On the way to the polls yesterday, I asked my toddlers about the second ballot initiative in Massachusetts. ”We like marijuana,” they said, nodding.
When I take them to vote with me, I do my best to give them the same basic experience that I have. At the election before this, I asked one of the volunteers for a piece of paper the kids could use as a ballot. They leant me their schedule, a grid with names, time blocks, and districts. One of the volunteers was named Don, so I had Siena fill in all the Os in Don’s names. Don himself was quite pleased.
In this election, I tore a paper in half and penned a Yes/No ballot with five names: Daddy, Mommy, Siena, Oren, and Nutsy. Nutsy is the stuffed squirrel that Siena brought to our polling location. Both kids got a marker and a “ballot.” We lay on our stomachs on the floor, and with help the kids began to fill in their ovals. Siena voted Yes for me and herself, but No for Mommy. Oren also voted down party lines, giving me and Siena a No, and Mommy a Yes. But in a surprising upset, both Oren and Nutsy tied with two votes.
Yes, Obama did get almost 64 million more votes than Nutsy, but my kids really enjoyed themselves, and we told them how proud we were. And then, this afternoon they heard Obama’s name on the radio and recognized it.
I asked, ”What about Nutsy? Do you think he’s sad that he didn’t win?”
Siena responded optimistically: “Maybe we could vote again tomorrow.”