On Election Day, I worked as an election clerk in my town. For 9 hours I sat at a little table in City Hall and checked in voters, who came in droves. I have voted in every election since I turned 21 but this time was different. Because I became a part of the process that made it all work.
Yesterday, as I reflected on my experience, I became aware of the rituals involved in establishing the voting temenos, a word I use here because indeed it felt like the civic analogue of sacred space. We followed established ritual, not unlike the rituals surrounding preparation for the Eucharist. The clerks all sworn in. The voting booths had to be set in particular ways, posters and documents hung in proper places. Marks to be made on voting lists in red pen. And when the scanner had to be emptied because it had filled with ballots, another ritual for pausing the vote, opening the box, removing the ballots, witnessing the removal and placement of the ballots into sealed boxes for counting later. And knowing that all over this state and with minor variations all over this country, the same rites and rituals were being followed.
If you haven't read Andrew Samuels' Politics on the Couch, I recommend it.