Election Day

Today is local election day and the sheriff's race is the talk of the county.

Sunday my Uncle Billy was over for breakfast and he and my dad got to talking about election night when they were kids. The election officers would wheel out a big ol' chalkboard onto the courthouse steps and everyone in town would hang out on the lawn as the results came in. The person writing the results would get so nervous and that their chalk would shake as people hovered around watching them write each precinct's results over their shoulder. The kids would be climbing all over the banisters of the steps and the adults would be in deep discussions about serious local politics.

As they said this I got to thinking- I grew up here and have never seen this election night excitement? No way. And I had gotten a bachelors in political science but never seen this step of the political process? Not ok. So my family and I decided that on election night we would all go up to the courthouse and watch the results being written on this historic and famous chalkboard.

So tonight at 7pm the polls close and by 7:15pm we have made our way from the local Mexican food joint to the county courthouse. Only it wasn't what I had imaged- No one was outside. They were all in the lobby inside. And for the first time in probably 100 years there was no chalkboard - There were computer monitors. Talk about a let down. Not the 1960s throwback I had imagined but still exciting.

I loved watching the candidates hopeful faces watch those results scroll through on that monitor. Did you know a 13 yr old boy running for class president has the same hopeful look when looking at results posted on a library door as a grown man running for county commissioner looking at fancy and very official flat screen computer monitor? I knew I had seen some of those faces before. Haha.

Anyways- it was exciting to say the least. Rickety chalkboard or no rickety chalkboard. And when I left the sheriff's race was still neck and neck. Going to have to stay up to catch the 10 o'clock news for that one. ;)

Oh, then as I left this scene cracked me up:

Three older gentlemen following the poll results online on their iPad. Made me laugh at myself for coming for the chalkboard. Time's are a-changing. Even on this old courthouse square I guess.