Election Day began wonderfully. It was great to see so many people at my polling station early in the morning. I entered with a smile on my face, greeting people leaving with a cheery “good morning.” No one made eye contact or returned my greeting. Most of them looked pretty serious. The machine was not accepting ballots so I had to put it in a slot in the side, but I slapped my “I Voted” sticker on my coat, happy I’d done my duty.
My wife reported that later in the day, she met a recently naturalized neighbor originally from the Middle East who was ecstatic about voting for the first time. On the way home from work, I passed my incumbent representative pumping his sign up and down on a busy corner, and I smiled and waved at him as I passed. He waved back enthusiastically, not knowing that I said a quiet “goodbye” as we passed.
Next morning, I realized I had probably waved goodbye to the $19 billion in the Permanent Fund earnings reserve account instead. Only most of the judges I had voted for had been retained. Otherwise, my votes had all gone into the minority columns. Disappointed? Yes. Disillusioned? Somewhat. Dispirited? Never!
— Jon Sharpe
Anchorage
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