Okie Doke, my son-in-law in Portland, texted last week to declare how glorious it is to vote by mail, especially on the initiatives jamming the Oregon ballot this year. Okie Doke prefers noodling through the candidates and ballot measures at his dining room table rather than guessing what they mean on the fly in a voting booth. I’m sure most Oregonians and Washingtonians agree with Okie Doke, that vote-by-mail is the way to go. (Then, Oregonians and Washingtonians also consider pot smoking benign, but I’m getting off topic.)

I plan to vote on Election Day. Per usual. I enjoy going to my Precinct 52, housed in the Assembly of God Church on Coeur d’Alene’s Seventh Street. I like seeing my neighbors there. I like huddling in the cramped voting booth to mark in the ovals. I like hearing an election worker say afterward: “David Oliveria has voted.” I like getting one of those “I voted” stickers. And if the election workers hand out oatmeal-raisin cookies, too? So much the better. More here.