I Voted

Just back from voting with TG; when we dropped Middle Guy off at the local high school there was a line of 20 – 30 people outside the gym, which is being used as a polling place. We drove four blocks to our polling place and found – no parking because it’s garbage day, and half the curb is taken up with trash cans – and there were another 20 – 30 people waiting in line.

It was chilly, and I felt bad for the guy in running shorts and a t-shirt. He was fine with it, though.

One of the election volunteers – they don’t get paid enough to be called staff – was walking up and down the line showing people how to use the ink-stamp voting machine.

Saw some neighbors, chatted a bit about the surf and how long everyone has lived in the neighborhood, and went in and voted.

It felt very damn odd to vote for a Republican.

But as I walked out, I was full of faith. I don’t know who is going to win, but in the long run, I trust the people in line with me – the ones who got out of bed early, got the kids to school like us, and stood looking serious and thoughtful in the chill fall air – and I trust the friendly, competent people who ran the polling place. Our process is our strength. It’s not in attachment to any specific outcome, but in our commitment to the process and our trust in each other that we demonstrate our citizenship.

I’ll put my trust in the decision of the people in line with me, and the millions like them, any day.

14 thoughts on “I Voted”

  1. A.L.

    Like you I voted early this morning. I was in line at 5:45AM waiting for the polls to open at 6AM. I have to say the turn out was heavy but it didn’t look as though it was much different than previous years. I was out of there with an “I Voted” sticker by 6:15.

    Two constitutional amendments to the Virginia State constitution got a yes vote. Two of the bond referendums got a yes vote. Frank Wolf got my congressional vote. President Bush and Cheney got my approval for four more years

    Like you I place my trust in the American populace. No matter the outcome it is the process of open debate and free elections that make this country the greatest on earth. Of course that is just my opinion and I’m certainly not looking to trade it in for something else.

  2. This was the first time I voted for a Republican presidential candidate. I wonder if I will ever be able to return to the Democrats or Green Party (voted Nader in 2000), at least nationally, after this election. I’ve taken a lot of grief and opened tremendous rifts between my so-called “progressive” friends and acquaintences. I still like Nader, unlike many who are now trying to defame his legacy, but this election is too important.

    I voted Bush for President.

  3. It started to rain a bit while I was standing in line to vote this morning. I turned to the elderly couple behind me and said, “Nice to live in a place where rain is the most dangerous thing about voting isn’t it?” Our system is admirable, but think about the people in Afghanistan who literally risked their lives to vote. Now that’s dedication to democracy.

  4. Just got to the office after voting (in suburban San Mateo Co., CA) with my wife. No lines at any of the three Democrat-majority precincts sharing a school multi-purpose room, which is normal. Closest electioneering was some sign wavers at an intersection half a mile way, opposing a local development proposition. No exit pollers, no challenges, same old, same old.

    This county uses optical mark sense ballots, and the ballot box has a visible counter of the number read so far. Since we go at approximately the same time each election, it’s my quick and dirt turnout indicator. More than than the Arnold election, but only a little higher than the 2000 election.

    Bush, Jones, Lantos.

    Finally made a pick on my last undecided, CA Prop 62, on the way to the polls. Voted YES, on realpolitik grounds: Even if it loses, a significant yes tally will indicate readiness of the electorate for a real anti-gerrymandering prop. If it wins, the Rs and Ds will tie it up in court for years, with the brouhaha reminding everyone why real reform is necessary.

  5. I was one of the few republicans to go dem this cycle, I think. I’m from the northeast- moderation, secularism, and concern about the deficit runs pretty strong up this way. I just couldn’t go with Texas-style government any more.

    Like most everyone else I have doubts about Kerry, but those weren’t enough to sway me based on what I know about Bush.

  6. This election has put me in mind of another election twenty years ago, when I was too young to vote.

    That was when Medal of Honor winner Leo Thorsness lost to Tom Daschle by 16 votes (or rather, 16 votes plus one lawsuit).

    The lawyer who represented Daschle in that lawsuit is now a judge (nominated by Daschle and appointed by Clinton) who has barred Republican poll watchers from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, so there is hot controversy here today.

  7. I saw one of those poll watchers at the table in my polling place in CT. I wasn’t too sure what her job was, and it occured to me that if we had not just publican poll watcher, but if we had poll watchers froms the dems, and the green party, and Naderites, communists, PETA reps, the Libertarians, the Socialists, etc.- the other side of that table would have gotten pretty damn crowded.

    I kind of wanted to bust her chops a little and demand to see her identification and a copy of the authorization she had to be there, but I was at lunch and didn’t have the time.

  8. I’m with you there, A.L., too many flakeys. But AFAIK, the real Technorati BPlan is to sell blogosphere data exhaust to analysts, so don’t expect they will give first priority to stability and scalability on the end user pages.

  9. Cast my ballot after a late lunch (which was the time I had to go over the voter guide for the non-partisan races and voter initiatives).  Voted for a varied bunch of Reps, Dems and Libertarians, a judge whose platform was opposition to civil forfeiture and revenue-driven traffic enforcement and another whose goal was to try to make divorce easier on kids.  No line to speak of; my ballot kicked the counter on the mark-sense machine to 617 just short of 3 PM.

    Dingo, I hear ya.

  10. Know how you feel. Today was the first time I voted for a Republican president, let alone a Republican Senator and Representative. (My folks are solid Donks; this will make for a cool weekend visit.) I would like to emphasize to you and the other readers of this fine site that I voted for the man, not the party or the party line. Bottom line, Dubya will keep the jihadi-men at a safe distance while pulling the Persian (sic) rug out from under their feet. Plus, he has a refreshingly low BS quotient. I may vote for a Democratic presidential candidate in the future, but only when they stop playing politics with the safety of the nation, exile their looney fringe, and nominate a candidate who can be taken seriously, without the hardsell from the mainstream media.

  11. I’m glad we’re on mark sense ballots here. Seems they are having trouble with the new fangled electronic voting machines over in Santa Clara County. (I b***h and moan about the San Mateo County gov’t enough, that I guess I should say they do a quality job on elections.)

  12. “Our process is our strength. It’s not in attachment to any specific outcome, but in our commitment to the process and our trust in each other that we demonstrate our citizenship.”

    Thanks A.L. This line brought tears to my eyes. This is the first election in 20 years that I have followed so closely, due I guess to finding blogs. I have been upset about the rabid disunity in our country.

    Thank you for reminding me about the importance of the process. The world is caught up in a process and it will lead to a better world. I wish more would keep their eyes on the big picture.

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