Election specifics and a plug for Oregon's balloting system

On the evening of November 7, 1988, my father pulled me aside and gave me the following advice: "Vote before you go to class tomorrow, as early as you can get to the polling place. That way, if you die later in the day, your vote has been counted."

1988 was the first general election I voted in, though I'd voted in the Indiana Democratic primary the previous May when I was still 17, under the law that allows 17 year-olds to do so if they'd be eligible to vote in November's general. My dad's advice made sense, and I followed it. It didn't help Michael Dukakis, but I still remember it every November.

Now there's an even better reason to vote early -- so you have time to work it out if you're getting a hard time. Remember this number: 1-866-OUR VOTE. This is an election protection hotline, and you should call it if you're having trouble voting.

I worked the election protection phones in Indiana in 1998 (If I recall, Wasteland worked them with me that time). See what high-quality folks are staffing these phones?

Don't let them screw you out of your right to vote. Fight back if you're getting a raft of shit.

All that said, I think Oregon has the best damn system in the country. Our paper ballots arrived in the mail a little over a week ago. Mr. T and I sat down at the kitchen table tonight and marked our ballots at our leisure. You can mail them in, but they have to arrive by 8 p.m. Tuesday or they don't count, so tomorrow morning I think I'll run them to the collection spot at the library two minutes away.

Because, you know, one or both of us could die tomorrow afternoon.