Actual Americans Actually Voting

Dublin, New Hampshire, is my part-time home here in the U.S.A. — I spend about 6 weeks out of every year here, and have for almost 10 years. Today I got to see Dublin go to vote.

Dublin Town Hall is the polling place for Dublin citizens: it’s a grand old building, constructed in 1881. It’s in the National Register of Historic Places. If you walk along the driveway on the eastern side, you go down the hill and around to the back, which is where the poll is located.

Section 659 of the New Hampshire Election Law says, in part:

No person who is a candidate for office or who is representing or working for a candidate shall distribute any campaign materials or perform any electioneering activities or any activity which affects the safety, welfare and rights of voters within a corridor 10 feet wide and extending a distance from the entrance door of the building as determined by the moderator where the election is being held.

As a result, you see a large gaggle of electioneers gathered across the driveway from the door to the poll. You can see it’s really quite close, nonetheless.

My favourite part of the trip across the road was the realization that by looking in the small windows along the bottom of the Town Hall, you could, in theory, see right into the election curtains. I fully suspect this to become the subject of a Supreme Court battle.

ruk @ cbc

My interview with Matt Rainnie will air on CBC Prince Edward Island’s Mainstreet program this afternoon after the news around 4:05 p.m. Atlantic. You can listen live; I’ll snarf a recording and post here later.

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