was a steady number of voters but no wait. One big "oops"...I left my glasses at home. Good thing I was already familiar with the ballot and didn't need to read any small print (such as when it's a local election for, say, the school board, and you're asked to vote for three candidates).
Something that brought a HUGE smile to my face (other than the awesome "I voted" sticker): our poll workers always announced when someone was voting for the first time, and the entire place would erupt in cheers. It happened twice when I was there; the first time, I didn't know what we were cheering for but the second time, I heard the announcement: "FIRST TIME VOTER HERE!" The poor kid looked so pleased but also a little embarrassed.
Oh, one more thing that made me smile: as we were walking in to the polling place, a young lady (possibly a first time voter?) was walking out. She held the door for Dad and me and after we both thanked her, she smiled, said "You're welcome" and then added "thanks for voting!" It was such a pleasant experience all around...outside the polling place, just before the "no campaigning beyond this point" sign, there were two older gentlemen on either side of the walkway. One had a "vote yes on Issue 1*" sign, the other held a "vote no on Issue 1" sign. But both were having a very civil conversation with smiles and chuckles on both sides. Civics AND civility? Yes please!
* Issue 1 here in Ohio is a citizen-initiated amendment to the Ohio constitution that, if passed, would allow for a redistricting commission who would be in charge of drawing boundaries for election purposes. The committee would be composed of 15 citizens: 5 Republicans, 5 Democrats and 5 Independents. Confusingly, supporters of BOTH sides of the issue are claiming it would end gerrymandering...
