I voted! (in the Russian presidential election)
The Russian Federation presidential election is coming up on March 18. And in United States, at least, Russian citizens will be able to vote at the Russian embassy in Washington DC. And, to accommodate Russian citizens who don't leave anywhere near it, on March 11, the embassy opened polling places in several metropolitan areas with large Russian populations - including Chicagoland.
This isn't the first time they've done this sort of thing. I know that they did it for the last parliamentary election, and I think they might have done it for some of the earlier presidential and parliamentary elections. I would have loved to be able to do it last time, but I found out about it way too late, and I wasn't able to figure out how to get to it.
This time around, when my mom gave me a heads up last week, I figured getting there shouldn't be a problem. Sure, it was in Buffalo Grove, but there was a bus going there - one of the new bus routes introduced as part of the 2016 northwestern suburbs service expansion. But then, I realized that the bus ran every day except Sunday. And my mom was in no position to drive me.
I admit part of me was like "I get why you put a polling place in Buffalo Grove - if you're going to do a suburb with large Russian population, these days, it's going to be either that or Wheeling - but did you have to do it on the one day when Buffalo Grove becomes a complete transit black hole?"
Luckily for me, I do happen to know a certain tweelore who lives in the area. And, to make a long story short, she was able to drive me there and back in the morning.
Now, the embassy announcement just gave the address and said that the polling place was in "a medical center building." So, when we drove up, we weren't sure whether that was it. But the house number matched, so inside we went.
Now, once inside the vestibule, any doubt I had was quickly dispelled. Taped to one of the walls was a large poster detailing every candidate's biography, as well as the summary of income and earnings and assets (well, the ones we publicly know about, anyway)
Stepping inside, I saw a man sitting behind the desk and a woman standing next to it. I don't know if the Russian flag on the desk was always there or if the embassy brought it in just because.
The embassy staff was polite and went straight to the point. The man checked my passport, wrote something down and then asked me if I could write in Russian. After getting an affirmative, he asked me to write down my address.
"In Russian?" I asked
"Yes, in Russian," was his response.
I have no idea why they wanted to write it out this way. But then again, when I went to get my international passport renewed, the application asked me to write my address that way, too. Must be some weird bureacratic thing.
After that, I sighed some paperwork confirming my registration - I don't usually have to sign my name in Cyrillic, but I think I managed a decent signature - and gave some basic instructions for filling out the ballot. Then, the woman told me to fill out the ballot in what is probably the clinic conference room and closed the door behind me.
After that, I cast my vote, folded the ballot and put it in a transparent ballot box next to the desk. As I put it in, the woman took my picture and... that was pretty much it. I voted.
Other then me, there was a couple in their 50s. From what I overheard, they flew in from Russia to visit some friends, and, hey, they figured so long as they were there, they might as well vote.
I saw one or two people coming in, and, judging by a quick glance at the ballot box, a few people voted before me. I am kind of curious how many ballots were in it by the time the polling place closed.
Now, you may wonder why I bothered voting at all. I mean, I would be shocked if someone other than Putin won. But... Every time I cover local elections, I get annoyed at the low turnout. I may have ranted on Twitter and Facebook about Americans who have an ability to change their government but choose not to use it. Even in situations where the odds aren't in the favor of the candidate they're voting for, they should at least voice their choice instead of doing nothing.
It would be hypocritical if I didn't practice what I preached. And besides - I am a citizen of the Russian Federation. That means something. I admit that part of me felt just a tinge of civic pride as I cast my vote. I mean, I also felt a twinge of sadness because the election is so damn lopsided, but the pride was there to.
Plus, as I told Lore - I knew that my vote would basically be a protest vote, but if there's ever a time to make a protest vote, it would be now.
And Lore was the one who made it possible - for which I'm pretty damn grateful
Later, after she dropped me off at Rosemont 'L' station, something occured to me. This was the first time I voted. I can't vote in American elections because, you know, not a citizen... But I got a chance to vote this time.
That felt good.
This isn't the first time they've done this sort of thing. I know that they did it for the last parliamentary election, and I think they might have done it for some of the earlier presidential and parliamentary elections. I would have loved to be able to do it last time, but I found out about it way too late, and I wasn't able to figure out how to get to it.
This time around, when my mom gave me a heads up last week, I figured getting there shouldn't be a problem. Sure, it was in Buffalo Grove, but there was a bus going there - one of the new bus routes introduced as part of the 2016 northwestern suburbs service expansion. But then, I realized that the bus ran every day except Sunday. And my mom was in no position to drive me.
I admit part of me was like "I get why you put a polling place in Buffalo Grove - if you're going to do a suburb with large Russian population, these days, it's going to be either that or Wheeling - but did you have to do it on the one day when Buffalo Grove becomes a complete transit black hole?"
Luckily for me, I do happen to know a certain tweelore who lives in the area. And, to make a long story short, she was able to drive me there and back in the morning.
Now, the embassy announcement just gave the address and said that the polling place was in "a medical center building." So, when we drove up, we weren't sure whether that was it. But the house number matched, so inside we went.
Now, once inside the vestibule, any doubt I had was quickly dispelled. Taped to one of the walls was a large poster detailing every candidate's biography, as well as the summary of income and earnings and assets (well, the ones we publicly know about, anyway)
Stepping inside, I saw a man sitting behind the desk and a woman standing next to it. I don't know if the Russian flag on the desk was always there or if the embassy brought it in just because.
The embassy staff was polite and went straight to the point. The man checked my passport, wrote something down and then asked me if I could write in Russian. After getting an affirmative, he asked me to write down my address.
"In Russian?" I asked
"Yes, in Russian," was his response.
I have no idea why they wanted to write it out this way. But then again, when I went to get my international passport renewed, the application asked me to write my address that way, too. Must be some weird bureacratic thing.
After that, I sighed some paperwork confirming my registration - I don't usually have to sign my name in Cyrillic, but I think I managed a decent signature - and gave some basic instructions for filling out the ballot. Then, the woman told me to fill out the ballot in what is probably the clinic conference room and closed the door behind me.
After that, I cast my vote, folded the ballot and put it in a transparent ballot box next to the desk. As I put it in, the woman took my picture and... that was pretty much it. I voted.
Other then me, there was a couple in their 50s. From what I overheard, they flew in from Russia to visit some friends, and, hey, they figured so long as they were there, they might as well vote.
I saw one or two people coming in, and, judging by a quick glance at the ballot box, a few people voted before me. I am kind of curious how many ballots were in it by the time the polling place closed.
Now, you may wonder why I bothered voting at all. I mean, I would be shocked if someone other than Putin won. But... Every time I cover local elections, I get annoyed at the low turnout. I may have ranted on Twitter and Facebook about Americans who have an ability to change their government but choose not to use it. Even in situations where the odds aren't in the favor of the candidate they're voting for, they should at least voice their choice instead of doing nothing.
It would be hypocritical if I didn't practice what I preached. And besides - I am a citizen of the Russian Federation. That means something. I admit that part of me felt just a tinge of civic pride as I cast my vote. I mean, I also felt a twinge of sadness because the election is so damn lopsided, but the pride was there to.
Plus, as I told Lore - I knew that my vote would basically be a protest vote, but if there's ever a time to make a protest vote, it would be now.
And Lore was the one who made it possible - for which I'm pretty damn grateful
Later, after she dropped me off at Rosemont 'L' station, something occured to me. This was the first time I voted. I can't vote in American elections because, you know, not a citizen... But I got a chance to vote this time.
That felt good.