America's semi-functional voting system

[swmartin]

 I just finished voting and was once again reminded of how antiquated and cludgy our voting system is. Two precincts were voting in the same small room, the poll-workers seemed to have trouble finding addresses in a listing that covered only a half-dozen streets, ballots were handed around with little concern for security, and in general confusion

Comments

[ian_tiberius]

There's an old joke about a man speaking about philosophy in front of an Irish audience. He finishes his speech and offers to take questions, and a woman stands up and asks if he's a Protestant or a Catholic. He says, well, actually he's an atheist. And she asks, "But is it the God of the Catholics or the God of the Protestants in whom you don't believe?"

The truth is that religion does have cultural connotations that go beyond one's beliefs about the eternal. I'm an agnostic, but I don't think there's any question that like my family, I'm a product of the Protestant culture. And I'm not just talking about celebrating Christmas and taking the name of Jesus Christ in vain when I get angry; my whole system of values is informed by Christian, and specifically Protestant, tradition.

Anyway, what the hell (see, there I go again) was a pollworker doing commenting on your religion, anyway?

[swmartin]

Oh, I thought that was clear from the context. The comment was made in reference to which ballot I should use. I got the non-Protestant ballot.

[hagdirt]

I think you are, technically, a non-Protestant (as are Ian and myself), whereas Aaron is a non-Catholic.

And, yeah, I would have brought up the religious connotations in that phrase. After the ballot went in the slot, though.

[rsheslin]

The one that always got me was when people differentiated between Catholics and Christians. Uh, what?

[swmartin]

I've heard that from my mother before. Ironically in the same discussion where she argued that we live in a "Christian nation". I tried to point out that if you start limiting "Christian" to your own very narrow definition you undercut that whole line of reasoning, since no single religious denomination has ever been the majority in U.S. history. But my mom's never been one to let facts get in her way. She's convinced that the founding fathers were all strict fundamentalists and that Catholics are a tiny minority in this country.