The polls were to open at noon and we wanted to be among the first to vote.
Everyone else had the same idea. There were about 150 people standing on line in the polling place at the Eldorado Elementary School just outside Santa Fe when we got there. The line was long, the mood was good, the volunteers overwhelmed.
We were told that the principal of the Eldorado Elementary School was "very upset" that there were so many of us. Must be a Republican we decided. Through the principal’s intermediary — an over-caffeinated volunteer — we were told that we would all have to get online outside in the 23 degree temperature, wind chill at about 10 degrees.
We were having none of that. This was democracy in action and we intended to show all the kiddies shuffling through the hallways what the adults do when they take their civic responsibility seriously. And of course there is the fact that our tax dollars pay the salary of the "very upset" principal.
The overorganized among us jumped in as volunteers, moved tables around, straightened out the long lines, separated people by last initial for sign-up and we were on our way.