I voted this morning. For the first time in my twenty years of voting, I felt a strange tension..

I live in a heavy republican district. The poll workers are all older and form the base of the demographics of my district. Every time I voted until now, I felt a sense of community and an allegiance with those others who were exercising their right to vote and those aiding the civic process of voting by working at the polling place. This time felt different. There was a palpable sense of distrust from both directions.

I felt as though they were doubting that I was who I said I was when they were checking my name and address off in their binder of citizens

I felt unsure as I chose the paper ballot counted by optical scan over the electronic booth. I was worried that I would make a mistake invalidating my ballot as I cast it. I wrote in names where I didn't have a dog in the fight because I thought , maybe mistakenly, that if I did my ballot would be hand counted. Then I doubted myself and thought maybe I just made my ballot challenge-able and perhaps invalid.

I did not have a great feeling as I walked out of my polling place Voting was filled with distrust in the system and doubt in my understanding of said system.

I wish we had a standard voting method nationwide. I wish it was one person one vote. I wish we used purple inked fingers rather than voter id. I just didn't feel as good as I deserved to when I was done casting my vote.