My civic duty

There is no greater perk of United States citizenship than voting.

And, I love to vote.

Really, I do. I proudly claim that I have voted in every election for which I have been eligible since turning 18 -- presidential, gubernatorial, Congress, county, city, hospital district, public utility district and school board. I've always voted on public initiatives and referenda questions, too. Like I said, I love it.

More than marking my ballot with the black marker or pencil, I like going to the polls. I enjoy stopping by the poll on my way to work, saying hello to whichever elderly lady is staffing the table for my precinct, going to the stall and then inserting my ballot into the box. I like knowing it got delivered on time and as promised. I like the experience and the red-white-and-blue bunting festooning the place.

So it was with a special sense of pride that I cast a vote today at the performing arts center in downtown Wenatchee, the centralized polling location for this area of the county. Most voters here, and increasingly around the state, are permanent absentee voters. They like to get a ballot and mail it in by Election Day. Clearly, they value convenience over civic engagement with neighbors all sharing the experience of casting a ballot at a polling place.

In fact, on the ballot in Chelan County today was an advisory vote to county commissioners about whether the county should remain one of 13 in the state to allow in-person voting or join the majority as a mail-voting only county. I voted no, of course. I recognize the budgetary savings and convenience, even the increased security. None trump the tradition and social benefit of a polling place, in my book. Nonetheless, the vote will probably show that most voters prefer voting by mail -- the numbers already indicate that -- but I can hope people say no like I did.

In fact, today was a day of voting no all the way down the ballot. I did mark to approve a small constitutional amendment to allow municipal judges on a judicial oversight committee. That made sense to me.

I voted no for changing the law regarding medical malpractice to benefit doctors. I voted no for changing the law regarding medical malpractice to benefit lawyers. I voted no to ban smoking in all public places. I voted no to repeal the gas tax enacted this year. I voted no to add a duplicitous government auditing system.

Talking about the election today with some of the Joint Chiefs, I explained my rationale for each vote. And I surprised myself in being so Libertarian about the smoking ban initiative, shocking my associates with the departure from my usual liberal stance. I believe I actually used the phrase "let the marketplace decide" when it comes to people wanting a smoke-free environment. I almost could not believe what I was saying. But initiatives are notoriously poorly written; their overreaching (as in the smoking ban) ultimately prove their undoing.

So today might have been my last day of going to the polling place, greeting the nice ladies, going to the booth and putting my own ballot in the counting machine. And possibly no more "I voted" stickers. Yes, I love voting. I hope I still will even if I have to do it from my dining room table.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.