Sausage of the cruel and ironic kind: who gets the shaft?

Please connect the point to the fletching

I voted this weekend, as in early voting, in Florida.

The actual experience pretty much fits the national stereotype of voting in Florida.

Palm Beach County only opened 10 locations. Mind you, this county has a population of 1.3 million people. TEN locations. From the moment I got in line until I left, I was in line for 2 hours, 35 minutes.

On my feet, at Delray Beach City Hall, Halloween weekend. Yea?

Just before I get to the voting room, I'm handed a clipboard with a form: fill out the top three lines.

Name, address, date of birth.

Once in the voting room, I sit in front of a volunteer with a laptop. He takes my voter's info and sends me to the blue tape in the middle of the room. Stand here.

I get handed a paper ballot. Two big pieces of paper, (they don't do electronic in Florida).

Of course. What else is new?

I'm okay with the long wait. I don't get that a county this big just provides 10 locations, but I'm in good health. Some citizens gave up, they couldn't deal with the wait.

So, two paper ballots. And I'm looking at these ballots for the first time. I did my research. I knew how I was going to vote. I just didn't have the actual mechanics down.

There's a black marker pen. And beside each candidate and referendum is the point of an arrow (the head), and the fletching. The middle is missing.

You make your choice by making the shaft. The symbolism was so immediately apparent to me that I thought to myself, "You have got to be kidding me. Is this a joke?"

Yes, maybe I'm reading too much into this. I get that. Still.

Jesus!

So, I got on Twitter, and I came up with this haiku:

"Early voting in Delray Beach FL. 2.5 Hrs, paper ballot. Method: Link point of arrow to fletching. U make the shaft! Need I say more?"

It just seems so symbolically sinister that I thought this had to be deliberate design, like George Carlin was given the responsibility of designing the ballot. He would get it!

Who am I making the shaft for? Given the fact that I'm already hopelessly skeptical about the usefulness of the whole voting process?

Am I giving someone the shaft?

Am I giving myself the shaft?

This feels like being directed to dig your own grave.