Voting

I got up early to get to my polling place before it opened. When I got there at 6:45 AM, the line already stretched down the block and around the corner. It's a gorgeous day in Minnesota - sunny and an unseasonably warm 60ish degrees - so I chatted with the people around me while enjoying being out in the fresh, autumn air. Once inside the polling place, the line diverged into different lines based on last name (for registered voters) and a separate line for voters who were registering (we have same day registration in Minnesota). The line I was in, the line for I-M, seemed to be taking a lot longer than the other lines - when I got up front I realized that the lady who was in charge of checking people in for that alphabetical segment was just taking a really long time to find names. I think it took her over a minute to find mine - on an alphabetized list! Oh well, she was giving up her day to help people vote, so I shouldn't complain too much. I got my ballot at about 7:50 AM, filled it in, and then waited in another line to put it into the scantron machine. I was voter #201 for my precinct at exactly 8 AM.

Tonight I'm swinging through various friends' election night parties, and ending up at the 508 bar. I intend to stay there until someone concedes or until last call, whichever comes first. Those of you in Minnesota are welcome to join us there - we'll be downstairs in the basement, and should be pretty easy to spot.

(no subject)

The bar I'm in erupted in cheering. Not as much as they did in Chicago I'm sure, but wow.