Feeling Disenfranchised

I have never been ambivalent about voting.

I remember when I was very little, my parents would take me into the voting booth with them. I couldn't wait to be old enough to share in this important responsibility.

And then when I was 13, there was Mrs. Wiggs, my teacher at St. Peter's Catholic School (who remains one of my favorite teachers of all times...remember how I told you that I will kill myself to please someone who has high standards and expectations but trusts me to fulfill them? She was one of those teachers). Mrs. Wiggs told us that if we didn't vote, we didn't have a right to complain. And I think she was right.

So since I really want the right to complain, I vote.

I have voted in every major election and most of the minor ones since I turned 18.

And I voted in this one. About 6 weeks ago. I even blogged about it.

And I sent my ballot back via the diplomatic pouch because our DPO mail was taking two months. I wanted to make sure it got there.

Well as of last night, it hadn't.

I checked the website, and then I called the voting office to verify.

Nope, they never got it.

So I am feeling a little disenfranchised.

I suppose there is always a chance that they will receive it today. Or that they counted it and just didn't note it.

But the thought that I didn't get to vote in the election for the President of the country I love and serve makes me more than a little sad.