To the editor:

Voting can be fun yet expensive. As taxpayers, if you totaled all your lifetime tax payments to various agencies, you are looking at serious monies, so I never miss an opportunity to cast my expensive ballot. On April 18, I was an early bird voter at the local library polling booth. All in all, it was a fun event.

First, the polling both surprisingly was situated on the second floor and serviced by stairs and an elevator, so at my advanced age, I chose the elevator, which another voter was in position and invited that I should share the ride, and I went aboard.

Now I have used this same unit several times and found the control panel must have been designed by a mentally challenged engineer. Soon after the door closed, my host, after a close study of the control panel, began pushing various buttons, and now, multiple loud alarms were sounding.

Shortly, the door was opened by a library employee, we are still on the first floor, and who then quickly silenced the alarms, pushed the correct buttons and we ascended. His opening of the door produced another series of blasting alarms, but at last, the door opened of its own accord or he hit the right button. Even with my troublesome hearing loss, it was a jolting morning.

Since we two were the only voters present, the voting process quickly passed as the all-female staff gave us their full attention and it was over in 10 minutes, and so I avoided the elevator and departed by way of the stairs. I did not stick around to listen for more alarms, but the last I saw, he was crossing the parking lot on the way to his government office.

John Richcreek, Seymour