Civic Duty

I voted today. Yup, today was our municipal election and I went and voted for a new mayor and eight aldermen....alderpeople?

Now, I've talked about voting in the past, sometimes at length, but voting could be possibly the boringest thing that a person could do. Call me a product of my generation, but I am convinced that voter turnout would be a lot higher if  there was a little excitement added to the event.

Voting starts out fun. Usually there is a chance to go to see inside new churches or community centres. Do you think I would have gone to the Canadian Italian Club had it not been for voting? After insuring you have gone to the right polling station, the fun ends.

Tonight, after I had registered to vote, I was handed a Scantron ballot, just like those multiply choice tests of high school days. I was super excited! This wasn't going to be one of those mark an 'X' kind of voting experiences.

I sat behind my dark cardboard partitions and was greeted with a black Sharpie marker to fill in my ballot. No voting machines, no hanging chads, no fun. I carefully marked my ballot and returned it to the volunteer at the ballot box.

He carefully scanned my ballot and dropped it in the box. The whole process was over before it even began. I sadly walked out without a balloon, prize or even an 'I Voted Today' sticker. Just the pride of civic duty.

I'm not looking for much. How about some Rice Crispie Squares and watered down peach punch? Maybe an awesome cheer every time a new ballot is dropped in the box? Or just a friendly high five from one of the volunteers overseeing the whole democratic process?

Is this too much to ask?