Courthouse Binders Stacked in Polling Gymnasium

Rows of heavy paper binders fill the polished concrete floor of a gymnasium near Amman, their spines creating a rhythmic wall of faded blues and browns. Flat noon light floods the high ceiling, illuminating dust motes suspended in the air above the stacks. The walls display the distinct red and white colors of a Jordanian flag hanging near the basketball hoops. Dramatic clouds visible through the high windows cast shifting shadows across the orderly piles of civic records. The depth of the room stretches far back, where more rows of binders disappear into the bright glare. A metal folding chair sits tipped over beside a stack, its legs resting on the linoleum near a discarded voting ballot.