Early Voting

I voted early today. I wanted to try and do it in the morning but sleep got in the way. So I showed up at the early voting location in my ward, Merlo Library, a little before 1pm. The line wove around the aisles of the library and ended near the entrance on the handicap ramp. I had hoped the line would move fast but this was not to be. After waiting around 20 minutes and only moving 15 feets forward, I decided to get out of line and vote later in the day. I had a rehearsal at 2pm and had I stayed in line I probably would still be there now.

So after rehearsal I showed up at Welles Park in Lincoln Square hoping for better luck. This line was shorter than Merlo but it also ended just short of the entrance doors. A volunteer outside the building told me the wait in line would be one hour. It was 4:30pm at the time and I knew that the place closed at 5pm. However, the volunteers assured everyone in line that as long as you were inside the building before 5pm we'd get to vote early that day.

It did indeed take an hour to vote, but I was in no hurry. In fact, no one in line was frustrated by the pace of the line. Many people commented that this was the one occasion that a long line was comforting. I felt that way too. I've never been so jazzed about an election before. I made sure I was registered, I printed a list of recommended judges, filled out a sample ballot that I brought along, and I voted early. At work I'm constantly looking for new election news and refreshing the electoral maps of a few different websites. Obama may have a good lead in the polls, but there's that underlying fear that somehow these polls are way off base or something goes down that fails to count thousands of Obama votes. My level of anticipation is so great these days. I'm impatient and want Election Day to come sooner.

But I have to wait. So I'll try to be patient and wait for things to unfold naturally. I'm taking November 5th off from work. I'll either celebrate or sob all day long.