Scenes From A Poll: Cambridge

Location: Cambridge City Hall

Time: Noon

A reporter walks into a virtually empty poll and says, “Hey – has it been this calm all morning?” Six poll workers look at him and collectively sigh, then one goes, “You're kidding honey – right?” I actually wasn't joking, but out of respect for the women there I pretended that I was, and thanked them for their civic commitment. I guess I should have known that they'd just wrapped up busy time, as a few of them appeared to be getting their first bit of rest of the day.

Everything I missed aside – the lines, the commotion, the rigmarole – the scene was naked when I showed, without so much as a trace of the crush that had already stomped through. There were 952 ballots cast by the time I walked in, which is more than the infamous polling place outside of Davis Square, which, despite having processed about 100 people less by the same time, still had about 200 heads wrapped around the corner. I guess the Cambridge crew knows the routine. Well done.