Your Voting Experience

[Harlowe]

So how was it and where are you in the country? Just curious because here although turn-out is huge (I think they are expecting over 80% participation), but it went very smoothly at my polling station.

Quote for the day:
"The leap of life from sea to the lands happened at the margins, at the edge, at the meeting place of differences."
- David LaChapelle

[Taxious]

I'm in Denver, CO and it was pretty easy. I got my mail in ballot a while ago, then dropped it off in a government building not 5 blocks away from where I live. It sure beats my experience of standing in like for 3+ hours four years ago.

[Klast Brell]

I voted at Windom Park elementary school in NE Minneapolis. Got there with my wife about 20 minutes before the polls opened. Stood in line and made polite chitchat with the other people waiting in line. Mostly talked about how Minnesota state law says your employer has to give you paid time off to vote and how long the lines had been and were going to be. As we waited the line got longer and longer. last time i looked it has stretched all the way down the block and turned the corner.

Pretty boring stuff. The doors opened at 7 AM and I was out of there in 5 minutes. There were still a couple hundred people in line when I left. Glad I went early.

[Tarfang_Trubasher]

Woop! Didn't see this thread when I posted to the other. Probably best this be in it's own thread anyway...

The wife and I put our votes in over lunch. Given we're in a small community, we knew almost everyone in there, but nonetheless it was nice as always to cast the vote. It was sure hard passing on the box for "Barr" though!

Maybe in another 4 years...

Anyway, glad to hear it's going smoothly in other areas. I'm sure we'll still have a few "OMGZ RECOUNT!" states.

BTW - how was the "younger" vote looking for you guys? I saw and heard of a LOT of first time voters making it out this year. That, folks, is exciting!

-TF

[Harlowe]

There were LOTS of first-time voters where I was. It was fun to see - Jon Stewart cracked me up last night when he did his "DON'T BLOW IT!" message to the young voters. You know the ones we keep hearing about that they are going to be SOOO ROCKIN THE VOTE every election cycle. Well....if the canvasing, calls and hardcore general involvement are any indication, they aren't sleeping in for this one.

[wende darling]

I mailed my ballot in a week ago so I have no clue what the lines look like out here Oregon. I imagine they're pretty long, though having the mail in option probably helps with that.

[Select]

Did early voting in GA on the 28th. It was easy, I just needed *some* form of ID and I was good to go. The hardest part was the long line, but it moved quickly. There were lots of young, first-time voters here too (me included). The Democrats and colleges in the area had a big movement to get the students to change their registration to GA if their home state wasn't battleground. I changed mine from NJ since it's pretty secure. Being a student, and one who travels between three states, I was not up on local elections at all. I was really embarrassed to leave a good seven pages blank on the machine. :\ I'll be happy to be settled in a single area when I'm done with school.

[Partha]

Rockford, IL, voted early, went with a friend when he went to vote, turnout was very heavy. No pollwatchers or anything.

[Arathena]

SW PA, not far from Pittsburgh. I showed up at the crack of 7, had to wait in an hour long line. Mostly older folks - I think I saw maybe four-five folks younger than my mother.

Voted at a Lutheran church. The Republicans had yard signs -everywhere- and three guys handing out the little 'Your republican leadership team needs you!' cards, notepads, and Reese's Cups. (One of the state candidates was named Reese.) Not a democrat in sight.

[Mukik]

wow..I thought you werent allowed to campaign within a certain distance of polls. Anyway..mine even with a provincial ballot... was only an hour with all the extra paperwork.

[ethelwolfe]

Cast my ballot here in Honolulu, HI after dropping my son off to the babysitter. Voter turnout was high in my polling place, lotsa people but the whole process was smooth and orderly.

[Ariannda Kusanagi]

I voted at the Civic Center, here in Salisbury Md. I showed up around 730 in the morning and was in line, voted and was out in 20 minutes. There was a nice mix of people in the crowd and I saw a lot of people my own age there as well. Some I'm sure were voting for the first time. The little 18 year old I work with was terrible excited to go vote and as soon as I showed up at work she left (had a different polling place) and she was back on the inside of 15 minutes.

We only had about 10 questions tho. President, congress, senate, 3 judges, yay or nay on slots in maryland, some amendment about allowing early voting, something about bonds over 30 years and.... I think that was it tbh.

[Garrdor]

I clipped on a picture of Chris Rock onto my ballot and wrote "Isnt Obama a handsome negro?"

[Ddrak]

Obama's Black? WTF?

ObamaWhite.jpg

[Embar Angylwrath]

I heard this black on NPR.. cracked me up. He said he was always told there were two things that a black man could never be... a white man, and the President. He said that Michael Jackson proved the first one wrong, and Obama proved the second one wrong.

Cracked my ass up.

[Riggen]

I walked into the polling place (a local high school), headed for the cafeteria, stood in line for about 20 seconds and then was asked my name and birthdate. They then handed me a smartcard and directed me to a second line, where I waited for about another 30 seconds for a touchscreen terminal to become available. There were no booths. Just a table with the terminals in a row separated by low partitions. When a spot become available I walked over, popped in my card, made my selections and bam. Done. The election judge by the ... area where I otherwise would have expected to see a line took the card and I got out of there.

Now I'm not complaining about the process. It took more time for me to park and walk to and from my car than it did to actually place my vote. But it disturbed me that turnout in my area was so light. The judge with whom I spoke said that it was bursty and that I had just come at a good time, but I've been to other polling places before and they were *packed*. When I got there, there were more people administering the process than actually voting.