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I voted!
I was going to bore you with the details, but really, the only important thing is that I'm excited this year, excited and thrilled, probably as much as, or even more than, the first time I got to vote, fourteen years ago. There have been very few elections (for any office) in which I've felt like I was voting for a candidate, not voting against the other guy. As much of a politically waffly, middle-of-the-roader as I am most of the time, that's a very big deal for me.
There are stories everywhere of long lines and record-breaking crowds, so go early if you can, and be prepared for a wait, especially if you live in a poor neighborhood or a swing state. I didn't have to wait in line, but I'm in a sparsely populated, rural district, and I think I beat the main rush by getting there as soon as the polls opened.
As unfortunate (and potentially disenfranchising) as the long waits are, it makes me happy and excited all over again that after 200+ years of democracy (admittedly quite a lot less than that for about 2/3 of our population), we as a country are still capable of getting this excited about it. A lot of voter apathy is just having no one to vote for; the new boss is the same as the old boss, and it's hard to get thrilled about politics when you don't want to vote any of them into office. That we, as a nation, can still get this worked up about something we take for granted most of the time ... is pretty cool if you think about it. And even though I'm admittedly not at all unbiased about this election, I think it's worth taking a minute to stop and think about this no matter who you're voting for. If you're thrilled and excited and you really want to get out there and vote -- that's what this whole democracy thing is all about. That's what makes it work, and keep working.
There are stories everywhere of long lines and record-breaking crowds, so go early if you can, and be prepared for a wait, especially if you live in a poor neighborhood or a swing state. I didn't have to wait in line, but I'm in a sparsely populated, rural district, and I think I beat the main rush by getting there as soon as the polls opened.
As unfortunate (and potentially disenfranchising) as the long waits are, it makes me happy and excited all over again that after 200+ years of democracy (admittedly quite a lot less than that for about 2/3 of our population), we as a country are still capable of getting this excited about it. A lot of voter apathy is just having no one to vote for; the new boss is the same as the old boss, and it's hard to get thrilled about politics when you don't want to vote any of them into office. That we, as a nation, can still get this worked up about something we take for granted most of the time ... is pretty cool if you think about it. And even though I'm admittedly not at all unbiased about this election, I think it's worth taking a minute to stop and think about this no matter who you're voting for. If you're thrilled and excited and you really want to get out there and vote -- that's what this whole democracy thing is all about. That's what makes it work, and keep working.