US Presidential election underway

[eggs-in-Wisconsin]

I cast my vote today, and was amoung the first 100(#61) voters today in my town. I am very happy to have cast my vote for Barack Obama/Joe Biden.

Go out and VOTE today!!

[silverx2]

McCain sounded like he was expecting to lose last night on MNF. as if he was hoping for an amazing come underdog come from behind win.

[Frets]

Way to go Larry!

It was a 2 hour wait for me.

[david petley]

Early news here is reporting possibly the highest voter turnout in 100 years.

EiW, what time did the booths open where you are?

david

[eggs-in-Wisconsin]

They opened at 7am this morning, here.
I was there about 15 minutes early.
Small town, so the lines weren't bad a all.
Once the line started to move, I was in and out in 10 minutes.

[hanratty21]

US Presidential election underway

is that today?

[david petley]

This is an interesting read - The True Confessions of an Election Official

One comment (talking about election officials at polling stations -

And this is my problem with some of the old biddies. Many of them have worked these elections for so many years, they feel they are entitled to be gatekeepers, that they alone determine who can and cannot vote. They think are above the law. I think they're a menace.

david

[PAlexC]

Free at last. Thank God it's over. I couldn't take another day of campaigning.

[david petley]

It does seem like a long drawn-out process...but this is a history-making event (Most voters in 100 years, a non-white presidential candidate, a female VP candidate. Amazing!!) ...and it will be very interesting to see the final outcome...and then go back to 'dog stuck in wall cavity' news.

david

[hanratty21]

Not that I know the demographic of the typical CL-er, but...

I just heard an interesting stat on CNBC. No Democrat has EVER taken the white, college-educated vote. Interesting. This forum appears to be loaded with Obama supporters. If many of you are white and college educated, you are in the minority, my friends.

[jAQUAN]

I couldn't afford college and there were no scholarships for average white kids.

[hanratty21]

wah.

[Frets]

The past does not equal the present nor the future hanratty.

[PAlexC]

The past does not equal the present nor the future hanratty.

I think he's just pointing out an interesting fact, something to keep an eye on this year.

[Richard1]

The polls have been crowded all week here in Florida. They've had early voting all week here and people have been waiting for hours in line.

I was lucky and just got there at the right time. There were only about 5 people ahead of me.

Woohoo! Let the votes be cast!

[david petley]

...just heard one town's results - 15 for Obama, 6 for McCain.



david

[hanratty21]

I think he's just pointing out an interesting fact...

Yes, indeed.

I just heard an interesting stat on CNBC...

@DP - That's Dixville Notch, NH. They have people line up at 11:30 pm, so that they can all drop in their votes at midnight, so they can be the first in the nation to report. I believe they are also the only 21 people in the country to show up to vote in flannel pajamas.

[PAlexC]

Hey, NH needs to feel special about something I guess.

[david petley]

Just read that -

Massachusetts has three distinctive measures on its ballot - to ban dog racing, ease marijuana laws and scrap the state income tax

...for more 'other issues' to be decided by the ballot - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...president.html

david

<edit> and I have to say I do not understand this piggy-backing of other issues onto a presidential ballot.

[Visionray]

I voted for Obama today, and wrote my own name in on all the other spaces.

I didn't have to wait at all. People said I'd be waiting for hours, but I just walked right in...and then tripped over an extension cord that was powering one of the voting booths...almost shut the machine down...whoops.



Anyways, I read this today on Slate...

If Obama wins, our standing in the world will improve immediately just because he's "different." There will, I am sure, be a brief moment of shock and surprise when the rest of the world learns that one of its most treasured beliefs—"whatever happens, the Americans are always more racist than we are"—is untrue. There will also be a good deal of rejoicing at the passing of the hated Bush administration. But very quickly, reality will set in as foreigners discover, along with American voters, that the U.S. president isn't as powerful as they think he is and can't change anything very quickly, if at all. President Obama will not be able to end the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, he will not be able to make the stock exchanges rise, and he will not be able to halt the recession right away. And that's only the short-term disappointment. In the long term, foreigners, along with U.S. voters, will also discover that America is not about to give up on global capitalism and start "redistributing" the nation's wealth to others. Kenyans in particular will be disappointed.