Updated at 3:16 p.m., Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Few snafus as voters hit the polls
Advertiser Staff
On a day when election snafus seemed the stuff of distant memory, one of the smoothest and busiest polls was at Jefferson Elementary."I don't think we've had more than two minutes where someone wasn't in front of us waiting," said election volunteer Margaret Glenn, her fingers laced in front of her on cafeteria table. "And we're only A-G."
The Waikiki poll saw few voters during the primary — 626 all told — but by 1:30 p.m. today 415 people had cast their ballots, said precinct chairman Joshua Cooper, whose busy No. 2 assistant was his 82-year-old grandmother.
"This is the lull, but to be this far ahead is really good," he said. "Democracy is not dead."
The Jefferson Elementary poll was short five volunteers during the primary and one of its ballot-reading machines broke, stacking up a line of angry people.
Today, the poll was fully staffed with a dozen workers and nothing had broken so far.
The pace was brisk, even among voters who came prepared with ballot information about the various proposed amendments.
Voting took all of five minutes.
Bob Houk, a 58-year-old retiree from the grocery business, was proud of doing his civic duty.
"It's a responsibility," he said. "You can't complain about anything if you don't get your two cents in."
