Hopelessly Devoted to Voting

Alright, so as many (or none) of you may know, yesterday was the last day to register to vote in Oregon.  I, unfortunately, fell into the category of people who did NOT know that...until about 6pm.  A local news report informed me that I needed to have a voter registration postmarked with October 14th date in order to register to vote.  The news reporter said that a specific post office in downtown Portland would be open until 9pm to give that all-important postmark.  So, feeling an obligation to be a part of what happens in this year's election I felt a NEED, a strong need, to vote.  OK, so I quickly find the voter registration papers online and fill them out.  I find an address for the post office online.  I pack up myself and my baby girl to brave some chilly fall weather on our adventure.  I get down to my car and I punch in the address into my GPS...off we go!  We get to to the downtown post office without a hitch, only to find a lights off and locked up USPS.  RATS!!  There must be some secret entrance for-voter-ballots-only, so I get out of my car and walk around to the side of the building hoping for a "voting ballot day miracle".  Rats again...no secret entrance!  Those dirty bastards at the news station lied!  It's 8:15pm and I'm locked out of the post office they said was open until 9!  OK, get crafty Tami.  You need a postmark and you need it today!  So I find out that the Airport Way post office is open until 10pm.  I'll make it there with time to spare.  So as I leave SW Portland to venture to NE Portland to secure my right to vote, I run into major traffic (did I mention that it's 8:30 pm?).  You read correctly, 

T-R-A-F-F-I-C.  ODOT had their trucks out for a big accident, the kind that have arrows to tell you to move to the left.  So everyone was moving to the left, but what no one knew was that there was a pick-up truck stalled in the left lane (not part of the big accident, just making traffic worse).  Once I make my way to the accident scene, I see a car laying on the driver side with its tires up on the wall that runs along the right lane of the freeway.  WOW.  Alright, that is over now I'm home free to become a registered voter.  I arrive at the Airport Way USPS office, which to my delight, is open!  I go inside, with Addie in her car seat, and wait in line.  The post office worker sees myself and another woman holding voter registration cards in hand and says, "If you are waiting for a postmark on voter registration, I have to put the postage on it."  The lady in front of me gets hostile after this announcement and says, "I already have stamps on these!"  

Post Office Worker:  Then take the stamp off.

Hostile Woman:  These aren't even mine!  I'm doing a service for the campaign!

POW:  I'm sorry, but if you want the postmark, then you peel the stamps. 

HW:  OMG!  Really!

Then HW takes the 4 or 5 registration cards in her hands and tears them in half!!!  Tosses them in the garbage can and walks out of the post office.  Now other than, "What was with that chick" I'm thinking "Is that legal?!?"  That lady just tore up some would-be-voter's registration!  That was the most unethical and questionably illegal thing I've ever witnessed.  The postal workers and customers were all looking around at each other totally flabbergasted that she just did that!  So I finally get my postmark, after tearing off my stamp that I had already put on my registration...I decided not to tear up my papers over .42 cents.  I put Addie back in the car and start the drive back home...only to run into traffic on the way back too....construction.  Well despite all the things that tried to stop me from becoming a registered voter, I triumphed!  I am a registered voter in the state of Oregon!  Oh yeah, and if you are an Oregon resident and trusted your registration to some woman doing a "service for the campaign" and strangely you don't get your voter registration card in the mail....she tore up your registration card and you can reclaim it on Airport Way.  You can vote for the president next time, I hope this election wasn't that important to you.