On Tuesday I spent most of the day passing out sample ballots at my local poll. Yes, I was one of those annoying people who tackle you as you try to get in to vote, stuffing literature in your hand. It was painful.

I would strongly favor a law prohibiting campaigning within 200 feet of the polling place, or on the grounds, parking lots and walkways of the polling place, whichever is greater. If you haven’t decided for whom you are voting before then, you probably shouldn’t be voting. Unfortunately, until such a law is passed, candidates and both parties will feel it necessary to be annoying, as long as their opponents are.

On the upside, for the first time in my memory two democrats were elected as Warrington Supervisors. In a district with a 2-1 Republican registration advantage, this is amazing. Local politics often don’t follow party lines, though. In this case reform-minded Republicans held two of five seats on the board. When the reform candidates lost in the primary they then chose to support the democratic candidates. It was somewhat surreal to see a Republican supervisor greeting people at the poll, and asking them to vote for the democrats.

At any rate, we do now have two democrats on the board. In contrast to recent supervisors, they aren’t employed by the people who have been getting township construction contracts. Amazing.

At one point during the day a black lincoln pulled up in front of the poll and two people wearing black suits and sunglasses got out and went to the trunk. I noticed two Bush stickers on the rear bumper, and since Bush supporters obviously have no qualms about murder, I was beginning to suspect the shotguns were about to come out to deal with the upstart dems outside the poll.

Fortunately, all that came out were the wrapped hoagies for the republican poll workers. (The democrats got homemade sandwiches and cookies, but we don’t have all that money from the construction)