At the end of yesterday I completed my 280th hour at the Polk County Supervisor of Elections Office for my second summer -o- service. It was an odd feeling, checking yet another thing off of my list as a rising college senior, preparing myself for the inevitable: graduation. It has been on my mind as of late and I am aprehensive yet eager for that day to come. Why all this talk about graduation??? What does that have to do with SOS or Bonner? Well, just about everything. I was informed that the powers that be here are just as eager for my graduation date as I am. This notion of potentially having work after graduation is splendid but scary. I'm counting my blessings. I purposely waited to begin my blogging because I truly wanted this to be a time of reflection about my work at the elections office. So my entries from now on will be about the current day and a previous day/event. I have always like contrasting my experiences; it allows a person to notice how much you can change in a matter of days.
Today (7/8/11), I will be exploring the Lakeland area of Polk County and refilling Voter Registration Form locations with my co-worker, Mrs. Petula Williams (coincidence? I think not). This is simply busy work for a very slow Friday. I have suspicions that our sudden influx of phone calls to have forms refilled is backlash from the recent passing of House Bill 1355. Some of you may not know, but this bill has made major waves in the electoral process in Florida. Lawmakers in Tallahassee have yet to hand down a cut and dry interpretation of these new laws. Hence, potential 3rd party voter registration groups (Think League of Women Voters, or Veterans for Change) are snatching up Voter Registration Forms like kids snatching candy at a Christmas parade. The new laws dictate that from the time of issuing of a Voter Registration Form to a 3rd party group, and the time they get someone registered to vote, the 3rd party group has 48 hours to return the signed form, or is becomes void. Can anyone see what kinds of problems this poses? Rant over.
So while replenishing our sites in Lakeland with Voter Registration Forms, I will hope that no one gets too greedy and all Polk County residents will be able to take advantage of the ability to register to vote at almost any bank/bait and tackle shop in Lakeland.
Yesterday (7/7/11) we were out at Walgreen's in Winter Haven, registering voters and providing other information services to the people of Polk County. It still never ceases to sadden me when girls my age slough off the idea that they can change their world by declining their constitutional right to vote. Since we are not allowed to hound people, I have been formulating a very precise list of questions and set of vocabulary to engage would-be voters in conversation. Sometimes I ask, "Do you believe you deserve a say in what our government does? Registering to vote only takes 5 minutes!", or sometimes, "This opportunity is very unique to our country; registering to vote is not only patriotic, it is honorable because you are participating in the unique design of our government." or something like that :)
I also got a slight sunburn on one side of my face. Yay fair skin and Florida sunshine!
In other news, my family is currently stuck in traffic attempting to use their tickets to the LAST SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH. I cannot believe this is the end of an era of government driven space exploration. This weekend is going to be a busy one, and I hope if you are reading this you get the rest that I know I will not.
Ta-ta for now <3
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