Call Me a Dreamer

I got up at the crack of dawn this morning and went out and voted. I'd expected the polls to be busy, but everything was quiet and the line was very short; I waited for perhaps 10 minutes, chatting with the woman in front of me who told me that we were making history. We were. No matter which candidate wins, the face of American politics will change forever with this vote, as we will either have a black man as our president or a woman as our vice president.

There were also a number of propositions on the ballot, including one to change the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. Of course, I voted No on that one.

So, now the waiting begins.

ETA: Ian got out of class early and called me, so I went with him to the polls in his district. We got there a little after noon and there was no one waiting in line. Speaking with the volunteers manning the place, while I waited for Ian to complete his ballot, I learned that between the large numbers of mail-in ballots and the relatively small numbers of people voting in-person there, 95% of the district was accounted for. Note that this doesn't represent a true 95% turn-out, since some percentage of the mail-in ballots will not be returned--but still, an excellent turn-out. And, at this moment, Karl and his eldest are at the polls, voting. That leaves only my youngest, who's at work, right now. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of updating his address information with the DMV yesterday, so now his address information on his driver's licence (proof of identity is now required in AZ) no longer matches the information with which he registered to vote. When I explained the process he'd have to go through, because of this, he started complaining that this was 1) too much trouble, 2) Obama was going to win the overall election, anyway, and 3) McCain was going to win in Arizona, so his vote wouldn't matter. I argued with all three of his contentions, reminding him that this was very likely the most important vote he might ever have the oppotunity to make in his entire life, but I don't know if I got through. Argggh!!!!! Karl, when I told him about it, thought I should have suggested that he might want someday to be able to tell his children and grandchildren that he'd voted for the first black US president, but I don't think Keith is sufficiently interested in the idea of future progeny to find this a moving argument.

2^nd ETA: Keith has voted. I called him and offered to meet him at the polls when he got off work and he agreed with alacrity. In fact, he actually asked to be allowed to leave early and came and picked me up (I live within easy walking distance of the polls, but it was dark and there's a very dangerous street to cross, so I was glad for the lift) and we arrived there shortly after 6 p.m. However, due to the new address on his driver's license, they told him he either needed two pieces of mail showing my address (where he'd been living when he'd first registered), or he'd have to vote on a provisional ballot. We already had the practice ballot, with the address; we only needed one more. So, we dashed back to my house, where I combed through a stack of mail and found the card that told him where his polling place. Back again, arriving within minutes of the polls closing, and he was able to vote on a standard ballot. Hooray!!!

I am happy and proud. Our family provided five votes for Obama. If he takes Arizona (it's too close to call, right now, which is a victory in and of itself), we've done our part. How exciting!

Via barackobama2008:

voter registration information for all states

Please pass on these voter registration sites that cover all states. Re-post them in your own LJ and other blogs, newswletters, etc. It's amazing to think that after all these months of campaigning, the election is now only eight weeks off! Voter registration deadlines almost everywhere are only four weeks off, at the most. And remember to be registered at your current address, so you might need to re-register.

Here you go:

Project Vote Smart

Rock the Vote

NOTE: If you're living out of the country and will still be gone on Election Day, use
Federal Voting Assistance Program.

Every vote counts!

Note: I omitted the last two words of the original post, because I felt that in encouraging people to vote I wanted to be non-partisan. (Listing the source of my information is not, I hope, being partisan.) At this point, I think you all know what my choice will be, come voting day, but sharing information about the voting process isn't about my choice, but making sure that everyone gets a chance to participate and takes it. Democracies work best, IMO, when everyone who can participate, does.