Election Day 2008: “Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled, The battle outside ragin’ Will soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin’. Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land And don’t criticize What you can’t understand Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command Your old road is Rapidly aging Please get out of the new one If you can’t lend your hand For the times they are a-changin’.” - Bob Dylan …just thought I would put that song in your head for the day!

“[Senator] Obama was the winner in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, the tiny town that traditionally opens presidential voting right after midnight. He gained 15 votes to McCain’s six, becoming the first Democrat to win there since Hubert Humphrey in 1968.” - The Irish Times

Thanks Wowowow for this page. I woke up this morning with a feeling of excitement. I liken it to the feeling I had as a kid on Christmas morning. It’s a feeling of hope for something good to happen today. I live in Missouri so the election has been filled with tons of emotion as we are quite divided in our state. I am hopeful that the efforts of so many people will pay off on this historical day. Now, it’s time to take the curlers out, wash my face, and get down to the polls.

I’m hear in Virginia and my husband and I got up at 4:45 AM to make it to the polls by 6 with our 2 boys (7 and 5) in toe. Not once in my 20 years of voting have I had to wait in line. I was in shock especially since it’s raining here! My 5 year old has been to every election with me since he was 2 months old. I was proud to bring them along and be involved the experience. Now we have to just sit and wait. We are having majot problems here in VA too. One person overselt and didn’t open the polling place until 5:45 and kept voters waiting 30 minutes. Someon hit a power poll and knocked out electricity to a big precinct and they had to drive in paper ballots that got wet from people standing in the rain so the machines wouldn’t read them. Expect things to go crazy in VA if people’s votes are counted. There are widespead reports of machiness just not working. I don’t know that we’ll ever see another election like this one. The Whole WORLD is WATCHING. DON’T Screw it up!

I voted at 8 am CDT in a predominately White Republican district. The mood of the people in line seemed somber, yet resolute. And, there was a subtle undertone of … um, ‘defiance’. I didn’t have to wait long as I stood between two individuals who were not in a mood to ‘chat’. I sensed a bit of tension in the line, but I decided not to be intimidated by those who chose to ignore me. Very few spoke or held eye contact with me. Yet, I noticed that this was the ‘norm’ because there was very little conversation going on in the line between anyone, except for neighbors greeting one another. Once inside the the building, I was struck by the efficiency of the polling staff, but also by the “hush” of the voters. The lines were neat and orderly, and the polling staff was quick assisting voters who had questions. The entire voting process took about seventy minutes. I must confess. This was my worse voting experience ever. And, I wasn’t prepared the ‘passive hostile’ crowd, because I didn’t vote in the primaries in my voting district. The reason is, I am a registered Independent, and this state has closed primaries. In fact, today I felt like an ‘outsider’, and I felt no joy of celebration in casting my (perceived) lone, minority vote at a precinct which had NO Obama/Democratic signs within the legal proximity of the voting building. I walked away feeling worried because, if my voting experience is an indication of how people are voting in similar voting districts, I suspect that the Democrats are in for a HUGE disappointment. I am praying that I am wrong.