Once again, we had to make arrangements to vote outside the normal time and place. I applied to have mail-in absentee ballots sent to a location on our current journey. Mike got his ballot last week.

When mine still didn’t arrive today, I called the election office in AK. Whoopsie! They never sent mine.

Do I have access to a fax? No.

Well, too bad, so sad then. Bye-bye.

Hrmph.

And then I get a phone call from Carol at the election office. Do I have a computer and printer? Yes…I think so…maybe. Carol emails me a “Sample Ballot” posing as a “By-Mail Replacement Ballot” which she tells me will be turned into an “Official Ballot” upon receipt in Fairbanks. There may be toads, newts, and a large black iron vessel involved in that transformation. I’m not sure.

After downloading an appropriate printer driver, I am, indeed, able to print my ballot and get it in the mail several hours before the deadline.

So, did I get special treatment, or is this the way things work all over?