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I tried to be American.

I’d seen people wearing their “I VOTED” stickers Tuesday morning, and I was jealous, ready to get mine, ready to fill out my ballot and participate in democracy.

So I drove to the precinct 131 in San Carlos Park on my lunch break, thinking on the way about who I’d choose for which county commission race. Did I really know enough about the Public Defender 20th Judicial Circuit candidates to make an informed decision? Mike Scott certainly seemed like a solid sheriff, I thought while driving along U.S. 41. But then again, I knew Rod Shoap from my years as a reporter, and personally, I thought he did a pretty good job.

I pulled up to the Karl Drews Center, parked in the only shaded spot in the lot. Walked into the building and showed my driver’s license to a very nice lady working the sign-up desk. I was handed a ballot sheet the size of a small poster board.

I strolled proudly to a row of small tables about waste high, looked down at the ballot and saw two categories. Two. Both school board races. Having voted in Lee County during the last presidential cycle, I knew what to expect. The ballot would be tiny, as would my voting voice.

Not to belittle school board candidates or their jobs, but I wanted to vote for more than two races. I was ready to speak my mind in the classic American way: loud and often.

Didn’t happen.

That’s what you get in Lee County when you are registered as an Independent — little say in local elections. Same for Democrats.

When practically all the candidates are a part of the same party, the primaries are the real election. That’s when the major positions for Lee County public officials are decided.

Years ago I thought of registering as a Republican just so I could vote in the primaries. Most of my family voted for Democrats when I was a kid, but I always liked to think of myself as someone who votes for the person, not the party.

People sometimes say, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” I’m thinking more along the lines of “if you can’t vote for ‘em, switch your affiliation to Republican.”

In the end, I guess I was an American on Tuesday. I did my part. Let my somewhat muffled voice be heard.

But it was kind of a like a democracy light experience, one I’m not sure warranted that little “I VOTED” sticker that’s still stuck on my cell phone.