Voting procedures

Growing up, I was always in awe of the voting booth.

We always got out of school on election day because my elementary school was used as a polling place. And I remember Mom taking us along when she would vote.

I guess they still use them but back then, they were honest-to-goodness voting booths. The kind with a level and a curtain that shut everyone out. I always thought it was the coolest thing. And Mom would never let us go in with her. So it seemed mysterious.

I never got to vote in one of those booths. When I turned 18, my first election day was in Alabama. I voted for four years via absentee ballot. Then I became a citizen of Alabama and now I vote down here. And we don't use booths. We don't use anything actually. It's very underwhelming. We actually have to mark our votes on a piece of paper and put it into a machine.

There is no secrecy, no privacy and especially no curtain. Usually my polling place is packed with people and you end up holding the piece of paper against a wall so you can fill in the dots.

I often wish that voting could be like I remember from when I was kid. I want a curtain!