Always on a Tuesday is the presidential election, as it was in 2012. Hopes were as high as they were before.
I walked through the door to the Municipal Building to vote as before. I signed my name as before; it was compared to my signature from before.
The election worker wrote 198 into her notebook paper ledger. Unlike before, I was handed a paper ballot and instructed to fill in the ovals with a marker that was handed to me. The form would be scanned after I completed it.
I made an error and filled in the wrong oval. I motioned for an election aide, He walked over to where I stood.
I showed him the form and explained that I made an error on the ballot. The election aide replied by stating that it was the only ballot I would receive.
I was forced to cast my ballot in error.
We had voting machines that worked by mechanical input; It was not possible to make an error without the option of correcting it. Someone in the local government decided to replace these reliable machines with optical scanners that require written forms.
We had voting machines before that served us well in time, Now we have voting machines that can only be controlled by paper ballots.
In the 2012 election, I made an error; I was forced not to vote my way.