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Reports of long lines coming in from all over the place. Some radio stations here in the Big Apple had a good suggestion–bring a lawn chair. A lady who had voted in Greenwich Village came out to see a huge long line and decided to go buy snacks so that she might encourage the voters to stay on the line until they managed to vote.
Another lady called in and said that when she got on line at 5 AM (An hour before the polls opened) that people had lawn chairs, coffee and donuts and it was like a pre-dawn breakfast party.
Made me think of tailgate picnics. So, here’s a thought for those of you who have not voted. Why don’t you bring a folding chair or two, some snacks –especially things that are good for sharing–maybe a radio and turn that long wait into a neighborhood party?
No electioneering, of course, but the people in your precinct are your closest neighbors. This is a good time to get to know them and have an impromptu block party. Talk about the kids, football, what kind of tulip bulbs you are planting this year, or swap recipes. And enjoy this beautiful day.
Maybe today’s record turnout is the beginning of a cultural shift in our attitude toward voting. Instead of a duty, a responsibility, a chore–voting can become a celebration. I can tell you when I went to vote today I was struck by how outrageously happy everybody seemed.
Enjoy this day.
73 Comments
Why not electioneer? As long as you are 75 feet from the polls you’re OK. After all the effort we all put into this campaign, why stop now?
Keep it friendly, of course. We don’t want those election monitors to come out and deprive you of your vote.
The rules for electioneering vary from state to state. I don’t want to urge anyone to do anything that might get them in trouble.
I DO want to urge folks to a) enjoy every bit of joy that this historic day an bring, and b) make the line so pleasent that people won’t minding standing in it for a long time.
hey looseheadprop!
guess what?
just voted and we still have the old lever boothes
made me feel quite comfortable my vote would not flip
what a fun idea lhp.
r ya fired up?
Darnit, I’m feeling so left out of the party — went to vote this morning and …. there was NO ONE there!
Except me and a half-dozen poll workers.
“Did everybody in this precinct vote early? I asked.
Yep, said one smiling young worker – showing me all the red stamped “VOTED” marks on the signature sheets.
Well. No party, no picnic; nothing for me to do but vote and stroll back home, carrying the full water bottle and the book I’d brought, unopened.
May swing by at “after work” time, see if it’s crowded then.
And a couple more people did come in while I was there. Still, surprising, I thought. Everybody else, have fun while you wait.
What state were you voting in? Do you live in a mostly red area? In NY there seems to be a big difference in turnout depending on whether the area is blue or red
I had one person ahead of me at my polling station, in and out in under 10 minutes. There was a steady trickle of voters and they said there had been over 500 votes cast by 11 a.m., which is higher than average. Pretty good considering that this is Obama country and none of the down-ballot races are closely contested this time around.
50 calls so far today. Missouri and Florida 25 each. Virginia next. Mostly left messages about polling place. A few people that had already voted, a few that were going to vote soon. One older lady in Missouri that was down with the flu and couldn’t make it out.
I, too, love the venerable toggle machines
We actually had paper ballots that required us to fill in ovals with a ballpoint pen. Suppose they could still get recorded incorrectly when scanned, although there is at least a paper trail.
Nobody had snacks this morning before 7 AM but folks in the LOOOONG line (I voted at 8:30 after arriving at 6:45) were chatting and just enjoying being on line waiting to cast their vote. And everyone (with one exception, an elderly sour-looking white man) was leaving with a huge smile. It’s been a good day here so far. I’ve heard reports on the radio of lines so long that they’re snarling traffic downtown. Apparently the lines let up a bit in the early afternoon, but they’ll start to lengthen again as folks who vote after work start to arrive.
There were 4 empty voting tables (booths) at the high school where I work, in Austin TX. This was around noon. I am hoping that everyone just voted early.
Pic here
Waiting is the hardest part.
You take it on faith
You take it to heart.
everyone’s at work right now, I expect the lines before and after work not during
Just heard a Wright ad…do you suppose they will shut that down after the election? Please….
Illinois is not exactly a battleground state. No chance of my vote effecting the outcome, I just wanted to play a small part on this historic occasion.
I early voted during lunch on a Wednesday and there was a line. Different neighborhood though.
Hey you are waiting for the first results to come go Digg this Post!
I was in and out in 18 minutes at my polling place. I took my 7 year old daughter in with me since I got to vote in her school library. The count on the ballot box when I turned my ballot in, 45 minutes after the polls opened, was 517. After that I went to Starbucks to get my free coffee and was delighted to see 7 other people inside with “I voted” stickers. It was great!
I am guessing murdoch will run a few more for good measure if obama wins
Palin voted for Nader!
and I am guessing “news hosts” will find a method of broadcasting the adds to say “did this work”
Hi Dosido. I listened to an audio clip at NPR of David Sedaris reading Santaland Diaries. There are some pretty bad jobs (and I’ve had my share) but nearly all take a back seat to being a Macy’s elf.
I am getting ready to head to the Oakland Civic Center for the GOTV phone banking and Election Night Party, I am soooo excited. I had top look at my ballot twice to fully realize that I was voting for a black man that will likely be elected today. In my wildest dreams, I never thought this would happen in my lifetime until I heard Obama speak in 2004 and told my sister that we were looking at the first black president of the US. She scoffed, of course. I said that no one can predict the future (maybe, maybe not) but I just had this strong feeling that this would come to pass. But I did not believe it could come so soon. This is, indeed, hard to fathom.
I turned off MSNBC this morning, because the Rev Wright ads were running at least 2 in ever 15 minutes during Morning Joe–almost every other ad…they seem to have dissipated somewhat…makes me sick.
I believe you mean “WHEN Obama wins” “g”
I voted here in Ann Arbor, MI. At 7:00 a.m. The line was very long, but I too was struck by how cheerful everybody was. There really was a sense of joyfulness. Nobody was cranky about the wait.
Its good to enjoy the day, I have been – but its right to be angry as well.
Anyone here going to be feeling good about 8 hour waits if Obama loses?
The false outrage over acorn compared to purging people and trying to prevent people from voting is disgusting.
Just like Ohio in 2004 where they ordered voting machines based on previous turnout even though they knew they had lots of new voters in the city.
Everyone should be able to go and vote with ease…and then go have a picnic.
I’d love to be there tonight, but sadly my wife has school so I’ll be home with the kids. I was at phone banks this weekend and last here in the East Bay, doint what I could.
Back in 2005 I was visiting my dad, Mr. Cbl, down in Texas and Barack was on tv for some reason. My dad looked at me and said “That man’s gonna be president.” I didn’t even know who he was at that point.
Dow’s gonna close up around 300 points.
So much for the “Aaaieee, scary Black man/ Democrat’s gonna win the election and the market’s going to hell” meme.
*crosses fingers*
but read this very important diary by adie
I was listening to Rush last week and he said that’s why the stock market was tanking. All the rich people are terrified of an Obama economy. I tried calling him to argue but couldn’t get past the call screener
It is interesting tha MSM is all for Obama winning….do not get comfortable until it is over!!! McCain can still win….unfortunately….
Don’t get destroyed like we did after Kerry “lost and conceded”….if that should happen…we get up again and we keep on keeping on. I hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
rush is a frightened cowering yellow bellied impotent drug rehab.
So why don’t they have voting in sports arenas so that people can take a number and sit if they have to wait a long time?
They don’t have to be (only) the biggest ones, because I understand that you want them to be spread out. But if you live in a city, how far away, really, is some kind of building with at least a couple thousand chairs?
My (51 year old, white) husband was so excited to vote for Obama that he awoke at 4AM, drove to the polling place to see if there was a line yet, came home, dragged me out of bed at 5AM. I grumbled until we drove back at 630. The poll opens at 7. We were #32 and 33 to vote in this precint (just outside Detroit). The line behind us was at least 100-150 long. Usually I have a very short/no wait to vote. Everything went smoothly. The feeling of the line, though – excitement, anticipation – was caught by the young woman behind us who said that it felt like standing in line early morning on Black Friday before the stores open. Everyone was chatting (not one about who was being voted for) with strangers and neighbors. There’s nothing like the smell of hope in the morning!
Agreed, but when I actually get through and start trying to make a point he doesn’t hang up on me. Hannity does.
Hi ratfood! hahaha! or should I say hohoho!
It is too funny, esp. “Santa Santa”. That essay was my introduction to David Sedaris. The collection “holidays on ice” is pretty good and so is Me Talk Pretty One Day.
you have gotten through both?
I hope you recorded those conversations and can uplaod somewhere for me to listen
I was just thinking that people could do a “musical chairs” thing. Instead of moving your chair, you just get up then sit down in the next one…
Possibly, but depending on how the line is moving that might not be much easier than standing.
Unfortunatly I didn’t. I kinda talked to Hannity about socialism week before last, but he hung up on me when I made the arguement that Bush is the country’s biggest socialist (bailout, etc.). Then he used the 7 second delay to cut my last comment and say “We must’ve lost Kris from California.” Shithead.
Rush is pure BS. The whole world is watching, and the whole world wants Obama to win. They will hit the streets in droves if it happens all over the world…the markets will go up…if McCain/Palin
“somehow against all odds” are declared the winners…well, look out……however…don’t count yer chickens till they hatch….
Here goes the Wright ad again….over and over and over…
*damn it*
I just bring my wheelchair. Much simplified.
I don’t recall Rush ever going to rehab. I remember him saying if he’d been just an “average joe” authorities would have overlooked his 80,000 tabs of Oxycontin. In reality of course, if he wasn’t a rich celebrity he’d probably have gotten a minimum of ten years in the wingnut blowhards rest home… which if not good for him, would have at least been good for us.
The campaign wouldn’t let him shoot the rock until today!
Volusia County Florida uses paper ballots and felt tipped black pens. The ballots are fed into a reader that captures and holds the ballots.
A) The electronic reader could be programmed to incorrectly record votes.
B)In the event of a recount by hand, The paper ballots could be destroyed and replaced with dummy ballots marked in favor of McCain.
We have a Republican Election supervisor who I hope will be voted out this time and replaced by her Democratic Challenger.
In 2000, there were cases of marked ballots carried in the trunks of an election worker’s vehicles.
In many ways, its an arbitrary system that is full of faults whereby an election can be stolen.
I’m still worried about Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, and a mixed bag of toss up states. Bloomberg has a story up now about a McCain upset.
if palins is anything like her menor, stevens, then when they lose she will anounce that they did not lose
breathe
I can’t even spell “snortpwh*$*&%*%(*$&%(*”…hahahahahha
scary stuff there hackworth, thanx for making those points
Don’t forget “Snowball,” the flirtatious elf. What a tease…
what’s that, one of those European balls?
Fortunately, if McCain won this precinct, everybody would know instantly it had to be the result of ballot tampering, which makes it unlikely.
commie Illini’s!
Seriously. It is a form of PTSD that the whole country is suffering from.
This time, if I wake up and somebody announces that McSame/Palin has won…I will…
Laugh my sorry butt off….and then go live my life, i.e., try to do something outrageously fun… and laugh in everyone’s face…then, I will turn around and start fighting to defeat the next group of aholes.
Hahahaha
hang tough
hee-hee!
the more exposed they are, the more desperate the are, the more brazen they become
I am not talking about mccain I am talking about the entire bush administration
desperate men do desperate things and the bush administration is as desperate as you can get
They were pretty brazen from the outset. If a person is going to be criminal, it’s a good idea to do it in the biggest possible way. People have served more time behind bars for stealing liquor from a grocery store than any member of the Bush/Cheney gang ever will.
(You forgot one)
And those are his good qualities.
Watch Toledo Ohio today and tomorrow. The police there are carrying riot gear for two days. No agents provocateurs there, I hope. I can’t see the police chief being worried about riots if Obama is declared the winner.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/….._1104.html
Texas, obviosly, yes, pretty red.Used to live in a heavily Mexican-merican neighborhood, now very Anglo, high-income. I wonder what it’s like at my old precinct?
umm, “obviously”.
Shold also note that there are a surprising number of Obama signs in the area, equal to or more than McCain. Not bad, considering there is a severe shortae of signs — I wanted one, learned that as we’re kind of not a “battleground” state, we didn’t get very many signs.
..AND TELL JOKES:
As a newly inspired Constitutional law student who thinks all Dentists are the real terroists, this is one of my favorites:
empty polling places in red states? GOP voters are not motivated to turn out?
The partisan in me is having a hard time resisting the urge to do a little dance
hey have been running that ad on MSNBC of all places, in the NYC metro (read here-most expensive media market in the world0 area for days now.
Why doesn’t Mcgrumpy just set a whole bunch of dollar bills and fire and have a nice marshmallow roast? He is just wasting his money. Neithe NYS nor NJ are in play.
Quazy
I like to dance!
Bonus points if you realize that was part of an old Three Stooges routine.
Should it happen (fingers crossed) what’s the over/ under for number of comments on the “Obama Wins!” thread?