Sunday May 7, 2006
Suffering through Suffrage
I excercised my right to vote for the first time on Saturday.
My visit to the polling station was mercifully brief: lasting no more than 10 minutes from entry to exit. My brother voted that morning and had happily reported a wait of only an hour, so I was suprised to find only one person in line ahead of me.
Having breezed through, it suddenly occured to me that at no stage of the process had anyone asked me for any form of identification! I merely presented a small slip of paper that had been given to me when I registered as a voter. This slip contained no stamp, no verifying marks, only the signature of the enumerator that had signed me up.
Beyond that little slip of paper with my name and address, I could have been anyone! I was never asked for photo identification, never asked to sign anything. Merely crossed from the rolls as I went through the room, marked with permanent black ink on the left index finger and handed my empty ballot papers.
Now it just so happens that I am indeed who the slip of paper said I was. But what if I wasn’t? Would anyone know? Would anyone care?
Filed by Jachin Sheehy under Living-in-Fiji
