Author's Note: We've finally arrived at the election, the first free and fair vote in Panem's history. Over this chapter and the next, there will be insights across each part of Panem so hopefully, I'm creating a realistic mood and atmosphere for the whole event.

….

Election Day

He was beside himself. They had only just managed it. Ballot papers and sealed boxes had only just made it to all the districts in time and officials were making hurried calls to those working in polling stations across Panem checking that their set-up abided by the rules and would be sufficient to meet expected numbers. His camera crews were out in the districts ready to get footage to be aired during the results broadcast and now it would be his job to oversee voting across the Capitol. Plutarch hoped it would be the final time he felt such pressure. At least now, his life was not on the line, but his reputation certainly was. The election had to be successful, the results legitimate and the transition the next morning seamless.

For now, he would cast his vote, do his part early on, so he could be on hand should any crises arise. Plutarch would be voting for Kersey Paylor, he truly thought she would do the best job and he had built a working relationship with her that would suit his own needs too. Ophelia has his second preference and Lucinda his third. He knew it would be one of the women who would soon be President of Panem, his polling teams were all returning similar conclusions. But still, the election had to run properly and fairly.

He voted, had the appropriate photographs taken and went to check in with the civil servant running the particular polling station he had attended in the centre of the Capitol. There was some concern over the security presence outside of several of the polling stations, but the committee had decided that they could not rule out the prospect of unrest or disruption caused by loyalists in the more prolific areas. Security personnel would not be allowed into the voting areas inside the buildings, except to cast their own votes, this was a free and fair election after all. But it was important that the right balance was struck. Voters should not feel intimidated, but everyone had to be kept safe and the election running without disruption.

Contingency plans were in place with old marquees from old events at the Presidential Mansion ready to be used in the event of an incident at a polling place and other community venues not already being used had been put on standby. Officials and civil servants had drawn up plans to swiftly move polling stations if necessary and those in charge would receive regular security updates.

Four's council representative was acting as Plutarch's deputy in running the voting in the Capitol, having always been meticulously organised from his roles in Four and would be circulating various polling stations throughout the day. He would also be visiting communities on the outskirts of the Capitol where Plutarch himself was not so welcome. They had always been left out of Capitol life, living in relative hardship, and had seen the most destruction during the war. It was a place where someone from a district who was skilled at interacting with different people would be better received on such an important day.

On his return to the office in the mansion, the phones were abuzz and committee officials were answering questions from volunteers running the polling stations. What would they do if someone was having difficulty understanding the ballot paper, how should they respond if someone was being intimidated whilst voting and when the time came, how to count any spoiled ballots? Protocols had been sent out across Panem but Plutarch knew there were bound to be questions. District leaders had been briefed on overseeing the official vote count in the evening and he could only hope they all had a thorough understanding of their task.

It would be a busy day and a long night; nobody would be getting any sleep. But that had been his life for the past couple of years and ultimately, he believed that it would all be worth it. Beetee would be returning from Three shortly, volunteers who had already cast their vote were being deployed to take part in the counting and Halley would oversee proceedings in District Thirteen. There were capable people surrounding him and the election, he could only hope he would not look too frazzled during his television appearances in the evening.

Whilst politics and Panem was changing, appearances still mattered. For Plutarch, it was important that people knew the election was running smoothly, that the results were legitimate, and that people were not put off by his presence. Thus, his television time would be tightly controlled, and the rest left for Olivia Augustine whilst he worked behind the scenes.

But they would have to reach that point without disaster first, so he took to his desk and started picking up the phone to the never-ending stream of calls.

….

Beetee had not returned to District Three since he left for the Quarter Quell. There had been no time for he had been thrown from one task to another. First the war, then managing the aftermath of their victory and then the consequences of Coin's death. Now today, people's ability to vote would depend on the system he had adapted to suit the election.

It was based on what had been used for the reapings but using the adult population instead. The use of the finger prick would have to persist for now, it was the only identity verification system they currently had so it would have to do. It was unfortunate, but people had been made aware, and in Three at least, there had been no real pushback. It was a minor inconvenience after months of war, and for Three, like their peers in District Four, years of preparation.

His people had done well. There was damage and destruction, that was to be expected, but it could have been so much worse. Their preparation had paid off, they had been able to save as many people as they could and keep hold of and control all the resources they were able.

Some of the worst of the destruction was in the Victors' Village and the weight of what had happened hit him when he saw his old home for the first time. He was not sure why he felt it so keenly, perhaps it symbolised the end of his old way of life, but he and his fellow victors had designed this in the full knowledge of what it meant. Three's rebellion had largely been planned from the Village and the peacekeepers were certain to come looking. When they did, they would have found an arena awaiting them. Everything was booby-trapped and the victors had become the Gamemakers.

But thoughts like that were for another day. He was here to cast his vote, the first in his home. It had been decided that he, along with Halley, their Mayor, and the leaders in each of the separate communities, would cast the first votes. They would pay their respects at the hastily arranged memorials to the fallen and enter the polling station.

Afterwards, he and Halley would have a brief meeting with the Mayor, ensure he was ready to oversee the count and then Beetee would return to the Capitol and Halley to Thirteen. There was a lot resting on their shoulders but for Beetee, seeing that conditions in his home were somewhat stable, made him feel more at ease about not being there.

But the functioning of the entire system was resting on his shoulders. He was confident in his work, as he always had been. The security system surrounding the database was his own work so in theory only he would be able to decipher a way through (he had asked Halley to attempt it and she was unable) so he should not be receiving any emergency calls in that respect.

The results were being counted by hand and that was not his domain. He would be involved in checking that the verified figures tally with the number of votes cast but, in the evening, his role was to be assisting with the broadcasting once more.

But what he wanted more than anything was for this whole episode to be over. He had sat through a month of council meetings taking minutes, worked closely with Plutarch Heavensbee on the elections committee which had tested his frayed patience more than he would have liked and had seen his life turned upside down. He needed time to process. But he also knew how each of the front running candidates turned to him for advice so he would not be able to ignore the requests likely to follow the election. He would need to decide where his future lay.

….

As predicted, turnout was high in Four. Polling stations were busy, there were queues outside, and the election was the main point of conversation. As with Three, a symbol of Four's way of life and a mark of respect to the fallen began the day. The victors were beacons in Four, the unofficial leaders and rebellion planners since Mags' victory, so it was Annie Cresta and the victors' remaining family members who cast the first votes.

It was a day of excitement, the pinnacle of all they had been working for and people were determined for it to run without a hitch. There were volunteers aplenty, with hundreds of Four's citizens eager to do their part and be involved and every building possible was being used as a polling station to avoid queues and people becoming impatient.

District Four had become a place that the council and the elections committee did not worry about. The worst problem they had would be ensuring the farmers to the north of the district turned out to vote in the same numbers that those in the centre were sure to. They had felt different to their peers but the experience of war and of rebuilding so far had brought the district even closer together. Their experiences were shared, they had too much in common to keep their distance any longer, and now, there was nobody stopping them. The enthusiasm for democracy, the voting process and the candidates that were felt in the centre appeared to be spreading and the committee hoped it would translate into votes.

Plutarch Heavensbee's media teams were doing the rounds across District Four, knowing they would find positive, hopeful footage for the results broadcast in the evening. They were interviewing voters too, knowing they would find people able and willing to encourage their fellow citizens to vote. A final media push, encouraging the most reluctant to turnout was being planned for the afternoon and finding people not only from Four's centre but the farmers as well was part of the plan to reach the more rural communities across Panem.

The central administration trusted their local leaders too, knowing that they had been in place since Four broke free early in the fighting. They had the trust of Four's people and were providing stable local government. They were on top of the briefings on officiating the vote count and had been able to translate the advice into practice and had procedures ready to be implemented should a problem arise. It was obvious that Four's early freedom had given them time to begin recovery and rebuilding earlier than other districts and that had afforded them time to devote to the election in a way other places had not been able.

….

Enobaria was embarrassed. It had to be her home where there was disruption. She had received reports from fellow council representatives about high turnout and positivity within their communities and she knew there were similar reactions in much of Two. But the actions of a certain Colonel Lon's most arduous supporters would overtake Two's real patriotic, keen voters.

At least the man had the decency to deliver an awkward apology and look embarrassed whilst doing so. It was true that he himself had not caused any disruption and had spent time encouraging peaceful voting, but it was his supporters that had been whipped up into a frenzy acting against supporters of other candidates.

On the border with the Capitol, there had been instances of intimidation of those who were publicly supporting Ophelia Magnusson, complete with unfounded allegations of 'vote stealing', whatever that may be (jealously, Enobaria had figured). There were insults thrown in more central locations at the supporters of Kersey Paylor and Lucinda Abano, spurred on by Colonel Lon's comments about their abilities to lead and it did not show Two in a positive light.

So, along with Commander Hadrian, she had to be the public face of the farce and try to comment on the situation whilst aiming to highlight the wider support for democracy across District Two. Colonel Lon did not represent her home and Enobaria was keen to assure the audiences that Two would have more in common with the other districts in their voting results.

….

As predicted, the picture was mixed in District Nine. Turnout was higher in the main town and larger villages and much lower in the most remote areas. In the city, candidates had visited and sympathised at the destruction and shared their experiences of war. Paylor and Lucinda also talked about their work under the conditions of the old regime. Ophelia had been keen to stress that the districts would no longer be ignored, that even those from the most remote villages would have their say, but ultimately, many had not believed it.

There were some pockets of excitement and optimism about the future which local leaders and media teams fed from, trying to encourage that feeling of hope and engagement to spread further afield. But Nine was not Four. Four was a unit and Nine had lived in separate villages for decades and people often never knew those from neighbouring villages, never mind the main town or those who did not work the fields. Four had shared goals but aims were more diverse in Nine.

The results would be intriguing. There would not be the numbers of votes seen in other districts and the votes were likely to be split evenly between Kersey Paylor and Lucinda Abano, with the latter having spent time in Nine in the days leading up to the election trying to swing the vote her way.

The aftermath would be even more intriguing. Would the villagers continue to keep themselves to themselves and who will be most willing to give the new Panem a real chance? People had died in vast numbers in Nine, ultimately apathy had done them no good, and their new local leaders did not want the bloodshed and sacrifice to be for nothing. Their people had died, things needed to improve, and they needed Panem to take Nine with it.

….

Voting in Thirteen was exactly how Halley had expected it to be. Orderly queues at well-organised polling stations spread evenly across the district's underground network. People had been given an assigned time to vote should they wish to take part, with schedules printed onto arms not yet consigned to the past. Voting had of course been highly encouraged. Some had called for it to become compulsory, but the elections committee were keen to ensure that a new democracy would not begin with coercion and people having to act against their will.

She was assigned to an office in the headquarters of Thirteen's governmental wing and soon found herself at the heart of the preparations for the result count. She, like everyone else, trusted Thirteen to vote in an orderly fashion and did not anticipate any disruption, despite some grumbling about the changes since Coin's death. She knew the counting later on would be quick and efficient, but the committee had found it suitable for someone not native to Thirteen to take charge. The vote was likely to be very evenly split between their two homegrown candidates and somebody had to ensure impartiality and accuracy in the counting. So, her arrival was somewhat awkward. There was a sense that people knew that she was there to watch over them. But Halley was not going to be overbearing. She was keen to align her views with them, she too wanted an efficient, accurate count that represented the views of all of those voting here.

She did though make the effort to visit some of the polling stations, particularly the one assigned to District Twelve's refugees to ensure free voting. She was also keen to see how people from elsewhere were assimilating to life in Thirteen. Travel and immigration across district borders were likely to be opened up with all of the leading candidates promising free movement of people and goods. If people were going to move here, especially people from Three, she wanted to see what things were really like.

Halley had of course known of Thirteen's existence for years and she had always been curious to witness life in the underground, hidden district and taking the job on election day had been an easy decision to fulfil her curiosity. But she knew she could not get too distracted; she was here on behalf of the elections committee to take charge of the results process and knew that her newfound sense of professionalism would have to win out over her curiosity.

….

Plutarch had returned again to the elections committee office for the final hour of voting. He had been called out in the aftermath of some disruption at a central polling station. Loyalists had arrived in protest, with no intention to vote, only to disrupt, and security forces had managed to disperse them. But reassurance was needed that everything was once again in order.

In all honesty, Plutarch was not surprised. He thought they may hear from the most ardent supporters of the old order who everyone knew were continuing in their beliefs and knew that the election would be the ideal time to make their voices heard.

He was aware of events in Two earlier in the day and it seemed like these Capitol antagonists were from distinct groups. They were not claiming to support Colonel Lon or any other candidate. They did not wish to engage with the democratic process at all. People had been identified from outside of the polling station and Plutarch had ensured that their names had been taken, ready for the new president to be made aware of potential concerns in the transitionary period. It would be up to her to decide what to do with that information.

But there had been only two incidents of note in the first free election in Panem's history and Plutarch had to deem that a success. Hundreds of thousands, potentially millions had cast their votes today and his media teams had commented on the excitement and positivity in many of the locations visited.

His thoughts now turned to the vote count and the eventual results. The only timing deadline was for the new president to take office in the morning. Rough, estimated timescales had been prepared to help with the broadcasting but he knew that flexibility and adaptability were going to be needed. There were thousands of votes in every territory which needed to be totalled accurately and that was going to take time. Footage had been prepared to fill the many gaps between announcements and he knew there were lists of people to be interviewed should they need to fill even more time. But media communications were something Plutarch had found that he excelled at, enjoyed even, so he would be in his element this evening. He just knew he had to keep the people on board.