(c) Sarah Serendipity (not my picture)

Caucus business is very messy, but I didn’t realize how messy it was until my mother invited me to go to one.

When we got there, there were people walking around, still voting. I got out my new EOS camera (the camera that the bad-boys use) and tried to take a picture but an old man stopped me.

“Ain’ no picshures’ ‘laowed durin’ the vote.”

I murmured a “sorry” and put my camera away.

A while later, a woman called out, “You people all here for the caucus meeting?”

Everyone murmured yes.

“Good. Now,” she said, peering through her glasses and looking at the paper she was holding, “this official caucus meeting has to start 7:15, which is now…”

At this moment, she was interrupted.

“Sorry, but it’s 7:13.”

She looked at her own watch instead of the clock on the wall. “Maybe you’re right,” she said.

A few more rambling minutes went past.

“All in favor of voting me as the foreseer?”

Everyone said, “Aye!”

“Anyone in opposing?”

Everyone said, “Nay!”

The caucus began.

Everyone had to write their names down on a little paper. The first wrote Clinton. The second wrote Obama. The third wrote Clinton.

The third person was my dad.

My parents like Clinton, so I had to join them. My dad was smiling as the  fourth, fifth, and sixth voted for Clinton.

“We’re winning!” he said brightly.

A while later, I was sitting there, and had almost fallen asleep. The long line of people trying to sign their name had gotten longer and longer, but finally it was shortening.

And then finally everyone had signed their name. A few people left, but a good half remained.

“Now we are going to do a head count,” said the appointed foreseer. “Everyone, please stay still.”

I could barely hold in a giggle as my parents, along with other people, were touched on the head just like my teachers did to me. My parents themselves giggled as well.

When the lady counted a second time, however, the numbers were different! Furious, she told everyone to get in a line.

Thus was another funny moment as my parents got in line, and were told to get to the back by another person, just like I did.

After a few minutes, the numbers were finally out.

Obama had 44, and Hillary 38.

Hillary had appeared to be winning, but apparently now she wasn’t.

“The percentages do not add up to 100, and that is because some people left.”

I wish they didn’t leave.

Since each precinct could only send 14 people, she nominated 7 and 7 as the amounts.

All of Hillary said aye, but a blonde woman from Obama’s side yelled out. “I don’ mean to be mean or anythin’, but we obviously got more peeeple than ya’ll on Hillery,” she puffed, stretching the syllables.

Then an old man from Obama’s side nominated 6 and 8, with Obama in favor.

Everyone on Obama’s side clapped. All on Hillary’s took a deep sigh.

I tried to mathematically figure out the numbers:

There were 82 people in total, so the fractions were Obama with 44 / 82, and Hillary with 38 / 82.

Each side’s score needed to be converted to a percentage, so 44 divided by 82 was 0.54, which multiplied by 100 (to get a percentage) was 54%. (Dad helped a lot on this part.)

54 out of 100 converted to something out of 14 was calculated by dividing 53 by 100 to get 0.54 again, and then multiplying by 14. The answer was 7.58. Wow.

Had Hillary gotten maybe a few more people, or had the people who had written down their names not had left, Hillary might have gotten the percentage back.

My mom complained that there had been no point in coming, but I kindly reminded her that without us, the percentage could have been even lower!

We all went home.

The next morning, my dad said goodbye to my mom before leaving for work, and then said:

“Hillary won Texas.”