Vote Cat Has an Important Message For You This Election Day

Posted on November 6, 2012    Posted by      334 Comments

Yep, that about covers it. 

If you’re a United States citizen who can vote, you should vote. There’s still time as of this writing to read up on the candidates in your district at all levels of government, as well as any initiatives/propositions, and get yourself to the polls and have a say in things. So get to it.

Today’s question: Have you voted yet? Affirm in the comments! Make Vote Cat proud.

Category: Uncategorized    

334 Comments on “Vote Cat Has an Important Message For You This Election Day”

  2. I voted by mail in Oregon last week. No lines at the polls, no software in the voting booth. Just the US Mail.

  5. I voted. Only about 10 people in line at 7:30, though there were about that many again in line to find out what precinct they were in (four precincts vote at my polling place.) Knowing my precinct got me done in half the time.
    On my way out, I explained to the candidate for state representative who was standing outside why I wasn’t able to vote for him and what he could do to get my vote next time. That went better than I expected it to – he even agreed with me on some things.

  8. Weeks ago, Boss. Weeks ago.
    Which, for those who haven’t, took a lot of the stress out of the last few weeks — for us it’s been something of a spectator sport.

  9. I just voted! It was my first time voting in a presidential election as well as my first time voting in person. Exciting stuff!

  10. I was 9th in line 15 min before the polls opened. Took my 2 boys along with. Both of them said “that’s it?” When we were done.

  12. I voted! I had to spend an hour in line, and I was late for work, but my voice has been heard! (and not just because I treated everyone in line to my one-woman version of the musical “1776” :-D)

  13. I have to be at work before the polls open here but I’ll get there right after work tonight.

    Given the efforts made this year particularly to prevent some certain types of people from voting I think it is more important than ever to get out there and vote. As much as I hate it when “my guy” loses I can live with that as long as its the will of the majority. If I ever thought “my guy” lost because his supporters were not allowed to vote that would not sit so well.

    People died at Normandy and Peleliu so you could be free to vote. on June 22, 1964, people died so that all people could be free to vote. This is too important a thing to say it does not matter.

  14. It was my first time voting in a presidential election as well as my first time voting in person.

    My sixth for a President. Like sex, it was good the first time and got better with practice.

  15. Took my 18 and 21 year old sons to vote in their first presidential election this morning. Exceedingly proud to welcome them into the full privilege of American citizenship.

  18. Turned in my mail-in ballot last week. And I found out last night that I live in one of the 3 critical counties in the country.

  19. We did early voting last Thursday, waiting in a modest line to do so. Quite a change from 4 years ago when I waited in line for over 2 hours to vote early. The community we lived in at the time was predominantly African-American, and I was one of only a few White faces that day. Few people griped about the lines, because we all knew we were doing something important and historic. Well, this year is no less important or historic.

    Now I just have to wait and see if I have to apply for Canadian citizenship. :/

    (Kidding, mostly…)

  20. Voted this morning before work. Was in and out in 7 minutes, even though there were a lot of people at my polling place. Just goes to show how organized they were.

    I am glad I will not have to suffer the wrath of the cat!

  21. Here in Ohio, there are hundreds of volunteers standing around in below- freezing weather to make sure lines move smoothly, that people in the wrong precinct are directed to the right place, and that everyone eligible gets to cast a ballot. Please do not let us suffer frostbite in vain.

  22. Love Oregon’s system – I voted over two weeks ago by dropping my (any my wife’s) completed ballot(s) in at the library.

    As with suchwildlove above, third party, since OR will go Obama regardless of my vote.

    And congratulations to all first-time voters!

  23. I have the rather awesome luck that my polling place is directly across the street from my office, so the plan is to head over around mid-morning, when the lines are short or non-existent and cast my vote.

  26. Voted! There were about 100 people ahead of me at 6:10AM. And it was 28 degrees (in NOVA). Parking to departure: 20 minutes. Do not be dissuaded by people in front of you. VOTE.

  31. Voted early about a week ago in a city park rec. center close to my house – took about 10 min. Being in Texas, my vote for Pres. Obama won’t really count WRT the Electoral College, but I’m happy to add to his popular vote count. And I got to vote against the way out there Tea Party dude running for Senate here. Again, it being Texas, he’ll probably get elected anyway. Most Texans would vote for an inanimate carbon rod if it was running under the GOP banner…

  32. I voted this morning. I registered in August but they didn’t have my name in their book. I filled out an Affidavit Ballot. I’m bummed, but I still voted.

  34. Vote Cat doesn’t scare me.

    Ok, Vote Cat does scare me.

    I voted this morning in Southern VA, about 100 in front of me when the polls opened.

  35. I’m from Europe, but I read a lot. And I read that some people in the US had to wait in line for 7 hours just to vote. That it’s somehow more difficult for poor people to vote. And I don’t understand. Is this true? What is happening in one of the greatest democracies of the world?

  36. I voted last week in Illinois. Plan to stay up until most of the votes are in and we have a winner.

  38. We voted last month. Today I’m off to do some canvassing. I know better than to mess with our Feline Overlords.

  39. I voted a week and a half ago thanks to Oregon’s vote-by-mail system. This is the first presidential election I have participated in since gaining US citizenship last year.

  40. I hit the polling place on the way to work – knowing my precinct in advance (and where my polling stay had been moved to in the post-Sandy confusion) made everything very easy. Also, having a ballot where there were no referendums, three people running in uncontested races and a race where you had to pick two judges (and there were only two people running) made the actual voting process even easier – whether that’s good or not is another story, though.

  41. I cast my ballot last weekend. Since Washington’s 100% vote-by-mail, we don’t have any lines. I admire the determination of people who stand in line for hours to cast their vote and I’ll appalled that those conditions exist.

  42. I voted in Minnesota! Arrived when the polls opened, and there were already 73 people in front of me, according to the optical scanner. Plus anyone who was still sitting at the tables working on the same-day voter registration applications.

    It’s good to see such a long line. I hope everyone votes, those who agree with me and those who don’t. Thanks to everyone who did and who helped get out the vote this year.

  43. nathree: Yes, it’s true.
    What’s happening is that we’re still working out the details of that little war we had 160 years ago over slavery.

  45. I voted early, although as a Democrat living in Texas, I share David H’s concerns about the ultimate usefulness of my vote. The library where I work is a polling place, so I’ll be there as late as it takes tonight, until the whole thing is over and done.

  46. Vote Cat doesn’t look judgmental enough.

    Nevertheless, I have voted.

    Did you see the NYT map of the US, with red and blue dots marking campaign visits since August? (on today’s front page) Ohio looks like it has a terrible case of acne.

  49. I spent 27 years in uniform, My son in law is in Afghanistan on his third Iraq/Afghanistan tour and my daughter spent Christmas 2010 in Afghanistan. You can be damn well certain that i voted.

  50. I voted here in Ohio today. Vote Cat will probably find me lacking for some other reason. Cats are that way.

  53. I took advantage of early voting for the first time two weeks ago. And I am really missing my “I Voted” sticker. I wore those things with pride. Honestly, I feel a little ashamed not to have one today. Maybe I need a button that says, “Don’t judge me. I voted early. Really. I swear.”

  56. In n out in ten, fifteen minutes tops. Haven’t been enthused by using a church to vote in, but Vote Cat is more intimidating and less annoying.

  57. Early voting is still something of a novelty to me, but I’m hooked now! Voted last Tuesday, waited maybe 10 minutes, no muss no fuss.

  58. Voted 3 weeks ago via Iowa’s Absentee Ballot. Nice and easy. Can’t imagine why more states don’t do the same.

  63. Today I take my 9 year old daughter to the polls at city hall, to show her how it all works. And also to show her that those long weeks and sometimes months that Daddy spends away from home doing Army stuff . . . there’s an ultimate point to all of it: the protection and defense of our democratic process, which enables us to transfer (or maintain) power in the United States without coups, civil wars, or other nasty stuff which has been the traditional hallmark of leadership shifts for 99% of human history. I honestly haven’t been this fired up to vote since 1992. I am looking forward to doing the deed.

  65. This will probably earn me the gentle stroke of the mallet, but I did not vote, and I’m not gonna. To quote Emma Goldman, “If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.”

  66. Got there five minutes after the polls opened; there were already 65 cheerful people in line ahead of me, and over a hundred happy people in line by the time I left. Wore my Betty Boop/American flag necktie to make it official, and, should Obama win, I’ll be 4-5-1 in my ten presidential elections. Not a bad record.

  67. I voted October 23. Vote Cat should be proud of me. (Since I’m unfortunately extremely allergic to cats, it will have to be at a distance. But I like cats.)

  70. I voted this morning on the way to work! And I have proudly affixed the ‘I voted’ sticker to my laptop, like I do every two years :) I hope everyone also remembers to vote for the local items and candidates as well!

  72. Voted at approx. 9:15a at my precinct in suburban Cincinnati. Was the 180th in person voter in my precinct, not counting absentee or early voters.

  73. I won’t be voting until late in the day since the spouse took our only car to work, and the only polling place in town is a tad too far to walk to.

  74. Waited 1.5hrs in Virginia, was in line less than an hour after the polling place opened. FWIW, the lines were even longer than they were in 2008.

  75. I’ll be voting after work. In New York, so voting 3rd party since Obama doesn’t need my support to win. Thank goodness this is a rare year that the Libertarians have a candidate who isn’t a laughingstock.

  76. Don’t stop voting. You have to keep voting as often as possible. And don’t let those obstructionists tell you that’s not how it works. (OK, not all of Voting Cat’s advice is equally good. It is just a cat after all.)

  78. Voted just after 8 am just west of Grand Rapids Michigan. Spent about a half hour in line. It was mentioned that earlier voters were waiting at least 45 minutes.

  81. I voted. By mail. Only once–I’m not a cat, with a vote for every remaining life, the smug creatures!

  82. I chose not to vote today. I felt the lines would be too long and it would be too cold. I don’t really think it’s important to vote on election day anyway since nothing I do today will change the outcome in any of the elections. Besides, I voted last week and it’d be illegal to vote twice.

  83. My wife and I were in line at opening time. There was a very large turnout in our neighborhood; very encouraging to see.

    myrkul999, voting does change things. Seldom dramatically or rapidly, and admittedly not always for the better, but it does happen. Officials that We The People voted for put laws in place to protect the rights of working people and enacted the policies that ended the Great Depression. Judges appointed by those officials struck down segregation and Jim Crow laws, as well as bans on contraception and abortion. And those are just a very few of the things changed, either directly or indirectly, by voting.

    Voting now determines, at the very least, whether those gains, and others besides, will be kept or lost.

  84. We voted in Evanston, IL on Saturday. There was a two-hour wait, and cheering for first-time voters!

  86. I voted! It doesn’t matter much, since I’m in Illinois, but I’m worried about Obama getting elected without a national majority, and the problems that would cause, so I thought I’d make sure he had my vote. I really hope things go well tonight!

  88. I’m in Florida, so I made sure to get my vote in as early as possible. Missed the first half of classes, but when the professor gave me the stink eye I just pointed at my “I VOTED!” sticker and he waved me in.

    … I need to see if I can buy a roll of these…

  89. Haven’t voted yet, but I’m leaving shortly to do so.
    Realistically, my presidential vote isn’t going to have much effect*, but my votes on the ballot questions and more local races might.

    *Has anyone predicted Romney winning NJ?

  90. Voted at 8ish this morning. There were a lot of people coming and going, so I thought there would be a line, but I walked right up, gave my name, signed the register, voted, and left. Time elapsed from getting out of car and getting into it again, including a longish walk to the entrance: 7 minutes. I’ve never run into a line since I moved to where I live now. They handle four or five wards there–it’s a large high school gym–so I guess that’s why it seemed like there were a lot of people, but there was no line for my ward.

  91. Stopped by on the way to daycare, used my retired military ID to prove I was me, and tried not to get teary-eyed as I whispered to my 18-month old daughter (in my lap) that I was voting for her future …

  92. I voted first thing this morning. The line wasn’t bad here, maybe 10-15 minutes. I did opt for the “short” booth rather than wait for a regular-height one (for which my back did *not* thank me). The poll volunteers said there was a long line when they opened, with some people having been there since an hour before opening, but things were moving smoothly.

  95. Eric, this may be one of the few elections where you’re right. There are a number of things which might even have drawn me to the polls, were I in the states that they are being decided in. The number of people I have seen who here noted that they “voted third party because Obama/Romney has my state no matter what” is encouraging as well. I have this little dream that when I wake up tomorrow, Johnson will have won the popular vote simply on red voters in blue states and vice-versa. In the wildest permutations of that, he manages to win the electoral vote because a few people decided that their candidate was going to win no matter what they did, as well. But I don’t hold much hope, and am fairly certain that regardless of the outcome of today’s popularity contest, the elected official will be continuing the freedom-destroying policies that other (mainly Bush) elected officials enacted. So that’s why I’m not voting. It only encourages the politicians and lets them have the excuse of the “people’s mandate”… even when that’s a scant 51%.

  96. Voted, yes.

    Wish I lived in a swing state this morning. Then again, for the past six months I’ve been glad I don’t live in a swing state.

    Also wish I lived in Tammy Duckworth’s district, so I could vote for her in her race against Joe Walsh (the Deadbeat Dad, not the guitarist). Alas, I live in another district so I voted for Bill Foster in his race against Judy Biggert.

  97. I voted early here in Texas, at a mega-polling site. I was pleased to read that my county has done away with having to turn up at a specific place for your precinct and now lets you– on voting day, today! — vote at the most convenient polling place. That makes voting easier!

  99. Apparently, if you don’t vote you can’t complain, and I love to complain, so hell yes I voted.

    Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash. But I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie.

    And tell the cook this is low grade dog food. I’ve had better food at the ballgame, you know? This steak still has marks from where the jockey was hitting it.

    Ooh yeah….

  102. Once I pick up my father in law from the physical therapist and drop him off back at home with the kids I’ll hie me to the polls. Just hope the lines are not too long at mid-day.

  103. Was there at 6:30 when the polls opened – out by 6:50 only because we had new precinct designations and we all had to find out what the new precinct was (we all forgot our orange cards that told us…) So what is it with this “I (state of Ohio outline) voting” sticker? What is that supposed to mean? “I Ohioed voting” is saying what? Stupid Ohio secretary of state…

  106. Voted last week. Since I registered permanent absentee/ vote by mail, I have not missed any balloting events.

  107. I voted, but was very sad that they didn’t have stickers for me. I made my own. Now I’m happy.

  108. Vote Cat proud? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Maybe Vote Cat would be proud with a dead rat clamped between its fangs, the spray of blood gracing its coat. I don’t think Vote Cat cares whether I voted or not…

    But, I did vote. For the Kenyan. Heh.

  109. Voted, but only and explicitly in local races and on the two ballot initiatives in my area. Good luck to any who read this and are struggling to vote on the north-eastern seaboard.

  112. Report from small town upstate NY: my husband voted at 7:15, only a few people in line. Older son absentee voted from college after looking up all the local races. Younger son is audibly grumbling about turning 18 next month. Apparently I should have planned things better. I’m out the door in 15 minutes or so. I’m hopeful but not optimistic (both for the line and the results).
    This is the first national election since the old lever machines were phased out. We’ve had two years to get used to the scantrons but I still miss the kachunk and swish of the curtain — the sound of democracy at work.

  113. I was first in line at my place and when I left there were probably 75 people behind me! I always feel good participating. Maybe one of these days a “third party” will gain enough recognition to be there every step of the way in the discussions. I voted towards that day.

  115. Yes! For the first time, by absentee ballot. It was thrilling and exhilarating, and now I’m off to shout at other people to do the same.

  116. Yes, I’ve voted. I always do, even odd little local elections. Early voting’s convenient–you can go on a good-weather day, for instance–but I miss seeing neighbors, even the ones with whom I never talked politics.

  117. Another Texan who voted here last week. No sticker for me, sadly, and I know my vote won’t make a difference in this state, but still. Maybe in my lifetime I’ll get to see this state turn blue.

  118. Voted with no problems this morning. My state is one with the new Voter ID rules, and the (white middle class) woman next to me at the check in seemed to be having problems :|

  120. I voted by mail a week ago. I love living in Washington state, where it’s 100% mail in voting. One of the best ideas ever, I wish more states would go to this system in the future.

    As a few others have already said, I doubt my personal vote will swing this state one way or the other, but I feel it’s important to cast my ballot for the best candidate anyway, and especially important to vote in the state and county level.

  121. Also myrkul999 at 9:38, I love the quotation as well. Just wondering if you had ever considered a personal compromise that still allowed you to vote in some cases? I have some degree of peace with my own decision. (See my above post :) Best Wishes to all and I hope you have an efficient polling day.

  122. The polls opened at 6:30 a.m., I was there at 6:35 a.m. and there were already over 100 people there. Luckily there were plenty of voting machines and I was out of there by 7:05 a.m.

    @bonelady. My boss came up as I was typing my comment and asked me the same thing you did about the “I (State of Ohio outline) Voting”. I tried hard to point out that Ohio looks like a heart, but she’s from California and wasn’t buying it.

  123. Voted this morning. Took longer to park than to get my ballot and fill it in (old Lions’ hall so small parking lot with large building). Hoping my vote helps New Hampshire make the right choices and if not the hoping the other guys turn out to be less extreme than they’ve been portraying themselves during the campaign…

  124. I got in line at 7:30 and cast my vote at 9:15. I was voter #536 at my precinct, a strongly D precinct in Northern Virginia.

  126. My husband and I just came back from the polls. There was actually a line, and we’ve had almost 200 people vote already in our precinct. It’s good to see a substantial voter turnout, rather than the paltry numbers we usually get. Especially since Indiana is predicted to go Romney, a lot of people who would vote Democrat are apt to feel like their vote doesn’t matter. (But it does, since there are a lot of state and local races on the ticket this year, not to mention the Senate and Congressional races).

  132. I voted weeks ago! Too important to wait till the last day and risk bad weather, power outages, flat tires, illness or anything that might keep me from casting my vote!

  136. I voted. I got up extra early this morning and made it to the polls just after they opened. The parking lot was packed and the line already started getting pretty long, but I’m glad I did it. I feel this election is too important to skip, and even more so if you’re in a swing state like I am (Ohio).

  137. Voted this morning, about 7:30 EST. No lines, but people kept coming and going.

    As always, my thanks go out to the poll workers and other election staff.

  139. Just voted. About 16 voting booths in the elementary school gym because several polling places in my county in New Jersey still don’t have power. And my wife is enroute to our son’s college to bring him back to vote (it’s only about an hour each way) as he wasn’t able to get his vote-by-mail done due to Hurricane 4th of July, Asbury Park – and I think it’s neat that he’ll vote in person for his first election.

  140. Voted first thing this morning. My town has 4500 people in it (so, maybe 2250 adults?) and the line was out the door at the community center. I’ve never seen this happen before

  141. In line about 6:40 this morning for a 7:00 poll opening with about 25 people in front of me. Out the door and on my way to work by 7:15, with probably 100 people in line at that point. Here in Maryland the presidential election is not really in doubt, but I have hopes that the state referendum on same-sex marriage will pass.

  143. ballot is filled out, and will get dropped off after work (love the Oregon vote by mail system!)

  144. We’re planning to head out at 2 to vote. Fingers crossed they have enough accommodations for three people who can’t stand up for very long (me and my 88-year-old parents)…. We all like the symbolism of voting on the day, though, so it’s cool.

  148. Vote Cat can not condemn me with the glare — I voted 2 weeks ago by mail in Washington State! Vote by mail in the 2nd LEAST corrupt state in the Union works for me! Vote by mail is a great invention here — no one trying to cut off my vote at the election booth as in other MORE CORRUPT States. We get the government we deserve!

  149. Voted via mail a few weeks back, and ended up with the picture of me dropping off my ballot used by the Yes on I-502 Facebook, so I feel pretty proud about it.

  150. Voted at 6:30 this morning (and got my sticker). Indiana’s electoral votes are a foregone conclusion, but there were a number of key downballot races, including a crucial Senate contest. I cast my vote in all of them.

  151. Voted on my way into work. The staff at the school gymnasium had it down to a science. I gave my name to the greeter, he directed me to the right person, confirmed who I was, filled out the ballot (scantron-style bubbles — no hanging chads or eVoting here!), done. It took me all of about six minutes. Now regardless of which candidate wins, I have the right to gripe and grumble about the job they’re doing :)

    I’m also going to try to avoid as much as I can of tonight’s pundit-freakout-a-thon (except for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, since they’re entertaining) by going shopping later. With a nor’easter forecast for later this week I could use a bit heavier jacket.

  152. I am a Canadian and very rightly can’t vote, but I am irritating all my American friends to vote. This counts, yes?

  153. Mailed my ballot yesterday. I’ll be clicking Like on every single *I Voted* Facebook post today. Doesn’t matter how I feel about the voter’s choices.

  154. Moving to WA, with mail in voting, was at first disconcerting – no more nice polling ladies and lines. But voting a week and a half ago by ‘drop my ballot in the blue box on the way to work’ was so relaxing, I have become a convert. I miss the sticker though.

  156. Voted last week – I sure do love early voting! If I hadn’t gotten there, though, I’d be in line (or have been in line) today.

    Cheers to all the voters!

  157. Submitted my online request for an absentee ballot on October 1.

    It disappeared in the mail.

    Went in person to the elections office in Broward County, FL, filled in my replacement absentee ballot and placed it personally in the ballot collection box on October 25th, one day before I flew out of state. Most of the time I was there (1.5 hours), I was the only white person in the line. Why had so many absentee ballots vanished in the mail? Gee, who knows? All I know is that the elections office went to extra effort to make it possible for us to vote in spite of that.

    A HUGE shout-out to the elections officials, and most of all the staff, who are working so hard to counter voter suppression in Florida. Also to my boss, whose response to the situation was “Go! Take time out from work and vote!”

  158. I have voted! Just went and dropped off my absentee ballot at the polling place (I procrastinated and didn’t get it into the mail on time this year). Alas, I did not pick up a nifty I Voted sticker though. Ah well.

  159. I voted early in Illinois and saved my “I Voted” sticker, which I am proudly wearing today.

  160. I voted before coming in to work today. The lines at my polling place were the longest I’ve ever seen them.

  161. Voted with my state in southern New Mexico this morning! NM is decidedly blue but with the swing states in question, every vote really MIGHT count! Let’s hope the President carries the Electoral College so we don’t have to worry about it, though.

    Farewell, election ads and signs, I won’t miss you!

  162. Yes I voted early this morning.

    I would think that cats would tend to regard elections as “one cat, one vote, and I’m the cat”.

  163. I voted! And I’m in a swing state, so I was determined to do it before work. In and out in 5 minutes, which surprised me – no lines. Some of the polling places in NH are tweeting about hour+ lines.

  164. My area in Oregon only does Absentee ballots. turned mine in last week. It was nice to take an evening and run through everything on the ballot. Especially with the propositions, things that looked obvious on the surface turned into a muddled mess when you read the details.

  166. Days ago. I dropped my ballot in a collection box. I live in all mail voting WA state. The downside is they will only announce about 60% of the vote talley tonight with dribs and drabs for the rest of the results over the next few weeks. Frustrating to not know the outcome on Election Day, or even close to it.

  167. My husband and I voted after standing in line for over 90 minutes. That’s a real accomplishment for him as he has severely limited mobility. I’m so proud of him for hanging in there.

  168. Voted on Friday in DC. Marcia voted Saturday (last day of early voting). Didn’t want to take the chance of breaking a leg or having flu stopping me.

  169. I got th rough pretty quickly since there were only a handful of people for the Q-Z line. Nadine A. had to wait for about a half hour before she got to vote.

  170. Voted here in Louisiana. This will not help Obama, I’m afraid, but maybe someday my state will come to its senses. (Anyway, there was a ridiculous amendment on the ballot to vote against which would have made us even more gun-carrying friendly, if that’s even possible.)

  171. I voted! Our office made it clear that you had all the time you need today to vote, which is awesome. And a little sad, because everyone should be able to take the time they need to get to the polls today.

  172. My voting pattern ended up being rather interesting this year, to say the least–I voted on issues, mostly, but partly on whether I liked the candidate’s face or not (kidding), and not at all on party lines. The breakdown ended up being something along the lines of Federal: Libertarian; State Executive: Mixed (GOP majority); Local Rep: Democrat. For someone who voted Bush in 2004, that’s highly out of character, but the majority of the GOP in my district this election were far-far-right Tea Partiers, and the Democrats were surprisingly progressive-conservative. Go figure.

    Amusingly, I think one of the toughest choices was for Sheriff. But my wife and I ended up having our votes cancel each other out, so all my consternation in *that* race was for naught.

    Better-Half is dropping the ballots off at the county courthouse as we speak.

  173. I just got back from voting.
    I live in Mississippi, so I doubt that I will have an effect on the electoral college but even though the popular vote doesn’t choose the president, it isn’t ignored either.
    I also live in a safe district. Same thing goes there too.
    There are a couple judicial seats on the ballot. I had the foresight to look them up ahead of time.

  176. Over here in WA state, we all got our ballots in the mail three weeks ago. I read up on everything, and voted. Sent it in a week and a half ago. And all my friends know that they only have the right to complain about how the polling goes if they voted, at least around me.

  179. I voted this morning in good old Maryland. Got there at 7:30, a half-hour after it opened, to find a massive line in front of me. It took about an hour from start to finish, but as the federal government gives us free leave for voting, I didn’t feel bad being late to work. I voted for Obama in part because I’m a federal employee and my job has become significantly better since he started. Since I’m in clean energy, it’s clear where that’s going if Romney wins. I thought about voting Green for my representative, but mine is one of the most liberal in Congress, he supports my key issues (especially climate change), and I genuinely like him.

  180. Voted absentee. Messed up and signed my husband’s envelope so I had to go in and resign. So I voted, it just would seem I am not very good at it.

  181. I haven’t voted yet, but this morning, my 5-year-old daughter and I had to take the long way around that involved cutting through two classrooms to get to her classroom at school. They didn’t want anybody walking through the main hallway where they had the sign-in table and the voting cubbies set up. I plan to take her with me when I vote tonight at the church down the street.

  182. I voted in Washington State two weeks ago by mail. Looking forward to my state upholding marriage equality, and am interested to see if we will legalize pot.

  184. I voted Saturday night; my first time voting by mail. I like the feel of going to the booth, but work out of town, so this was a good compromise.

  185. Resident of the state of Washington who sent in her ballot several days ago, yo. Best wishes and good luck to all going out to stand in line to vote today. Hang in there, you guys.

  186. Waited in line over 40 minutes to vote, and got out just in time to get my 7-year-old daughter to school. She was fascinated by the whole process. At the sign-in table, there was a mock-up of a ballot, with a pretend slate of candidates, so she got to “vote” as well. She chose Neil Armstrong for Minister of Transportation.

  187. I voted! Got up an hour early; at my voting place by 6:40; waited just under an hour and a half. I knew there would be lines and I didn’t want to wait until after work when I’d be tired.

  188. I sent in my absentee ballot last week, Vote Cat, so please avert your laser eyes. California, for all its ills, makes voting easy. Oddly enough, I chose Neil Armstrong for Minister of Transportation, too.

  190. Yup, read half a chapter of Hitch-22 while waiting in line. Now I just have to suffer through the results.

  191. Early voted past Saturday: no lines. My county (in New Mexico) had 43% registered voters already voted by 7:00 AM this morning.

  192. I have voted. I was going to anyway, but after the cats here saw the message from Vote Cat they were all over my case to get it done. They were not passionate enough so that I was allowed to vote before feeding them breakfast, mind you, but they’re cats so their priorities are warped.

    Less than ten minutes for me to get in and get out, no lines as of 9:30 AM, but they were saying that it had just gotten to that point after working through a huge crowd that started building well prior to the 7:00 AM opening.

  193. Me also. No excuses for New Mexicans, beautiful weather today and a 3 week(?) early voting period.

    All in favor of wiping out voting/polling robots raise a paw and have a donut.

  194. I voted last Wednesday. Amazingly, Texas doesn’t make you vote in your designated precinct for early voting, so I was able to amble the few blocks away to the golf course club house and do the deed. No line at all. No photo I.D. was asked for (except for my friend’s who hadn’t signed his voter registration card before he went up there and the lady wanted to make sure the signatures matched. I think that was it and not because he is black).

  195. Voted this morning at my kid’s school. Lovely weather for it. The school declared that no one would be tardy today so that kids wouldn’t get penalized for fighting their way through parking, traffic & etc.

  196. Dear Vote Cat,

    Your judgment per se doesn’t frighten me, but since I’m allergic to you, maybe I should rethink that. However, I voted without knowledge of your judgment. In any case, please have a few sardines in the name of democracy on my behalf. (Hey, I like sardines, too.)

  197. I voted two weeks ago, the first day of voting in Texas. My vote doesn’t count in Texas, but as voting is my right, I fulfill it proudly…and look forward to the day when we leave this state for a state where my views are shared. Even more proud of my 20-year-old daughter who voted for the first time, and is spending the day working at the polling station on her college campus.

  198. Voted. I’m proud of myself. I always am, when I vote, though it really isn’t all that difficult for me to get to the polls. Then I heard about the woman who went into labor in the middle of the night and insisting on waiting until the polls opened before she went to the delivery room, so she could stop and vote on the way. Now there’s a kid who will have a yearly reminder of the importance of voting!

  199. I voted permanent absentee two weeks ago. And then verified that my ballot had been received and accepted online. Kudos to all the election officials who made it so easy and painless to vote.

  200. Voted in Texas, hoping to steadily and eventually add enough blue that the state doesn’t just default to red.

  202. I did not vote because I think it’s silly to participate in a system where my vote doesn’t count for anything. I live in a state that will give all of it’s electoral votes to Romney no matter what. I don’t feel like I should cast a wasted ballot, nor should I help perpetrate the electoral college by participating it, even if there was a candidate that I agreed with enough to vote for.
    Tar and feathers incoming…

  203. Voted. Hope Tammy Baldwin beats Tommy Thompson in the Senate race . . . also was proud to vote against Paul Ryan. Twice. (He’s on the ballot for VP and is my current US Rep. D candidate Rob Zerban is a former R and a small businessman; proud to support him and Baldwin.)

  205. Yes, voted about three hours ago here in Denver – quite a few people at the polling place, considering the early hour, but no problems – unlike some other places in Colorado.

  207. My dog and I voted at 6:03 a.m., just after the polls opened. My dog’s gone to the polls with me every election, every year, for the last 12 years, which means he’s voted more than most USA humans of voting age, which is just pathetic.

    And myrkul999, if you don’t vote, don’t complain about anything any politician does. Keep your bitching rights: vote! If there isn’t someone to vote FOR, there’s ALWAYS someone to vote AGAINST.

  211. Voted quite some time ago. I love Washington state. We get mailed a ballot, fill it out and drop it in a ballot box or mail it back. Why this isn’t done everywhere, I have no idea….

  214. Yup. Voted. Overheard that some lady had gotten there at 5:15 to be the first in the precinct to vote, a tradition held since 1976

  215. Hey, um, what’s the deal with results reporting? I vaguely recall a big brouhaha a while ago about election results being called early, and called wrong, and people saying it potentially caused voters to go home, and then the final results for the state flipped. And I vaguely recalled that reporting results ahead of “official” releases from the state, or at least before the polls were officially closed, were really frowned upon. But I don’t recall if that became a standard-operating-procedure for everyone or just those who want to play it safe.

    shorter: when will we know?

  217. Mary, I respect your opinion, but by voting I am condoning the entire system, and implicitly supporting the decisions of whoever wins. So to counter your “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain,” I respond with “If you do vote, you can’t complain.”

  218. Vote Cat can come sit in my lap and purr. I voted to end the death penalty in my state, and also to stop giving people life sentences for non-violent third felonies. I sometimes dream about getting a proposition on the ballot that would require the state to spend as much per student as we do per prisoner… and then I dream about a state constitutional convention that would do away with the initiative system and repeal Prop 13 all at once.

    I have strange dreams.

  220. I voted this morning. Kentucky has a constitutional amendment on the ballot protecting the rights of hunters. I voted no, because I suspect the NRA is using this as a way to scare people into thinking Obama is going to take away their guns. Also, it’s a pretty pointless amendment because no politician who curtails hunting in Kentucky would ever get reelected.

  222. I fed the cats this morning. (They’re voting for MOAR, and voting against having the coffee grinder running in the kitchen when they’re trying to eat.) I’ll vote later, after my 10:00 meeting, on the way in to work.

    California’s “Top-Two Primary” system means that except for President, the fall election for partisan offices is a run-off between the top two candidates in each district, and the “primary” mixes multiple candidates from multiple parties. So in the primary, I got to vote for some Libertarians, Greens, Occupiers, and Democrats, but today I get some D-vs-R races and some D-vs-D, and lots of ballot propositions. Nate Silver says that Obama and Senator Feinstein have landslide wins in CA, so I’m safe voting third party for President. (And Senator Feinstein has long been a contender for Most Evil Democrat, but the fairly reasonable Republican is a member of the Evil Republican Party, so I’m choosing Neither Evil, and they won’t let me vote for the candidate I want.)

  224. Chris Sears, it’s not primarily to scare people into thinking Obama will take their guns. It’s to get the people who already believe that to show up at the polls, just like many of the anti-gay marriage amendments.

  226. Voted early in Florida. Took about 20 minutes, contrary to what some media outlets have been saying about it all being screwed up.

  229. I just voted….I think. I’m not sure because the new voting machines do to human interfaces what the Jonestown Kool-aid did to kids drinks! Forgive the venting but I wanted to calm down before trying to find who to contact in the electoral process to address this.

    Basically the capacitive touch screen interface was so far out of calibration that it inadvertently registered 5 incorrect votes. I wouldn’t have even known if i hadn’t been anal and had a sample ballot filled out to make sure I remembered the names of everybody I researched and planned on voting for. You literally could not vote for any candidate that was further down the 3rd on any individual ballot screen. Often a vote for an independent would trigger a next button command and you would never know that you hadn’t voted. I started playing around with the interface (I am a Human Factors Engineer so I play with interfaces and touchscreens for a living) and found it was
    a consistent calibration issue but due to the poor interface I’m sure many wouldn’t know this.
    On top of that there were a host of general accessibility issues with the machines.
    I had a rather heated discussion with the local precinct manager but his response was pretty much “Bless your Heart!”

    And yes I do know that the drink at Jonestown was Flavor-aid. Also I shouldn’t make jokes about Jonestown……….. the punchlines are too long!

  230. New Jersey’s Gov. Chris Christie decided that the way to make voting more possible after the floods and chaos of last week was to allow email voting for people who can’t get to their polls in person. It’s a hastily thrown together plan, and does take some precautions against fraud by requiring voters to follow up their email ballot with an actual paper snail-mail copy. Matt Blaze, professor of computer security stuff at Penn who’s worked on voting machine security evaluations, thinks it’s a dangerous idea but hopes that the last-minute-ness will mean that Bad Guys won’t have time to abuse it too badly. Meanwhile, he reports that there’s one county where it’s failing, because the county email voting address is on Hotmail and their mailbox is already full. So if you’re in NJ and have the chance, do your voting in person.

  231. Yup. Voted. Many people already had this morning, I suspect we might have record turnout, which is good – be engaged!

  232. I voted early, absentee in person. I’m still having trouble with that concept. It must be a koan.

  233. Voted this morning.

    And for those who are in a non-swing state, my pep talk: In 1984, my parents were in Indiana. The Presidental election was a foregone conclusion, of course, and (2008 nonwithstanding) Indiana goes red in the best years. That vote didn’t count. It couldn’t.

    That year, though, despite the presidential election, the 8th Congressional district re-elected McCloskey, the Democratic candidate. It was an impossibly tight race, and there were multiple recounts.

    McCloskey won, in the final recount, by four votes.

    A decade later, McCloskey would be the driving force behind US involvement in Bosnia. He was the first to call what was happening genocide. He would openly confront other US politicians, pressing them to address the situation.

    And all because my parents and three of their friends braved the lines to vote.

    So, yeah. Your vote can matter. A lot.

  234. @Scalzi: Sorry, mobile phone; didn’t see your post. Delete if you must, but I thought it was worth it.

  235. Voted last week on one of the infernal electronic voting machines, which luckily also produced a paper record that you could review before actually casting your ballot.

  236. Oregon voter, completed it last week. My bride and voting-age offspring did as well. Sat around the table together, reviewed measures and candidates, had good discussions (on-topic and off-) and generally made a relaxing and fairly fun afternoon of it. I have no idea how my kids voted, but I know they didn’t do so unaware and uneducated.

  240. Voted in Leon County, FL just after lunch with my oldest daughter, talking over the extremely LONG ballot this year (because our Legislature, not content with voter initiative Constitutional Amendments and angry with our Supreme Court with killing off some of their proposals last year because of the language they used to deceive the voters, changed the laws a bit and threw in 10 proposed Amendments which they’re counting on no one reading very closely–I did). We use optically scanned ballots, which remind me a bit of Lotto cards, in more ways than one. At least it went quickly and without a hitch; just got to wait until tonight to see who won the lottery…oops, the election.

  241. Yup! Stood in line for 1 hour, 10 minutes. Husband stood in line for 1 hour, 40 minutes (he went first thing, I have the day off & went in around 11 am). Did my bit to “redefine marriage” here in Maryland.

  243. Elementary school where the voting was being held had a bake sale going on that was right where the line was. They kept selling out.

  244. I think those of us who don’t vote should get together and form the American Apathy Party. We will wait for yet another really close election and only bother to muster people to vote in a critical swing state. Then we will look at which party has more people annoying us to vote. We will vote for the other party. This will hopefully swing the vote for the party that bothers us less.

    We can remain apathetic. I think if we do this one time in one key state, no one will ever bother us again.

  245. I voted early a week ago Saturday, in the dank basement of my county courthouse. There was no line at all.

    I’m traveling for work right now, in a different state, so voting on election day was not an option for me.

  246. Yes. It is amazing how good it feels to vote…and how much better it will be not to hear my phone ring constantly!

  247. I voted. Here in DC I don’t get the full franchise, but I am allowed to vote for President, so I of course I did.

  249. I waited for an hour in line to vote early for a third-party candidate. I didn’t want to help the extreme redness of my state. Of course, I also voted for a number of local issues and positions, so those, at least, aren’t wasted votes. My wife waited in line for 2 hours this morning to vote.

  251. Yes, I voted. Walked in to the polling place and was out within 5 minutes. No lines here in Southern Maryland.

    IZ CAT HAPEE NOW?

  253. Voted early in NJ.
    By that, I mean that I was out of the house at 7:30am (grumble grumble, too early to be awake, grumble grumble)

    There were more people than usual at the polling place, which is good. I was completely done within 10 minutes. Nice and easy. Got to vote for the major federal races, school board, and ballot questions.

  254. 1 hour, 45 minutes. My own fault, since my state allows mail in voting and I refrained because we also typically have short lines at the polls.

    I’m going to attribute it to population growth and to people being engaged in the presidential race, a for once somewhat competitive senate race, and a couple of interesting ballot measures. All in all, good things. Lots of young families in line with their children, which is always nice to see.

  255. Damn skippy I voted. I’m in Maryland, and even if I was apathetic about the Presidential race (not quite there yet), there is the massively important Question 6. As much as I loathe the idea of having a popular vote to grant rights, my voice was heard, damnit.

    My roommate and I went together, arriving at our local elementary school at about 8:45. The wait was about 50 minutes or so, which went by pretty fast between conversation with her, my neighbor who was a few places ahead of us in line, and reading up on the SIXTEEN county-specific questions that I hadn’t seen on the sample ballot. Yowsa! Nothing of drastic importance, though; most of the drama was shared by Question 6 and Question 7, the latter about the expansion of casinos and table games here in the state.

    Then? Then we went for breakfast at the locally owned diner down the street. Mm, chipped beef on biscuits.

  256. I grew up in Canada, but voted for the first time in the U.S. — in Texas, no less.

    Tell the cat to stop staring at me. Seriously.

  257. I spent four hours this morning answering the phones for http://www.electionprotection.com, mostly from OH voters.

    Then I went and voted at my precinct in Manhattan, where it took 45 minutes because the poll workers were GODAWFUL SLOW.

    Bill Stewart: I don’t generally like internet voting, and I think it’s very, very dangerous, but I think in the circumstances that parts of NJ are in, it’s a reasonable emergency measure. I just hope it isn’t used as precedent for less-dire situations in the future.

  258. I miss Chang who is not Chang.

    I voted two weeks ago. Here in Texas, we get to vote early for two weeks preceding any election. I had to stand in line then for 15 minutes. Was worth it!

  259. Ok this is strange!

    First off thanks NY for the link. I called them and explained my trouble voting.

    Second is the name of the company making our machines is ES&S (iVotronic system). I wouldn’t have thought anything about them but I looked them up to send a complaint email and I found their address:

    Election Systems & Software
    11208 John Galt Blvd
    Omaha, NE 68137

    Seriously? John Galt? Pretty sure this is coincidence but at least I can laugh about it!

    Am I in the Matrix?

  260. Voted. About twice the usual number of voters for the time of day, more voting and check-in stations and people, so it was fairly quick, maybe twenty minutes total. Usually there’s one or two absentee ballots marked on the page in the rolls where my name is; this time there were nine.

  261. why thank you for asking, vote cat. i, did, in fact vote today.
    when i arrived there were only two people ahead of me. when i left, the line was out the door.
    (i, too, wish that chang who is not chang would return.)

  262. Dear Vote Cat, I mailed in my ballot last week. Unless you’re planning to pop your furry head out of the mail slot and stare balefully at me anyway, we should both be good.

  264. As I said on Facebook: I drove a 250-mile round trip[*] this morning to vote. Your turn.

    *Yes, I had my absentee ballot and failed to mail it in time. Which is not an excuse for not voting.

  265. I volunteered to come to work at 5:30 this morning to open our building (we are a polling place), then stopped on the way home to vote. The whole process took about half an hour, but there are a lot of Florida constitutional amendment issues and local city charter concerns.

    So, do I get to pet the kitty now?

  267. I voted! The small parking lot at the school was packed, but I didn’t have to wait more than five minutes.

  270. Wife and self voted a couple weeks ago. Very convenient. Downside is we don’t get the cool “I Voted” stickers to wear at work.

  272. Just got in from voting. Actual time spent in polling place was about 25 minutes. As I live in Arlington Co., Virginia said polling place will be a real zoo in about an hour.

  273. Voted this morning and dropped off my wife’s absentee ballot. About 20 people in front of me in line or voting when I got there; my ballot was # 109 of in person voting in the precinct of about 1700 registered voters. It sounds like turnout will be good there. The old guy pollworker is still with us, laughing at it all, joked that he still even had his full head of hair approaching 100. I think that’s a good day.

  274. Voted this morning, at an off time so I didn’t have to wait long. (Not that I’ve ever waited more than half an hour to vote in southern California.)

  275. Yes indeed. #513 out of about 1200 in my precinct at 11:15 a.m. Brought my mother-in-law to the polling place to vote also. Four years ago, our town had 85% voter participation. Hoping it is even more this year.

  276. Due to a last-minute meeting @ work for my husband, we were not in line at 7 am. We voted after lunch, at 1:30, and I was #981. We waited about 10 min to vote, which is an improvement from the 7 am wait of 1 hour in 2008. The election judges said it was packed this morning. It’s always swamped when the schools get out because there is a “kids vote” project in our suburb.

    This was my 8th Presidential election as a voter.

    Now I will be in the good graces of Vote Cat. :-)

  277. I voted 2 weeks ago. There have been long lines here in Durham, NC since early voting started, and they continue today. I stopped at the library to drop books off and while the library was closed; the there was a line of people waiting to vote snaking out the side door.

  278. I did vote today, marking the first time I’ve ever visited an actual polling booth. Since I became eligible to vote in the mid-90’s, I took a page out of my dad’s book and signed up for absentee voting because it seemed like a simple, no excuse solution to make my vote count every time. This year, we’ve relocated to MO (courtesy of the US Army) and I decided to change my voter registration because I’m 100% invested in seeing that idiot Todd Akin go down in !@#$%^ flames. I did not, however, change it in time to receive a mail-in ballot. No worries, my first time was painless and very satisfying.

  279. My wife and I voted at 9:00 am at the City Hall in our small town. Now we’re both dreading the insane election night coverage – all we get for cable news channels is Faux News and CNN. One is insane, the other will feature Wolf Blitzer.

  280. I did not vote. It’s not that I did not intend to vote. I went out, got to the polling place and found the end of the line. Now, if everything is working right, and the line only just fills the indoor space available, that would be about an hour and a half in line. Today’s line went out the door and wrapped halfway around the building. My best estimate was that it would be about three hours or more from the end of the line to the voting machine. Unfortunately, while I don’t really count as disabled, I cannot stand up for that long. When I got home, and checked the local news, I discovered that most polling places got way fewer machines than usual. The machines they got were breaking down a lot, too. I don’t like to be this suspicious, but it strikes me that the area with the worst problems turns out to be the only reliably Democratic area in an otherwise very red state.

  284. Pat H, go back to your precinct after work and bring a folding chair. Dress warmly and perhaps bring a blanket. The polling centers officially close at 8 p.m. but if you are already in line at that time the law requires that you and everyone else who is already there be admitted to cast your vote. If anyone tells you differently they are lying to you to discourage you from voting. Don’t let them stop you if you can manage it.

  287. Pat H., it may also be worth contacting your party’s GOTV campaign, provided you’re willing to do so. They may be able to offer assistance — after all, both sides are trying to get their voters out to the polls.

  288. Permanent absentee. I read up on everything, from abolishing the death penalty, to car insurance, to school board and city council. Turns out I had some DEFINITE THOUGHTS on those last two, thanks. Two races were between a Democrat, and a DINO.

    I think people who vote by mail should a) get a sticker anyway b) not have to listen to ads and phone calls and get mail once they’ve voted. SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUP!

    Vote Cat may now judge me for other reasons.

    PS I wish I had been in line with Elizabeth B! I would have sung 1776 with her!

  289. Had an excellent voting experience in Maryland. I went mid-morning, so only had to wait @20 minutes to vote on issues I felt strongly about (and the other ones, too!) Got my I Voted sticker AND got to buy Girl Scout cookies from a local troop located outside the polling place. Win-win-win.

  290. If your polling place has broken machines or huge lines or requests for ID that aren’t legal, SAY SOMETHING. A lot of polls have observers (*cough*) whose very job it is to report this stuff to Persons of Authority. Do not give up and go home. That is what vote-suppression tactics are meant to do.

  291. I voted. I voted for who I considered the lesser evil (because writing in Cthulu is even more pointless and stupid). I chose not to cast a vote in the 7 (SEVEN) races in my district where there was a candidate running unopposed, because Illinois ballots do not offer a none of the above option, nor did they offer a write in option for those offices.

  293. Voted! Had a nice, short walk (in very cold air, but I have a warm coat) and got there at the same time as the parents of a childhood friend of mine, so we had a nice chat. And now I have a sticker!

  294. I live in a highly dem state, but in a highly rep county. There is no way on earth my ballot made a difference (i voted for the hell of it) but there are valid arguments for not voting. Who are you, some random minor Internet personality, to judge me? Please fuck right off, promptly. Whether to vote is just as much a personal choice as who to vote for. Or would you rather voting was a legal requirement, as in Australia?

  295. Voted in Alaska less than an hour ago. As one of the few liberals in the state I’d like to say my piece of the franchise still matters! Apologies in advance for the rest of the dittoheads who’d like to bring back the 18th century.

  296. @gregm, Dunno about Scalzi-san, but I’d vastly prefer voting be a requirement to maintain citizenship. Turn in a blank ballot, if you must be an asshat, but vote. Aside from complete incapability (e.g, in a coma, in jail, in a faraway land with no access to embassy or consulate, or similar circumstances), there’s no valid reason not to vote.

  298. Got back from voting a short while ago, now working on dinner. I think it took us longer to get into the high school parking lot than it did to get our ballots. It turned out we were on the inactive roster, but it wasn’t an issue. No ID needed, just a quick sign-in & then picked up our ballots. Now all we have to do is figure out what to watch on TV instead of election returns.

  299. I am a fellow Ohioan and I voted around 11:30 this morning. There was about a five minute wait. When I drove past the polling place much later in the day, there seemed to be a lot more activity there. I am hopeful for a high voter turn out. Side note: As someone who teaches at a large urban university, I was gratified to hear students discussing the election around campus today. I hope they voted.

  301. Oh yes. I voted today. Wouldn’t miss it for the world. We even ran into a friendly cat en route.

  303. And polls are closed in Ohio (though anyone who got in line by closing time may still vote).

  305. I voted this morning. The election observers were out in force at my polling place. I’m glad they were there, but it’s sad that they’re necessary.

  308. I voted. My polling place was literally a two minute walk which made a nice change from last election driving back roads to some tiny elementary school I’d never heard of.

  309. Not only did I vote, my fourteen year old son demanded I take him with me. He was very interested in the candidates, the issues, the process….

  310. gregm: Who are you, some random minor Internet personality, to judge me?

    lighten up, Francis.

  311. @ gregm & Greg
    In fairness, it isn’t John, it’s Ghlaghghee that’s being all judgy.
    And as important as exercising my franchise is to me, the really critical thing is that I didn’t displease Ghlaghghee. So, whew, dodged that claw!

  312. Indeed I did vote. Once, a long time ago, I didn’t. My guy had a double-digit lead, it was cold, it was wet, so I just blew it off. My guy then lost, ushering in 16 years of reactionary bullshit. I took it personally – OMG that was my fault!!! (Which it totally was) and it has never happened again. And it never will.

  313. I voted. Then I bought some lovely baked goods and a coffee from the high school kids selling them outside the polling place (which is the local school).

  314. Because of my current temp gig, my work hours are 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. My voting place was remarkably uncrowded, there WERE people voting but no line per se. Then again, that is a weird time to be off work, which is one of the reasons I like that shift.

    Now, except for commenting on voting, I am staying away from news channels, etc. for the evening. For the sake of my blood pressure.

  315. Voted at 4pm here in Muncie, IN; no lines. I’ll confess, 2008 was more fun, being an actual battleground state and all. Now we’re back to being taken for granted as a red state.

    Also, now I can plug my phone back in. I disconnected my landline two days ago to stop the frakkin’ robocallers from waking me up, since I sleep in the daytime.

  316. Right back atcha, Ghlaghghee. I have voted, early voting last week, so I deny your judgement. I am in one of the last places that votes, so I am avoiding anything politics-news-wise that might damage my calm.

  317. I voted this morning in northern NJ. Happy to have power. Also happy to have Vote Cat not mad at me. Now back to Rachel and the gang and nail-chewing. (At least the Senate seems to be heading in a good direction.)

  318. So there were people coming into the polls carrying babies, or pushing walkers, or in wheelchairs, or limping along painfully on crutches or canes. They still came in to vote. Some of them were turned away because they didn’t have appropriate ID or were in the wrong precinct. Very few of those didn’t come back with ID or immediately call the hotline to get their precinct number.

    One elderly gentleman stopped to chat with me on his way out; he said that the people on line had been kind enough to let him go ahead of them, because he could no longer stand for any period of time and wouldn’t have been able to vote if he’d had to wait. He was very regretful that this was probably his last time of actually going to the polls and he’d have to vote absentee from now on.

    Voting matters. I am humbled by the actions of the voters today who showed they understand exactly how much it matters.

  319. I voted on Sunday and dropped off my husband’s absentee ballot at the same time; he’s out of state this week.

  320. I voted, after the hubby got out of work, this evening. The line wasn’t too bad, got to see some folks from the neighborhood I hadn’t seen in a while. Voter #996

  322. Not at all surprised. People forget that “liberal” and “Democrat” are not synonyms, and that plenty of blue-collar folks know which party supports labor.

  324. Donald Trump reports: “This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!”

    Fox News won’t accept Ohio has been called.

    Romney’s camp too.

    Gods I hope we don’t have to take this to the Supreme Court to get this straightened out.

    I need a drink

    (another one)

  327. Eventually Colorado will make it a done deal and then we can stop obsessing about counties in VA, OH and FL.

  332. Vote Cat can judge me no longer! I voted this year, for the first time in my life, at age 38. It felt oddly like taking the SAT, except there was no place to sign my name on the ballot…

  333. Audra@4:52, since you registered there to vote against Todd Akin, you’ve earned yourself a nice dark sweet slice of schadenfreude pie, because that dude got stomped!

  334. Late to the party here, but I voted! Even though I’d just come home from the hospital with my two-day-old baby. My sister-in-law turned in my mail ballot for me, which I don’t even remember registering for. Apparently my earlier self was wiser than I realized. I put my sticker on my hospital bracelet as a memento. Now I feel silly about all the times in the past I didn’t vote, for no good reason.

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Athena Scalzi, editor – AMS
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