by Jacqueline Watts
editor@baltimoreguide.com
Get out and vote.
In Southeast Baltimore, at least, there is no sense waiting—the wait is 10 minutes or less.
I voted at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church on Ponca Street at about 7:45 a.m. The greeter said there were about 40 people in line at 7 a.m. and everything went smoothly.
There were seven people ahead of me waiting for four voting machines. A young woman came in behind me and said she had brought a book but it looked like she wouldn’t need it. “I thought I would have to wait hours,” she said. “This is nice.”
I voted on a Diebold machine, one of the ones that became notorious during the 2000 election, but it recorded my vote correctly. “This is nice,” I thought.
I got my “I Voted” sticker and headed out. A neighbor was heading for the poll. She had a book. I told her she wouldn’t need it—the wait was only 10 minutes. “Oh, that’s nice,” she said.
Sailing in and out of St. Nick’s is one thing—it’s a small poll. I headed over to the Hatton Center, the biggest poll in burgeoning Canton, where there is always a line.
There was no line. There was no line at the Hatton Center even though they are offering free flu shots for adults and seniors till 1 p.m.
Over at Engine 5 on Collington and Eastern, there was no line.
At Patterson High School there was no line.
At Lemko House there was no line.
There is no line at St. Leo’s.
The only line I found was at Starbucks in Canton, where people have voted can get a free cup of coffee. Nothing fancy—just joe, no crema, no doubleshots. Still, it gets your blood moving and it’s free. Even at Starbucks the line was short.
Here's the only line I saw all morning--at the Canton Starbucks, where they were giving free coffee to voters.
Joe Giordano, a reporter and photographer for the Dundalk Eagle, was there. “For the record,” he said, “I paid for my coffee.” He pointed to his “I Voted” sticker. “I am not a mooch.”
For the record, I, Jacqueline Watts, editor of the Baltimore Guide, am a mooch. I took the freebie.
No excuse, folks—go vote.
