I loved the traditional “going to the polls” routine. After moving to our small town in Washington state several years ago and registering as voters, my husband and I would cross the street to our precinct’s voting place on election day. We would mingle with friends, mark our paper ballots in a voting booth, then drop them in the official box.

You can understand my feelings the year my state announced the change to an all mail voting process. I certainly didn’t greet the change with joy. I would miss the local voting day camaraderie, the pride when I stuck the “I Voted. Have You?” sticker on my coat.

Now? I have come to bless that day when we went to all mail voting. Our presidential primary last spring, just as the virus began taking a toll, went off without a hitch.

For our current local primary and the coming November election, we have no fears of catching the virus in a long polling place line. We will not have to worry about enough poll workers or places to vote.

In an election, the mailed ballots in my county are received at the county offices and stored in a locked room, under camera surveillance, to be tabulated after “the polls” close on election day.

Before mailing my ballot, I wrote my required signature on the outside envelope. It will be compared with the signature on the registered voter list.

Should any question arise as to the validity of the final vote count, the paper ballots are available for reexamination.

I pray for a free and fair election this November. I pray for the ability to vote by mail for all who wish it. And I pray that our constitutionally mandated postal service will not be harmed by partisan politics.