Our polling place is very picturesque:
It's the fire station and that metal cylinder is the water tank. The water from the tank fills the pumper truck.
At the gate where we turned in from the highway (no campaigning within 100 feet of a polling station, so she was within the rules) sat a lone woman under an umbrella who urged us to vote for her son as a write-in candidate for sheriff. I didn't take her photo because I thought it might make her nervous. Also on duty at the gate were a Rottweiler and an Australian Shepherd from a neighboring ranch who tried to herd our truck as we turned in.
So here we were.
We voted inside the fire station where they keep the trucks.
Sharpie-type pens were used to mark the ballots and then voters fed the ballots into a machine that I hope was calibrated accurately.
94 percent of our county are white. 81 percent are Hispanic or Latino, so it makes sense that the ballot would have many Hispanic candidates. The median household income is $40,000, but 88% of the population own their homes.
Some are simple:
And some are grand:
But rich or poor, voting is a big thing here, and there's usually a pretty good turnout.
Government of the people, by the people and for the people.
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| New Mexico State Capitol, Santa Fe |
Wonderful post, Bridget!
ReplyDeleteLove it! I don't know about you, but ever since we moved to Flag, we have become much more involved in the local politics, meeting candidates and representatives, learning more about the issues, than we ever did in CA. Smaller communities are better suited to get involved, don't you think? At any rate, at least you and we were part of the 1/3 that got out to vote!
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