BY RICHARD L. FRICKER
I went down to vote in the Tulsa city elections yesterday. I went to the same polling place where I have voted for years.
My name, and that of my wife, were indeed on the voter rolls.
I was asked for, and presented, a government voter ID, my Oklahoma driver’s license.
As a joke I mentioned that I was an escaped alien, a Venusian.
They asked to see my license a second time. They then told me they needed to check the expiration date.
“If my license has expired, am I no long the person it says I am?”
“Well then you have to cast a provisional ballot.”
“But, I’m still Richard L. Fricker, am I not?”
“Yes, but if your license is expired then you have to cast a different ballot.”
“Why? Can’t you look at the picture and tell it’s me?”
“It must be a current ID.”
“So if it’s not current, I don’t exist even though I’m standing here in front of you.”
My license was current. At length Mrs. Fricker intervened.
“Just vote!” she said with an exasperation in her voice that only a wife can intone.
I voted, a much wiser citizen. I now know that Rep. Randy Terrill, the Tea Bag party and their fellow buffoons will feel better knowing I existed in the same form I have always existed, minus some hair and plus a few pounds.
I just wonder – if I let my driver’s license expire, will I still have to pay my turnpike tolls?
Democracy is a beautiful thing.
– Richard L. Fricker lives in Tulsa, OK and is a regular contributor to The Oklahoma Observer, providing both essay and video commentary. His latest book, Martian Llama Racing Explained, is available at http://www.richardfricker.com.
