The Polling Place

The Public’s Place of Voting and Shipping

The Polling Place is a government funded public building that has a dual purpose. The everyday workings of the Place allow citizens to receive and send messages and packages within and outside of the city. During election times the Place is where every citizens ballot is cast and counted.

In the beginning of the Fourth Generation, The Polling Place was officially built. Before, voting of the city residents occured in temporary set ups run by lowly government officials and aids. It was not the most unbiased or perfect system in the world, and corruption was inevitably born. Put into place after some incidence of corruption at the end of the Third Generation, The Polling place serves as both a voting area and courier hub for the city.

Elections can take place multiple times a year, or no times a year, depending on the government climate. So the main job of The Polling Place, is to act as the base of all message delivery for the city. The Polling Place employs many different delivery types. Citizens can come and drop off paper messages as well as small packages to be sent off to other people within the city, nearby villages or other locations within Winhem. Paper messages are most commonly sent by either messenger bird from city to city, or for closer locations, on foot or by horse. Small packages can be sent by river boat, or caravan.

The Polling Place is located in the Public District of the city. The building is situated on the south side of the district and is rectangular in shape with a small entryway. As a newer building within the city, it is built from pale stone from the quarry nearby. Inside is a wooden counter that separates the public section from the employee and storage section. Over the counter are a few seats for waiting customers, otherwise, the area is bare and the walls are decorated with a handful of small windows to let natural light in during business hours.

Built directly into the district wall located near one corner of The Polling Place are the pigeon holes for the messenger birds to rest and feed while they are in the station. The entire wall area is enclosed in a metal fence barrier that is closed at night to prevent theft or harm to the birds. The birds can enter and exit at their will on the other side of the wall, where it would be too high above the ground for anyone to get to from the Public District side.

Each customer is required to fill out a small form about the package or message they wish delivered. From the name and location of the sender as well as the name and location, as specifically as possible, of the recipient. Prices for messages are determined by the distance of travel and packages are determined by size, weight, and distance.