I am part of the process
- Number of minutes to walk over and back from the local community centre: 21
- Number of people on duty for the election: 19
- Number of people ahead of me in the queue: 11
- Number of names on the local ballot: 6
- Number of family members met along the way (riding a longboard): 1
- Number of times I could vote: 1
There, my duty is done. I only have twelve hours to wait before the first of the “real numbers” are announced on all the local television and radio outlets. Coupled with the time necessary for the networks to make their “based on” statement, I should probably go back to bed now, because this will be a very long day, filled with no tension and few expectations. Maybe the postal truck will deliver a parcel from eBay; maybe not. In the grand scheme of things, only the dog gets excited (every time someone approaches the refrigerator).
I’m off today, using some of my compensating time from long evenings watching the democratic process. Fitting that today is a polling day, a scrutatory instance in history. Also a bit humbling, when I realize how little my effort weighs in the whole process. There are currently 308 districts, each with a slate of candidates. There are millions of people on the voting list, and every single one of them has the same right and duty as me: to try and choose with wisdom and discrimination the ideal officer for the meeting of minds in Ottawa. For however long the next period shall be; the current prediction is for another minority government.
