04 November 2008

Election Day

Yes, I've already voted at this early hour.

We do have early voting in Vermont, but I just don't trust it. Plus I like seeing everybody else going out to vote, and I wanted to have something to write about, since I haven't blogged in a super-long time. Shame on me.

So I woke up a few minutes before my alarm went off, at approximately 5:52am. I got ready for my day and even helped The Girl get Sierra's diaper and clothes changed. I left the house about 6:35 and got to my polling place across town at 6:45.

It was unseasonably warm - no frost, about 48 F / 8 C, and the sun was coming up against a cloudless blue sky. Forecasts indicate a warm sunny day reaching up into the lower 60s F / 14 C, excellent for an early November. So many other election days have been cold or with a cold rain. But today I only needed a light hoodie.

I got a decent parking place about halfway out. The end of the line at the school was half way between the school and the parking lot, there might have been about 100 people in line already. Scanning the people, the demographic seemed mostly male, white, aged 40+. I feared that the McCain voters were out in droves, but I calmed myself remembering this is a blue state and that Republicans are early birds. I came prepared for a long wait with my mp3 player, but not even 2 tunes in...

The doors opened a couple of minutes early and already we were moving inside the building at about 6:55.

Since I'm registered in District 3, which is the more rural sparsely populated section of my town from when I first moved up here, I could avoid the long line for Districts 1 and 2 in the gym to the left and move right into the small room to the right for my district. The surprisingly young election official asked me my name and crossed me off the list. No ID, no address necessary. She handed me my ballot and I stood in line for just a moment waiting for a booth to open up. I look up and down the ballot, which looks like a scan-tron form for a test we took in high school, and there I found it, Barack Obama. It took a second, I wasn't expecting to see the name at the bottom, however it was organized alphabetically. McCain's name was in the middle. I was out of there by 7:11. No bubbles, no troubles.

Ok, so I know what you might be thinking but no, I didn't vote party line on everything. I did vote Republican for the state Senate, namely because I want the Circumferential Highway to be completed and I think they would be the ones to push that through after years of red tape and silly environmental protests. This highway would be fantastic for business, especially for IBM, the state's biggest employer in my town.

So many emotions today. I was able to vote for a president who wasn't an old white male. I didn't allow myself to get "swift-boated" by negative ads like I did in 2004. I am voting for positive change. I am voting for a better tomorrow for my child. I am voting for better education and health care. I am voting to help end the unneccessary war sooner rather than later. I am voting to stand up and be counted. I am voting to be a part of history.

7 comments:

jess said...

Thank you for voting 4 the family and go Obama, he as it in the bag, it was fun helping you this morning so have a good day

Redbeard76 said...

I hope that he does have it in the bag but one can never be too sure. I'm not counting my chickens before they're hatched, which is why I knew I had to vote instead of say "screw it, I don't need to vote". We will find out tonight. Stay up late with me and we'll watch Comedy Central with Stewart and Colbert. If you don't fall asleep first!

Ted D said...

Well said, Redbeard. Yesterday was a historic day for this nation and the world.

Cake said...

Oh oh oh I keep forgetting...thank you for whatever change you made to your blog template...it used to hang up something awful when I tried to load it from work (and I normally didn't even try from home...dialup) and now it loads just like all the others. Yay!

Redbeard76 said...

Thanks Cake! It's been so long since I've seen you here! Hope everything is all right. I have been reading yours Cake but not commenting, apparently I've had not much to say anywhere except twitter and facebook.

Sparkle Plenty said...

I'm with the Cake. My computer used to get frozen when I tried to access this blog! For some reason, it happened with your blog and Ishat's Fire's blog. It's all better now. Hope you're well and will check back for a new post. Cheers, Sparkle

Sparkle Plenty said...

Uh, not that there's anything wrong with this post. Maybe just time for a new one? (I'm in no position to request one, 'though, 'cause I'm down to about one new post a week...)

HEY!!! Here's a new post possibility (at least one that I'd like to know about): What's the Circumferential Highway and how will it make life better for you? I can google it or wiki it or whatever, but I'm wondering re: your perspective on it.

Label Cloud


Powered By:Blogger Widgets