Op-Ed: On the Primary Battlefront in Ohio, Part Deux - Voting Season

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Pack up the kids and head out to vote, that was the mission. After fighting with the kiddos and finding our way to the polling place at a local Elemenatary school my husband and I found ourselves facing problem one, there is no parking. The polling place was packed, granted there weren't many places available to begin with.

I walk in and am greeted by poll workers, who ask me what party I am registered with, of course I say neither. For some reason they do not believe me, one looks at me in my jeans, tenner shoes, and black suit jacket and trench coat and they say, "You are voting Republican right?"

Trumbull County seems to be one of the countys left in Ohio where we still use electronic voting machines with printed receipts we can view for accuracy. I look over the choices I have for presidential candidate, and the vote is cast.

However, March 4 was not just primary season in Ohio; some state and local politicians are elected as well. Although elected is not quite the word, rather coronated. Most of the politicians were running unopposed and my voting experience left me feeling downcast knowing whether or not I wanted that incumbent in office meant nothing. In Trumbull County, many of our positions are held for years without being contested simply because of the strangle hold that in place on the system by politicians hiring their family members to fill in positions.

One of the contested votes was for Trumbull County Engineer. The local city Engineer, DeChristifaro, was running for that office and for some reason thought it would be cute to order road work be done on a cold March day when sleet was raining from the heavens. He must have thought it would be even cuter to do this in front of one of the main intersections to the polling place because it was backed up for a good 20 minutes.

I spoke with poll workers who seem to have a dislike for journalists of any kind because they became quite cold when I asked to take their picture. Oh well, next time I'll get approval ahead of time so I can be special like Fox News and take pictures inside the polling area. Their frowns turned upside down though when I signed up to be a poll worker in November.

After Mission voting had been accomplished, mission two:Stimulate the Economy was put into action. My husband and I went to the Eastwood Mall to purchase a few items that would help us make it through tough times, including a wet/dry vac for our flooded basement, a dehydrator so I can start saving fruits and veggies from going bad and making them into healthy snacks, a toddler potty, and a four-slice toaster.

I noticed many people at the mall with the tell-tale marking of a red sticker and the check mark showing they voted that day. I also saw a couple wearing a sticker that said " Barack Hussein Obama" with the no symbol over it.

After speaking with them they expressed that they wished they could have voted for Hillary on the Democratic side of the aisle because she was a better choice than Obama any day. Other than that couple, I saw very little to indicate where people had cast their votes. People did not seem to be talking politics either.

It is now 7:30 and polling is closed in Ohio, the projected time for all ballots to be counted is around 17 hours.