Voting machine...or not

Today I solidified my citizenship in Chicago by doing my civic duty. Wahoo.

Which is an ass-y way of saying I voted in the primary and I'm not sure how to think about it yet.

Being such a transient for so long (six years in this city clinging to a Minnesota license and address, a year of tourist visas spent on the margins of Mexican society, just long enough in LA to be tricked into establishing residency), I've been pretty lackadaisical in my political participation. This is effectively the first time I've voted in the same state I live since--damn--college.

So I feel a mixture of self-satisfaction and unease with this whole primary deal. Tell me if I'm off.

The city made it stupidly easy to vote this year, with more than a week set aside for early birds. Yet neither the Mrs. nor I got our acts together to take advantage. (How can the city forecast record low turnout when it's this damn easy?) So I swung by my precinct site, tucked away in the bowels of a senior services center (and manned by what could've been clients), to cast a ballot.

Supposedly Chicago's are among the physically largest ballots around. Mine didn't quite fit in the voting booth, so there you go. Not only that, but I missed out on the era of punch-card voting; Chicago switched over to optically scanned sheets, with touch-screens close on their heels. Perhaps out of nostalgia, some candidates' signs still exhorted us to "punch #__" which would only cause havoc now.

Speaking of playing havoc with tradition:
On the matter of the County Board, do I vote for a fire-breathing reformer against whom the entire Chicago Democratic machine is arrayed? Or for the choice of Da Mayor (and everyone on the machine's payroll)--who just had a friggin' stroke? Let me think for a moment.

I could rejoice that this was about the only difficult choice on the ballot. However, when you know next to zip about the candidates except that your alderman really likes some of them (especially the ones who are running unopposed--what the hell is that all about? Six lawyers jostling for one appellate court seat and we can't find anyone willing to challenge most of the incumbents?), and this ignorance has passed through the candidates' websites unscathed by any substantial policy statements (office-holder Rahm Emanuel didn't even bother to take his case to the web, the cocky bastard), they're all challenging decisions.

So I voted for George Mason. Go Patriots!

Should I be worried my precinct captain didn't ask to see my ID?