voter registration
Voter registration is the ritual of granting citizenship on a slip of paper while guiding participants into a labyrinth of bureaucracy. Complete the process and you may delude yourself into believing you now have a voice; fail and you become part of the silent majority. The state measures civic engagement by the height of paperwork, and citizens endure a trial of patience. Only those who survive the registration gauntlet are permitted to advance to the next electoral ordeal.