Winters from Garden Grove, Ca. “We closed the polling booths, had the police come in and beat the homeless back into the alleys, and I personally had to fill out thousands upon thousands of ballots myself. But I'm a proud member of this city, and I'm willing to do that. I voted for the candidates and issues clearly likely to win.” No one seemed to mind.