Election day stories — Page 2

I voted here in Chicago just a little after the polls opened at 6:00 Am. There was already quite a sizable line.

Well, everything felt sort of ominous right before I voted. It's a very cloudy, gloomy day here. I'm hesitant either way the election goes, but I'm more prepared now. I'm ready. I feel like I should call people and tell them I voted though.

::goes to throw up and then call people::

Margo, you went at a good time. It's those of us who have to go before or after regular working hours who get stuck in the long lines.

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It's Amber Tamblyn.

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My line was long at 7 this morning. I waited 45 minutes in line.
But I still made it to work on time.

One of my kids, a college freshman, never got around to requesting an absentee ballot. Since every vote really DOES count today, I will be leaving work early, driving an hour to her campus and then another to our polling station to vote. Later tonight, I anticipate a second two hour round trip to take her back to school.

I like to think of it as quality time.

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GOOD FOR YOU iflit, you're so right.

Rath--

My job is extremely flexible (which is why I can sit and post on this site all day if I want), so I purposely chose to go around 11:30 -- before the folks voting on their lunch hour would show up.

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"not to mention all that time available in the car to discuss little things like responsibility"...

I cannnot tell a lie. The apple didn't fall very far from the proverbial tree. It's not a real stretch to picture me backing myself into the same kind of corner. So, I think we'll forget about the responsibility spiel, and just sing along with show tunes to pass the time.

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Iflit,
You are such a great parent! It is actually teaching responsiblity by showing your daughter how important voting really is. You have a very lucky daughter and I'm sure she appreciates it. My parents would do the same for me.

Thanks!

I just got back from voting with the lunchtime yentas in my district and I could hug each and every one of them--despite the bad makeup and loud voices. Not a Bush voter among them!

My favorite was the loudest one, who turned to her friends as they walked to the Greek coffee shop for lunch and said, "Well, I for one didn't vote for Kerry. I voted AGAINST Bush. I would have voted for ANYONE against Bush"--and she turned to the woman with the most bad makeup on--"even YOU, Sylvia Katz!"

Oh, and Papa--in your honor--I pulled one lever Republican, just one.

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PalJoey, what a great story...

I am registered in both NY and CA...which is probably not all that kosher, but I only ever vote in one place. Anyway, I was supposed to be on a redeye back last night which would have me back in the city in time to vote today.

Change of plans, I am leaving tonight. So this morning my dad and I walked 1/2 a block up to our neighbor's suburban garage to stand in line and vote. My mom had said there was too long a line (!) at 6:45 this morning so she is going after work. San Diego county is back to a paper "SAT style"/optical scan ballot after going to the touch screen last spring.

There was a woman in line ahead of us having a minor tiff with the voting guy--she was complaining of having been illegally turned away as 1) she'd signed up for absentee and 2) she didn't have her ID. She went home for her ID and voted, but not without a tirade--which under these circumstances is understandable. But it seemed a clear case of misunderstanding, not disenfranchisement, given the white-breadness of this neighborhood. But EVERYONE seemed really aware of the importance of turning up to vote, the excitement in the air, and the risk of any sort of mishandling. And for mid-morning in the burbs, it was a healthy turn-out!

Kind of fun to vote with my dad--we exchanged our traditional "nice to cancel out your vote again" handshake afterwards. This was my fourth presidential election and it remains thrilling.

Go vote!!

(Just adding that this was my first time voting in CA in several years, and the overall experience was EXCEEDINGLY more organized and easy to get around than IS 44 on the upper west side or Rutgers Presbyterian, unfortunately!)

Updated On: 11/2/04 at 02:27 PM