The year is 2021 in the young and innovative state of Israel.
We are a start up nation, we push the boundaries, we have advanced medicine and are the creators of some of the most cutting edge technology that the world has to offer.
Quite the feat for such a young and small country!
But, do we know how to do very simple procedures such as running a voting station that operates literally every time they hold elections?
No.
Do we as a nation make simple tasks needlessly difficult and complicated for seemingly no apparent reason?
Absolutely.
I am not a particularly political person. But I do understand the very basics of how to perform the physical steps of voting and do my best to try to properly perform my civic duty.
From my observations over the years it's fairly straight forward...
You figure out where your voting station is either by getting a slip in the mail or checking online. Bring a valid form of ID to the voting station and give it to one of the election workers at the table. They check the ID and find your name on the voters list. Then they give you an envelope and tell you to go pick out your ballot slip.
You take the envelope behind the little booth and choose your ballot slip. Make sure the slip is not drawn on, crinkled or teared. Put the slip in the envelope and then seal the envelope. Bring the envelope over to the fancy cardboard ballot box and put it in.
Collet ID from the election workers before exiting the room.
Tada.
You did it!
Simple, straight forward.
This morning I decided to take advantage of the hospitals polling station before going home after my night shift. The signs said they open at 08:00am, I arrived at 07:40 and watched them struggle to set up the voting station which is mainly compromised of cardboard cutouts and a few signs to hang up.
At around 08:05 a woman showed up for her job at the polling station. The other workers asked her what her job was, she responded that she didn't know... They reread the list of people that were supposed to be present (I think maybe for the fourth time) and said "well the only person missing is head of bla bla so I guess that's you?". The woman considered this for a moment and then responded "OK. They just told me to come and I'd get paid.". Everyone nodded their heads, they brought out another chair and made room at the table for her.
Finally at around 08:20am they officially opened the doors and called me in (I was first in line). They check my ID and my slip stating that I'm a hospital employee (only employees and admitted patients can vote there) and then gave me my envelope.
So far so good.
I went behind the booth, picked out my nondamaged slip, put it in the envelope and sealed the envelope. Came out of the booth and headed for the cardboard ballot box but was accosted by one of the woman from the table who grabbed my envelope and frantically stated that I had done it too fast and they weren't ready yet.
Another worker yelled "Noooooo" because only the voter themselves can touch the envelope to prevent fraud.
Mayhem. Chaos.
They intensely began to debate how to proceed. Do they throw it out and make me do it again? Do they report for fraud?
Hospital employees and patients had already begun to gather outside and were forming an orderly mob outside the door (Israelis don't stand in lines, they stand in mobs). The clock was ticking and they were starting to get impatient. There is a very fine line between an orderly mob and an angry mob.
Eventually they agreed to let me proceed with my envelope because everyone saw that it was an accident and she wasn't intentionally trying to commit fraud.
They unveiled the cardboard voting box and let me put the envelope in.
Then everyone clapped and cheered because I was the first official voter of the day and it was all very exciting and clearly a bit overwhelming for all of us.
