Amaryllis are opening

70% turnout for the election today - 10% higher than that projected state-wide.  We initiated a token system where once someone signed the poll book they were handed a token which they had to go around the desk to where the ballots are and hand it back in order to be given a ballot.  Overkill for a little municipality like ours but it worked quite well and things ran smoothly.  If there were any problems it was in what I picked to use as a token - poker chips.  They seemed perfect when I saw them in the game section at Walmart.  Poll Worker Andy had a limitless number of 'chip' jokes.  Both he and Chief Inspector Barb congratulated me on using white chips and not using the red or blue ones.  It took me a moment before realizing in the heavily charged political atmosphere right now all sorts of things could be read into using those colors.  Come to think of it though,  no one made any nasty comments about voting machines being rigged (hopefully we are over that nonsense) nor any snide comment about one political party or the other.    I'm not sure why people were full of kindness.  There is a snowstorm coming tonight - a common danger brings people together.  Maybe it's just that it's spring - who can be nasty in spring?