Happy Voting Day!!

[lady_sarai]

I VOTED TODAY!! ♥

I was at the middle school at 6:43 am, parked and in line by 6:45--the line was already out around the corner, but the polls opened at 7 and by 7:04 I was in a voting booth with my ballots. I was back in my car by 7:15.

The traffic killed me, though. They had a police officer over by the high school entrance, THANK GOD. Even with that, what is normally a less than ten minute drive (give or take traffic and lights) took me over twenty to get home.

So--my biggest issues today with voting were the below 40 degree weather while I waited in line and the traffic after leaving (I was one of the early people and avoided the incoming traffic, wee!).

Also--University of Southern Maine is closed today for "Democracy Day," to encourage students to go vote. I think this is awesome.


ETA: The radio news said that in the last presidential election 74% of registered voters in Maine voted and that they expect the turnout to be around 80% or higher this year--also that Maine has traditionally one of the largest voter turnouts in the country. DUDE. (I love my state, can we tell? Also I kind of love voting.)




Now, once you've voted, tell me how it went for you! ♥

Comments

[senmut]

Went smooth. I made us take longer because I used the electronic voting machine rather than paper ballot.

[lady-sarai.livejournal.com]

We have paper ballots too--and were held up because Mom filled in a 'yes' where she meant 'no' on a local referendum question and had to re-do her ballot. But even *that* went smoothly and everyone was very nice to her about it! (One of those silly "would you like to repeal" questions where you think you want to say one thing and you mean to say another. Oh politics!)

[ilyena_sylph]

Went smooth, like she said. Though the line for my part of the alphabet was, of course, the longest.

Paper ballots are my friends--I don't really trust machinery so much.

[lady-sarai.livejournal.com]

Heh--paper ballots here, too. There was just one narrow hallway leading to the gym (they were having all the voters go in through a side entrance of the school), so people kept coming out and yelling for people with last names toward the end of the alphabet. Being squarely in the middle, we waited. And amused the person with the book because my mom, brother and I went together and she said it's rare she gets to check three names in a row off.

[aradiachiba.livejournal.com]

I voted before work. :D It went mostly smoothly. (As soon as I found the place) I first went the wrong way on the street, then once I found the complex (seriously, this place was a series of buildings including town offices, high school, police station, etc), I had a bit of trouble figuring out which building to go to.

But once I got there and was pointed in the right direction by a bunch of very helpful high school student volunteers, I got right in, got my ballot (though I wish they had asked for ID), and voted. They didn't have stickers, though, which made me sad.

But all in all, I left my house at 9:20 and was done at 9:50, including all getting lost, driving around, etc. Not bad at all. :)

[lady-sarai.livejournal.com]

Woe, no sticker! And I'm sorry you got lost. :( They didn't ask for our IDs either, but I did get a sticker. And a tiny American flag!

Mom filled in a 'yes' where she meant 'no' on a local referendum question and had to re-do her ballot. They were very nice about it, though!

And we amused the person with the book because my Ryan met us there and we went in together and she said it made her happy to be able to check three people off in a row. The simple things?


(I kind of love voting, I have to say.)

[xenokattz.livejournal.com]

I'm so jealous of the enthusiasm this election is generating. It kind of requires Inspiring Instrumental Battle-scene Music.

[lady-sarai.livejournal.com]

As composed by John Williams, of course.

I might be PMSing but I've totally gotten teary and goosebumpy a few times today.