Voting in the North Carolina Primary

Yesterday, we voted in the North Carolina primary.

I have fond memories of voting in South Carolina primaries in the late 80's and early 90's.  The state was just as Republican then as it is now, so we knew that almost any vote for a Democrat wouldn't matter in presidential contests.  In primaries, I voted for Jesse Jackson in 1988, and at the time, I thought it unlikely that I'd ever see a candidate who wasn't white win a presidential bid.  I'm thankful I was wrong.

I voted for a woman, too, but I can't remember which one.  It was likely whichever candidate the Green party had chosen.

Last night, I tried to remember why we hadn't voted in Florida primaries, and then I remembered.  The only people who Florida allows to vote in primaries are people who choose a party affiliation when they register to vote.  I have always registered as an independent.

North Carolina allows independents to vote, but only in one of the primaries:  Democrat, Libertarian, or Republican.  South Carolina used to give everyone the same ballot, as if it was a regular election day, and the voter could mix and match between parties.  They may still do that, but I haven't voted in a South Carolina election in decades, so I can't be sure.

Yesterday, I voted in the Republican primary.  In many of the races, that's the candidate who will win in this electorally strange state, so I want to help winnow that field.  On the Democratic side, I'm less concerned about ruling out any of those candidates, so I felt less compelled to vote in that primary.  As for Libertarians, we live in a time where third parties don't have much of a chance, so I'm not wasting a vote that way.

Yesterday we went to vote at the local public library which is nestled between a public high school, a public elementary school, and several churches that have been in existence for longer than the school or library buildings.    I thought about what this country has built, what it has deemed essential for the public good (schools!  libraries!  institutions that house multitudes!  separation of church and state!  caretakers of the souls who are living and dead and the graveyards!).  I said a prayer, both of thanks and supplication that they may continue to exist and thrive.