Your Quadrennial “I Voted!” Thread

Posted on November 8, 2016    Posted by      439 Comments

If you’re a US citizen, it’s time to do the thing, “the thing” being voting. It’s only the future of our country, after all. I like to believe that Whatever readers are the sort who will stick it out in a line to vote. Prove me right please: If you have vote, or when you have vote, let the rest of us know here!

So: Have you voted?

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439 Comments on “Your Quadrennial “I Voted!” Thread”

  3. I voted early! And still had to wait in line, but not as long as I expect them to be today. i hope the turnout breaks records.

  5. I voted. For myself. I ran for Congress here in Tennessee, hoping that the electorate would bail on the incumbent for his unequivocal support of Trump. Yeah, didn’t happen.

  9. I got up early to vote. When I got there, the line was a block long. I tried to vote early, but the office closed before I got there.

  10. My wife and many others voted early in Maryland. So, when I went to vote this morning, before going to work, there was no line to speak of and I didn’t miss any time at work today. I’ve heard that there were record numbers of early voters in many states.

  14. I drove past the polling place on the first day, and there was a long line, so I ended up voting on the second day of early voting in Texas. It was surprisingly sedate. No “poll watchers” or lunatics with guns. Just a couple of nice old ladies who looked up my name and sent me to my voting booth.

  19. At 6:50AM, the machine sucked in my ballot, and told me it was the 50th cast. The other machine apparently had 41 ballots cast. So at one polling location in the Fingerlakes, 91 votes cast in the first 50 minutes.

  20. I voted the day after my ballot came in the mail. All mail in voting is great here in Washington.

  22. Voted. Spent an hour and ten minutes in line with all the other smart folks who went early to beat the lines. Nobody grumbled or complained. There was talking and laughing. Thanked the poll workers who have a long day ahead of them.

  23. I’ve voted at 8:00 ET. The line seems shorter than in the past, but maybe that is a bit of inflated expectations on turnout on my part.

  26. Voted here in Union, OH (only 15min SE of Scalzi! ) about half an hour ago. Unusually long ~25min wait, so lots of other people are also getting their suffrage on.

  29. I voted this morning. My wife who was supposed to be away at a conference voted absentee. Our daughter voted early with her grandmother. My son will be voting for the first time (the first election he’s eligible for) later today – or may have done so by now.

    I drove to work with “Land of Hope and Dreams” on repeat, singing along.

  30. Voted, as soon as the poll opened; that is as soon as is possible, non-absentee, here in MS. I hope I was not the only one in the line to vote for Hillary, but seeing as it is MS….

  31. I took my 19 year old daughter to vote in her first presidential election this morning! We voted for the first major party female candidate! And now I have to suck it up for the rest of the day because I work with a bunch of Trump supporters… :/ It felt amazing to share that experience with my kid, though. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more patriotic.

  32. Bah. There was supposed to be a “<waves>” in there after the “Scalzi!”, but I forgot that WordPress absorbs the angle braces as HTML. Feh.

  33. I got to my polling place at 5:57 thinking I would be able to walk right in at 6:00. The 100 people in front of me obviously had the same idea. I was done by 6:40 which is much better than the three plus hours for the last several presidential elections.

  35. I voted over two weeks ago. My mind was made up and it stops all the calls on local elections.

  37. Voted this morning a little after 7. Maybe twenty people in line, and we were done in 15 minutes. Wore my cowboy hat to ward off any renegade Trumpians, though that turned out to be unnecessary. That’s okay though…Stetsons are cool.

  38. No early voting in Missouri, so I voted this morning at 7:15AM. It was the first time I can remember having to stand in line. Not the long lines you get in urban areas, but still looking like a heavy turnout here. My vote for Hillary won’t mean much (Trump will coast to a win in Missouri), but there were a lot of other things at stake: Governor, Senator, Attorney General, several amendments to the state constitution. The entire ballot is important!

  43. I vote every two years. I find (particularly in my state) that the presidential election is far less important than the myriad of other things on the ballot.

  45. Nebraskan living in Tokyo, voted by mail two weeks ago. I’d have voted sooner but it took me a while to wrap my brain around the language of the death penalty referendum.

  46. I voted this morning!

    Related info from a poli-sc lecture I went to over the weekend (offspring is touring colleges): early voting is not associated with higher voting rates.

  48. Voted early on October 29. Killed multiple birds with one stone by (1) walking to the polls for some exercise, (2) renewing my library membership while I was at the polling location, (3) picking up dog medication on my way back, and (4) voting, of course.

  59. I voted last week in Florida. I have been nervously watching my state flip from blue to red to blue on prediction maps. Come on, fellow Floridians.

  61. Nope. That would be because I’m one of those evil immigrants :-P. But I’m spending the day doing poll transport in NY-19. A rare chance to have a local race that’s close.

  62. Voted two weeks ago via mail (thank you Oregon). Now it’s just a nerve wracking 18 hours or so until we know if enough of our nation has collectively shouted ‘get thee behind me Spraytan!’.

  64. I just got home. Pretty nice line for such a small town, although lots of voting machines so things moved pretty quickly.

    Also, remember that while you may be having to stand in line for a bit, the poll workers are taking care of that line the whole day. Do NOT forget to say thank you.

  67. Took an hour and a half in Northwest DC, but I did it and bought myself an orange-cranberry muffin as a prize (plus it helps send the eighth graders to Costa Rica).

  68. I voted, mail-in, about a week ago.

    NJ had a problem with envelopes not being printed correctly. When some people mailed-in their completed ballot it was delivered back to them. My husband’s ballot went through, mine came back. I had to call a hotline number, wait for a new envelope to arrive (about 5 days), then remail it.

    Worth it, of course.

  69. It’s my first time living in a state with early voting, so I availed myself of that excellent option a week ago. Ours was not mail-based – it was in person, and I thanked the excellent polling staff there. We saw 5 other couples come in to vote during our time there.

  72. Voted ten days ago (TX). Stood in line a little over an hour to vote; usually, early voting, there’s no one there but poll workers and me and spouse, so, good to see a nice turnout. Not much grumbling; only a couple of people left the line and they were muttering about coming back after work. My part of Texas is generally quite purple; in fact, as this county goes, so goes the nation, for the last umpteen elections. Certainly the others in line were a nicely mixed bag (as is the neighborhood), and I didn’t even see any Confederate battle flags on any of the vehicles in the (full) parking lot, though we did have to walk past that one house that flies it 24/7 to get to the polling place. All in all, remarkably civil, especially for an election season that has been sadly–not.

  76. I’m a US expat. I received my absentee ballot by email back in September and posted it on the next day. I’ve confirmed on my state’s website that they’ve received it. My state is one of the battleground states that heavily leans blue, so I’m hoping my one vote will make it a little bluer.

  77. I voted today in Rochester NY, where some people put their “I voted today” stickers on the headstone of Susan B. Anthony. I understand that a billboard has been set up to receive the stickers after the small headstone is covered.

  78. I voted last Thursday. This was the first time Massachusetts had early voting. My city reported yesterday that 30% of the registered voters took advantage of early voting. (Turnout in previous years has been around 70%, so that’s a good start.)

  80. Voted a week and a bit ago (hooray for early voting) – no line! And an adorable gal whose first election it was – the whole room gave her a round of applause.

  81. I plan to leave work around 1:00 to go vote. So while technically I should not be commenting here yet, I wanted to provide this next item to my fellow Whatever-ers in time for it to be actionable. :-)

    I wholeheartedly endorse the following handy election tip from sci-fi author Mark Van Name’s blog (http://markvanname.blogspot.com/):

    “First, vote. … Next, consider picking up a little safety cake. The idea behind safety cake, a concept my family has embraced for some time now (and just possibly invented), is that when you’re worried about a momentous event, you pick up (or bake) some delicious cake. If the event goes the way you want, you celebrate with…cake! If the event goes against your wishes, you console yourself with…cake! Either way, you have cake.”

    Let’s hope it’s “celebration cake” today!

  83. Voted on the way to work this morning. I live in a rural area of NY, so we were voters #42 and 45. There was a line 3 people long. =0

  84. I voted absentee weeks ago. My plan is to flip on the tube around 9pm (Central) to see where results sit and watch things role in.

  85. I voted four or five weeks ago. Girlfriend was one of the first locally when MN opened early voting.

  86. I voted a couple of weeks ago. No lines. No stress. I may stop by my polling station later today just to see what I missed out on .

  87. I voted back in late October at a polling place that was conveniently next to a restaurant where I have a regular meeting with friends. I picked the wrong time to of day to vote as the line was 15-20 minutes long. An hour later a friend went there to vote and there was no waiting! It’s all about timing.

  88. I filled out my ballot two weeks ago and spent months educating myself beforehand. Voting is something I take very seriously. My students had a mock vote yesterday and we talked about the election. One of the big themes was responsibility. Another was respect and tolerance for people that you disagree with.

  91. I voted on my way into work this morning! Happy to report the polling location was busy, but moving quickly and efficiently.

  95. Mail-in ballots dropped off weeks ago. We’ve gone out for three canvassing shifts, and will do a couple more hours of GOTV work today before settling in to anxiously watch the returns. Go Colorado!

  96. Voted last Saturday before early polling closed here in NM. Also got registered as a VRA last year, so I spent a lot of time getting people moved to one of the two main parties so they could participate in the primaries. Hopefully the numbers help.

  97. Okay, done. Took the day off to vote at my leisure. Saw this post around 10:00, thought “Yep, this is as good a time as any,” voted. No line when I arrived but a small one had formed by the time I was leaving, so thanks for your post that prompted me to get my heinie over there!

    Old aggie, thanks for sharing Mark Van Name’s excellent tip. As it happens, I have ginger snaps on hand for that very purpose.

    My guess is that the outline of Ohio is supposed to represent a heart? To me, it looks like an open book, but then I’m a librarian. “I Book Voting!”

    Enormous thanks to everyone who helps at the polls, or helps get people registered or to the polls. Heroes.

  98. I mailed in my ballot over a week ago. Say what you want about California, it sure is easy to cast your vote here. Getting through all the initiatives is another matter…

  99. Voted early last weekend. Props to everyone working the polls who handled big lines with with grace. Big shout out to all the other citizens in line who were polite, enthusiastic and cared about our future.

  100. I voted on the way to work this morning. Larger crowd than most years but I may have hit prime ‘on the way to work’ time. Better signage for the alphabet split lines, which was nice.

  101. I voted this morning. Long line, but it moved quickly and the whole thing took a half-hour. We also have judges on our ballot (in New York City) and in the best Soviet style, I got to choose nine judges from a slate of nine.

  103. Voted in St Louis. 30 min in line but was nice. I just became a citizen in August so this was my first presidential election. Feeling good!

  105. Voted early in New Mexico (about 2 weeks ago) Expect to see madhouse when I drive past the polls today!

  106. I voted early this morning in a deep blue suburb on the edge of the Imperial Capital. The line was short and moved quickly.

  108. Voted this past Saturday, last day for early voting in my state. Waited in line two and a half hours to do so, worth every minute. Tomorrow I’m calling the offices of whoever wins my local state senator & state rep elections to congratulate and to press for making early voting easier in this state. (I haven’t phoned a politician’s office in over a decade – since I’m not in the party that thoroughly dominates state politics, I have no illusions about my congressfolk actually heeding my opinions on most issues – but given the number of voters who turned out on Saturday alone, I’m betting this issue will wind up transcending partisan politics.)

  109. DH & I voted on Oct 27, the first day of early voting here in MD. Had to stand in line, but MD is such a safe blue state that probably doesn’t signify anything.

  111. Voted with my youngest son week before last. Crowded. My wife mentioned last night that our two sons have voted only for an African American president and a woman president in their first two elections. I could not have even conceived of such a possibility during my first two elections over 40 years ago. Time to pile on: next president a Latinx followed by a LGBTQ president followed by an openly atheist president, etc.

    Question for Scalzi: if you took the picture of the “I voted” sticker in your hand, what (I assume) Photoshop filter did you use?

  112. I voted.

    Turnout was high in my very rural VA county: 397 votes cast by 10 a.m., and people still coming. I know the count because we had to fill out paper ballots and then feed them through a machine which counted (and presumably recorded) them.

  113. Voted just about 15 minutes ago. The polling place was full, but no lines, and as I exited, I overheard a couple of people coming in who were there because friends had texted them that the wait time was next to nothing. A little bit of kefruffle at the beginning when the tablet-based check-in system kept giving back a “make sure reader is attached…” error message, but that was quickly resolved. There were a couple of men in somewhat creepy black uniforms.keeping an eye on things, but I couldn’t see the insignia well enough to determine just whom they represented (I suspect Trump Troops, because where I live is notoriously liberal).

  114. My state has all mail ballots, so I voted in the comfort of my home a week and a half ago and then delivered my ballot and my daughter’s ballot to the drop box. First presidential election she voted in!

  115. Civic Duty: Handled. Garden Grove, CA. Polls opened at 0700, slight bottleneck at the check-in, but was in and out in fifteen minutes, including all seventeen statewide propositions. No tomfoolery to speak of, just polite folks Doing The Thing.

  116. Voted a few weeks ago when it opened up here in Tennessee. The mountain next to me being on fire right now is a little on the nose.

  117. I voted! I live in northern Virginia and have never run into a significant line when voting here, including in the 2012 election. Today? Out the door, around the corner. One hour wait, and when I got inside a volunteer told me that when they opened the door at 6 AM there were so many people lined up already that the last of them took 90 minutes to get to the front. And they had four people processing voters, which in other years would have been total overkill. So yeah, good turnout.

    Also, a 4:1 ratio of D to R poll watchers. Can’t say I’m shocked about that.

  118. I voted two weeks ago at a satellite location; I’ve read that Indiana has the lowest turnout in the country, and given the two-hour wait at that time, I can understand why. There were three public libraries in the county open for early voting – mine had 5 machines available. (When I worked the polls in my old county, we had 3 machines per precinct for Election Day voting.)

  119. My early voting was extra-early. I voted on September 23rd, less than an hour after the Secretary of State in CT released our ballot.

  120. Got to the polling place 20 minutes before it opened. There were already about a dozen people there and by the time the doors open, the line stretched down the block. Went pretty fast once they let us in, though since it’s all paper ballots here and no voting machines.

  121. I had to wait in line for two and a half hours to early vote in Louisiana two weeks ago. Now I’m living in Wisconsin where the electorate looks

  122. Now I’m living in Wisconsin where the electorate looks at least a bit more like me politically. :/

  124. Voted early which here in NC was definitely a political statement, more than usual now that our state legislature has reduced early voting availability. Lines were over an hour, and THAT was in a white, suburban area. Word is it’s significantly worse in areas with large African-American populations.

  125. Spouse and I voted early in Maryland. Not that it made a difference in this heavily blue state but everyone in the long line was energized. Go her!

  127. Yes, just voted at the tiny community church near Mason, Tennessee, about 12 miles from my house. There were plenty of machines and no waiting, This is a VERY Republican rural area. I noticed no Hillary signs at all clustered by the driveway entrance. On the good side, though, there IS a Democrat running for the state legislature for the first time in a while here.

  132. We have all mail ballots here in Colorado. I voted two weeks ago. Our Secretary of State’s website says it was received and will be counted. Stay blue, Colorado!

  133. Last Sunday in sunny Livermore (CA), dropping off permanent-absentee at the city hall dropbox. Every. Single. Damn. Initiative as well. Prediction: CA will have two female Democrat Senators–100% certainty (hope: the new one will be truly multiracial). Hope: the good folks in Orange County will get rid of the persecutor-in-chief in the House.

  134. I voted. took 18 minutes from getting in line until walking out with the “I voted” sticker.

  135. Voted! At 6:30 a.m., since I work 50 miles from home. And I’m wearing a homemade button to prod others to vote. (At the polls, they give you a little round sticky decal. I stuck it on a piece of paper and binder-clipped to my neckline. I am grace personified.)

  137. My library is offering early voting this year – yay! Anyone in Suburban Cook County can early vote in a wide assortment of places. I voted last week. We were told we had 800 people vote on the first day. 1,600 this past weekend. The lines were out the door, so I’m grateful we had such nice weather. Illinois is a tough ballot, because a lot of people are really unhappy with the longtime democrats and our state’s fiscal nightmare. Now I’m just anxiously waiting.

  138. Why, yes, yes I did vote. About a week ago–the first time Massachusetts has had early voting, and it was a breeze. I actually enjoy the whole waiting in line thing. I’ll talk with anybody (who’s comfortable with that kind of thing) but it was my son’s first time and I knew he would be uncomfortable with the crowds, so we strolled into our local early polling place and got it done. My younger child will vote today with their father.

  139. I voted this morning, since there’s no early voting in my state, only absentee voting. I left to take my four year old to school an hour early so he could go with me, and it took us about 30 minutes. (I’ve rarely waited more than 10 minutes at my polling place.) I feel so relieved.

  142. PS. Added bonus, many early voters visited the library for the first time and/or got library cards!

  143. Dropped off my ballot in the ballot box at the library a couple of weeks ago on my way home from work. When I got there, I asked the person in front of me if she’d like a ride home (my wife had walked over from home to drop her ballot off).

    When I stopped by the library last night to pick up a book, I was happy to see several people dropping off their ballots. It’s very likely that it will be the highest turnout in Oregon this year.

    (I keep getting emails with the subject “Find your polling place.” I always wonder what they’d tell us for Oregon, which is entirely vote-by-mail. Today, the only place to vote in person is the county elections office.)

  145. Long Island, New York represent!

    I vote this morning on the way to work. There weren’t any lines, but there was a steady stream of voters and I was number 276 in my district.

    Let the nailbiting commence.

  146. Cripes, I think my New York absentee ballot went into the mailbox well over a month ago.

    I’m grateful that it’s not like the Greek elections, though. Although they’ve probably got the right of it by scheduling their elections on a Sunday, there’s no way to know which Sunday that’s going to be, because it’s a parliamentary system and the government can call snap elections.

    On the other hand, there’s no such thing as absentee voting, and your polling station is in the district where you were born, regardless of whether you’ve moved elsewhere in the interim. Which can be a headache if that district is on one of the outlying islands, especially if it’s out of season and the ferries aren’t running as regularly, which could make it a three- or four-day trip to cast your vote…

  147. Yep! About a week ago. So many propositions in California. Something tells me this isn’t what Hiram Johnson had in mind…

  150. Yes, I voted as soon as mail-in absentee voting opened up in my state. I was hoping that would make the campaigns disappear, but apparently it doesn’t work like that.

  151. Dropped my and my wife’s ballots off at the county regitrar’s drop-off box last week. Didn’t even have to get out of the car!

  152. Yep, first thing this morning. 2-1/2 hours after the polls opened here in NYC, I was #75 in my district. A good sign, I think.

  153. Why are there still places that require standing in line to vote? Doesn’t make sense.

    And another thing … Voters Pamphlets – they also make fantastic sense. Enough said.

  154. voted! early last week, doing my part to turn Texas a little more blue

    RJ, the header pic looks like a Prisma filter to me. Its a separate photo editing app with some really cool artsy/abstract filters and you can upload your edited photos to anything from it.

  157. 2 hours, 12 minutes in the early voting lines in Oklahoma last week. Four days later I have baked: two double batches of Chocolate Chip Cookies, one double batch of muffins, and all the frozen cookie dough I had on hand. I’m still stressed, but at least my church’s election day bake sale is well stocked!

  159. I voted at about 1030 EST today. The ‘line’ was 3 deep, so not really. I could have done it early but opted not to. FWIW, I vote in pretty much every election. After all, I’m more effected by local politics than national politics.

  161. Mailed in my Washington state ballot ten days ago. Now just hunkering down, as I’m staying with relatives in Texas who think Fox News dispatches come straight from the throne of God…it’s going to be a long day….

  163. I managed to actually wake up early before work to vote. Am happy I managed it.

  165. Living in a largely but not exclusively vote-by-mail state, I filled out my ballot 2 weeks ago and finally got around to dropping it off at the county election warehouse 1 week ago.

  166. Voted blue.

    They didnt have the stickers though.

    Please let that be my biggest dissappoinment of the day.

  168. Voted early in Texas, looks like I’m roughly the 5th or 6th person on the thread weighing in from TX. My local early voting spot had a dozen machines set up, every one was occupied when I got there. Good to see early voting turnout was high.

    I think Trump will win Texas’ electoral votes, but I suspect it will be closer than other recent elections. I see a LOT of GOP signs out in my neighborhood, but very, very few Trump ones. (Actually only one Trump sign.)

  170. I voted first thing this morning at my local ballet school. There was a sign that said we had to take off our tiaras before entering the room. I was sad that I didn’t have a tiara to take off.

  171. No early voting in Pennsylvania so I went at opening of polls this morning to elect the first woman president in honor of the real Susan B Anthony who was arrested in the 19th century when she tried to vote.

  172. I turned in my absentee ballot this morning! I got all teary thinking about my grandma and the other amazing ladies I knew who never lived to see today. They’d all be so thrilled and also pissed that it took so long!

  175. I voted, two weeks ago, by mail. Given the numbers of initiatives in CA, individual voting could take 10-15+ minutes per person. I was happy to sit comfortably with my voter’s guide and internet at hand for research as I filled out my ballot. Took me more than 30 minutes what with careful reading.

  176. Another Oregon voter here. Filled out my ballot over the weekend and dropped it in a drop box in downtown Portland yesterday. I like waiting until just around election day to drop my ballot off – it give me the convenience of mail-in voting with the solidarity of voting when everyone else is also voting.

    So far, Oregon has over 50% “turnout” among registered voters as of yesterday (11/7) morning. This is going to be a big turnout election for us, and I hope that’s a sign for other, more competitive states.

  177. I voted!

    Waited in line like 10 minutes, checked in with name/address, no ID required, everything went smooth, my paper ballot was scanned just fine… basically the system worked well for me. But, then again I live in a rather white/upper-middle-class suburb in Maryland. Heck, my polling place is maybe 500 meters from my house, so even the Indian government would probably be OK with it (In India they try for polling places within 2km of every voter, and less that 1500 voters per polling place. http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1/the_function.aspx#howthevoting ).

  179. Watched 3 episodes of “The Prisoner” with my daughter, then voted. The next episode, coincidentally, is “Free for All.”

  180. We don’t have early voting in VA without a specific need, but I was in line before the polls opened with about 50 others. Looks like it’s going to be a really solid turnout this year!

  181. I voted. Unfortunately, the majority of the state races were unopposed and I saw no point in voting for an unopposed candidate that I disliked. so only 1 state race was voted for and 1 local race was voted for.

  182. I voted at around 8:00 this a.m. (Minneapolis, MN.) Waited in line for maybe 15 minutes. And afterwards I walked over to Glam Doll Donuts to reward myself for being a good citizen.

  183. I have vote. Vote is mine. Vote cannot be taken away. If someone tries, I will hit them on head.

    I have also voted — did so a few weeks ago, huzzah for early voting. And my ma’s voting today!

  184. I voted 3 days ago at 0840; got there at 0715, already a line. Lots of Trump posters outside, not a single Clinton one. At least she’ll get 1 vote from Indiana, hopefully more.

  185. I love elections days. I voted, enthusiastically, not just on the local/state/national races, but also on California’s 17 initiatives. The presence of those 17 initiatives suggests a problem with our politics and our notions of direct vs. representative democracy, but since the questions are being put to voters, I did my part and voted on them.

  186. Been there (by absentee ballot), done that — didn’t get a T-shirt, though.
    Folks, fight for your right to fight for the right! (But not necessarily the Right [or the Left, or…].)

  189. I voted early, as soon as I could. I’m really enjoying seeing all of the early voters announce, and today, my social media feed is all voting selfies all the time. I’m loving it, and glad to see the roll call here as well. (Also can’t wait for the political ads to go away!)

  190. I dropped my absentee ballot in the mail Friday. I miss going to vote in person but now that I’ve moved, it’s no longer convenient. I’ll be watching the results tonight and hopefully will cry with joy as we elect our first woman president.

  191. I just got back from voting. Also dropped off my wife and sons absentee ballots. Proudly wearing my sticker.

  192. Voted on the Space Coast of sunny Florida. No line although I don’t know what that means. I haven’t voted on election day in 8 years and I don’t think we had early voting then. Also, this year being retired I went in the middle of the morning rather than at 7 AM with all the other people on their way to work. Both of those things would have reduced the line. I had to vote after I promised Ike from the Clinton campaign that I would.

  193. Voted this morning. Google said Tennessee poles opened at 7 am. I made it there by 7:20 only to find that they wouldn’t open until 8 am. Fortunately, being there early got me in and out relatively quickly once they were open…and that line was growing like kudzu when I left. Straight Democratic ticket to 1) do my part to keep the rabid, spray-tanned homunculus away from the nuclear launch codes and 2) to try to dilute the Republican control on Congress that has been following a policy of “if we don’t like what we see, we’ll just stop doing our jobs”.

  194. Voted. I live in a very small town. Normally, I am the 50th or 80th person–maybe–to vote at my polling place, and I usually get there around 10 or 11 am. Today? 11am, #261.

  196. Voted by mail, about a week ago. Admonished all eligible students to register and vote multiple times this fall quarter. Now we wait.

  197. I voted by mail a couple of weeks ago, and verified over the weekend that the Registrar of Voters has received my ballot. For me, the only downside of voting by mail is that I didn’t get a sticker.

  200. WA voter – I walked my ballot to a drop-off station (saved myself a stamp!) two weeks ago.

  201. From Columbia County, NY. Was number 17 in my district at 6:15 AM. Things went very smoothly. On the way out noticed the later arrivals were already parking on the road by the polling station as the lot was full. It will be interesting to see what the overall turnout is relative to elections in recent years.

  202. I voted very early. My hubby and I made a date to go when they had early voting, AND… considering I live in the other “swing” state (Florida), I would like to think that my vote really does count. :)

  206. An hour in line in upstate New York. Early morning, too.

    Even if you’re in a state that traditionally goes the color of the candidate you want, the rest of your ticket still matters.

  208. Voted by mail a couple weeks ago. Apparently Montana is surprisingly progressive when it comes to making sure folks can vote – just sign up for a mail-in ballot and you don’t have to wait in line. They also produce a nice informational packet on all the ballot issues that is included with your mail-in ballot.

    Go Hillary and fingers crossed for the Dems to at least have a tie in the senate!

  212. Voted yesterday in Chicago; took me my lunch hour, but definitely worth it for the peace of mind. Now my remaining contribution to democracy (I typoed that democrazy, lolsob) is taking sandwiches to the local Senate campaign office so they don’t fall over in their final hours.

  214. Just got back from the polls (MN). Moderate line, minimal waiting. Still 12x more people than the last three times I’ve been to that polling location. Yay for more people voting!

  216. I got in line to vote at 6AM and voted at 6:32AM. It was a really long line for that time of the morning.

  217. I voted days ago. And then, after realizing that I was spending waaaaaaay too much time following the election and news (see Whatever column last week), clicking on Politico every hour, reading the NYT, watching AC, etc., etc., etc., I decided to call a news boycott and have actually not watched a single newscast, read a single news article (except my local suburban paper which doesn’t have national news), or even watched comedy shows that comment on the news for nearly a week. This is a record setter for me. The boycott officially ends at 5pm PST, after which time I will no doubt by glued to election returns.

  219. I up and votinated here in Grand Rapids, MI right at 7am. Already well over a hundred people in line ahead of me for the two precincts at my place of polling. Was great to see so many people actually participating in democracy, rather than just complaining about it on Facebook.

  220. Early ballot about two weeks ago. As usual, annoyed that the Arizona Democratic Party can’t be bothered to run even a token opponent against my Congressthing Trent Franks. So a Green Party candidate got that vote.

  221. I wish there was early voting here in NY. I voted on the way to work, no lines. I think I’ll vote again on the way home…. Oh wait…. :^)

  222. Yet another Washington State mail-in voter. But also a procrastinator so didn’t fill the ballot out until Sunday night and my wife dropped them off Monday.

    I wish I felt some relief but only the actual election is over. Everything else is just beginning. This election has exposed a lot of worrisome stuff, and even more has slithered out from under various rocks on its own power.

  223. Voted in DC on October 29 (satellite voting station in Ward 3, six blocks from my house).

  224. Peoria, IL….voted early two weeks ago. Kept my “I Voted” sticker for today and am wearing it proudly!

  225. (Mentioned this in the previous thread, but, you know, “vote early and often”.)

    Voted this morning around 6:15, I was #8.

    As someone who is more than one letter in LGBTetc., this election (esp. down-ticket contests) is personal for me.

  227. Mailed in my vote last week. With 21 propositions on the ballot (my friends in San Francisco had 42!) in addition to all of the races, I wouldn’t think of doing it any other way than leisurely at home, with reference materials in front of me and my wife to discuss things with.

    Having voted hasn’t done a thing to lower my stress about this election.

  230. I voted at around 7:30 this morning in Fairlawn, OH (suburb of Akron). In and out within 10 minutes, including a stop at the bake sale. I saw a helpful volunteer from the Summit County Democratic Party, but no others. The ladies at the table said they had a line waiting for them when the polls opened at 6:30, and it was steady going since then. I was #66 to vote in my precinct. Let’s do this!!!

  231. Voted! Took the day off from work weeks ago to do so. Polling place near enough to walk to, stood in line an hour and a half. But now begins, as Tom Petty once sang, the hardest part—the waiting.

  232. I voted by mail, since I’m spending today in Cincinnati doing outside poll monitoring. So far everything has been very peaceful, with steady streams of voters but no lines.

  233. A week or so ago. Yay permanent absentee ballot. Much respect to all the folks waiting in crazy long lines to vote.

  234. I voted absentee a couple of weeks ago in Alabama, since I’m working up coincidentally close to our OGH this week, but I had to share this story posted to Facebook by a good friend whose 20-year-old Cerebral Palsy inflicted son voted for the first time today:

    Poll workers pointed Benjamin to the low “accessible” voting stand and he made his way through the other booths to get there. Once there his chair didn’t fit between the legs so I tried to maneuver him so that one leg was between the footplates of his wheelchair so that he was close enough to see the ballot.
    Me: “Tell me what to check and I can push the buttons for you.”
    Benjamin: “No. I have to cast my own ballot. Can you lean me forward?”
    Benjamin’s spine is fused. He doesn’t bend forward. I had to push his entire body forward up and out of his chair so that he could stretch his arm farther than it really can stretch in order to push the buttons with his ONE finger that does what he tells it to do.
    B: “Let me look over everything to double-check it is correct.”
    As he pushed the “cast ballot” button — stretching with all his might — I glanced at his face. He was smiling from ear to ear.
    So now I say to you, get up and vote. I can’t imagine you have any excuses that top those this young man could have used today, but refused.

  235. I voted a couple of weeks ago, although in the scarlet state of Texas, my vote is more symbolic than anything. Still, I will always vote.

  240. Yep, three days ago. My husband and I took turns staying with the baby so each of us could go. Considering that my husband is down with either strep or tonsilitis today, I’m doubly grateful we didn’t wait.

  241. Voted about 10:30 AM in Allentown, PA. I was #234 of about 600 registered voters at that polling place. Unfortunately, I had to listen to the man in front of me tell his friend about how certain he is that “they can rig the election, even though they say they can’t.” Sigh.

  243. Since the default in Colorado is to allow mail-in voting (although, as always, I dropped off our ballots rather than mailing them), we voted a week ago.

  244. Last Monday. Been there, done that, got the sticker, forgot it in my shirt pocket and ran it through the laundry.

  247. Voted for the lesser of two weasels today. Felt obligated to vote strategically being in a swing state and all. Florida early voting has longer lines than on election day because early voting sites are about 1/20th the number of sites open on election day, maybe even worse.

  248. I costly vote at about 9:40 this morning. While voting in my heavily Democratic precinct in Louisville appeared to be a bit heavier than normal, I would be very surprised if the orange one does not carry Kentucky handily. I do have some slight hope that Jim Grey will upset Rand Paul in their Senate race and/or that the Kentucky House will remain as the only Democratic controlled state legislature in the South.

  251. Yep, On October 11th, first day of Early Voting. Then stopped listening to all the garbage. And blocked 22 phone numbers at the house.

  253. Mailed my ballot on Friday. Drove in to the P.O. parking lot behind a car with a huge TRUMP bumper sticker – sorry, sport, your ship is sinking fast.

  255. Voted absentee a few weeks ago. I was able to confirm that my ballot was received last week.

  256. onyxpnina If you haven’t bought the booze already it’s probably too late. This election is like a hurricane, by the time it hits the stores are all out of D cell batteries, plywood…and booze.

  257. Voted this morning, got my sticker, put it on the “lapel” of my Clinton “Pantsuit Up” T-shirt.

  258. I voted. THe orange buffoon will still win. One of my co-workers has a good reason for not voting for Clinton- her husband bombed her country (Serbia). Can’t really argue with that stance.

  260. Voted this morning. Took my daughter with me and as we walked to the where I vote, talked about the Suffragettes and how women and minorities had to fight for the right to vote. As we are in California, we also talked about the Propositions on the ballot, she said made her head hurt. (She’s a 5th grader.) I told her that it also give adults headaches, but that I haven’t missed an election since I turned 18 and I wasn’t going to stop now.

  263. Voted! Walked over at about 11:00 am, was walking home in about 45 minutes; lines were about standard for a presidential election, but we’ve recently separated polling places (two precincts used to use the school gym) so maybe that counts as “longer than usual”? Anyway, no problems that I could see, and I’m glad to have it done.

  265. I voted this past Thursday. Line-waiting and voting took about 20 minutes. The line took some time, but we had 20 Honolulu Charter questions to vote on as well as national and local candidates. Filling in all those boxes took time, but I had at least done my research beforehand.

    In addition to avoiding big lines today, I also got to get my vote in before the national election was called.

  268. Washington voter — Dropped off my ballot and my daughter’s last night (our ballot is so long it would cost 68 cents each to mail — multiple initiatives and referenda).

  270. Got to the poll before it opened, was 6th in line. By the time I left the line was thirty deep.

  271. Voted for Hillary. Dropped off ballot a couple of weeks ago. Wanted the GOTV to go towards someone else. Donald was asking people to vote twice in Colorado, but I hope once will be enough.

  273. My fiancee and I voted early; I dropped off our ballots a couple of weeks ago.

    Then I put up a sign on the door of our apartment saying “Attention political canvassers: We have sent in our ballots already. Don’t waste your time. Thank you!”

    This morning I looked at that sign, and someone had written on the bottom of it, adding a smiley face and the comment, “Thank you for voting!”

    So there’s that.

  276. Dropped our ballots at the mobile polling station at the library two weeks ago, just so we could get stickers. That’s three of us voting in Washington State, straight Democratic ticket, and even went to the trouble of looking up a write-in Dem candidate for state treasurer.

    I made chocolate pots de creme, with cinnamon whipped cream, and shoved a bottle of prosecco in the fridge for later. It’s not cake, but it’s good.

    As digitalatheist said, please thank your poll workers: I did time as an elections judge and it’s a very long day, mostly boring, with occasional bouts of cranky/belligerent people. No one there is doing it for the money.

  277. Voted in MA this morning. Short line (maybe 5-10 minutes wait) moving fast, so high throughput. My brother has been doing door-to-door GOTV in Western PA and he says the Comey/emails thing has definitely had its effect – a lot of undecideds, and having an impact against Democrats in down-ballot choices. He’s freaked out, but holding strong.

  278. Voted! Walked to my polling place and then got home to realize that I locked myself out… Yep. I feel dumb now.

    Now I have wait for me roommate to get his lazy butt out of bed and let me in. Oh well. At least I voted. :)

  279. Voted a week ago last Friday. No qualms, no remorse, fingers still crossed, still with Her and all things blue.

  280. I did the early voting thing just under two weeks ago. The outcome for President is a foregone conclusion here in Massachusetts and most of the other offices were uncontested, but we have four statewide ballot questions this year plus a fifth one here in Boston.

  283. I voted early two weeks ago. I had to due to my job. I work for the Clerk of Court and we have to work as election officials at the polls on election days. I like to vote on election day so I can see neighbors that I don’t normally see. Every one who can vote should do so. Make your voice heard. Strike a blow for Liberty! Men and women have died to preserve our right to vote!

  286. I voted last Thursday. It took 45 minutes. The polling place ran like a fine, Swiss watch, but the line was huge!

  288. I mailed in my vote a couple of weeks ago, but I got to haul the twenty-three-year-old to the drop box this morning because she hadn’t. Living in a blue state is kind’a cool… we had an initiative for a carbon tax!

  289. No line this morning. One of my neighbors was getting checked in ahead of me when I arrived, and another came in after me while they were trying to find my name on the rolls. We all said hi.

    Today’s ballot had the US president, US senate, US house, state senate, state assembly, a judicial race, BART board, school board, community college board, seventeen state propositions, twenty-four city/county propositions, and a BART bond, so voting took a while.

    I got myself a latte after as a reward for my civic virtue.

  292. Voted almost 2 weeks ago in MA at the town hall. Found a parking spot across the street, in and out in 10 minutes.

  294. I voted a week or two back, by mail, from another state.

    Woulda been cool if all the political calls and ads had therefore stopped. Cool, but also creepy.

  295. I voted early on Sunday in Oakland, where they scanned but didn’t flag the camping knife I had forgotten was in my backpack. Turnout was huge and everybody was cheerful. Election instructions were in nine languages: English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, and Hindi.

  296. Voted this morning on my way to work and brought my 12 year old daughter with me. She likes to come, plus her Social Studies teacher is giving some sort of bonus points for doing so. She asked smart questions, like why various candidates were on the ballot more than once (i.e. Trump/Pence listed as Republican and also Conservative, Clinton/Kaine for both Democrat and Working Families.)

  297. I voted a week and a half ago. I work at a library that is also a polling place, and tonight I will be the librarian who stays behind after closing to lock up once the election judges have finished their jobs and cleaned up their equipment. Meanwhile I will be frantically hitting refresh on my phone to see the latest results!

  299. Early voting last month. The county election office says they set records for number of early ballots cast, I haven’t heard any counts for the polling places today.

    I also checked with my aunt and uncle to make sure their mail-in ballots were dropped off (yes).

    @TrooperBari, no matter how the NE death penalty vote goes, I’m betting a hot fudge sundae the result will be challenged on the grounds that the mandatory phrasing of the referendum made normal legalese look like “See Spot Run”. When election boards have to hold town meetings to explain which space to mark to get which result ….

  300. Mailed mine in last week. In California, it helps to either take the ballot open-book, or write out a cheat sheet to take into the polling booth.

    Years ago, as a classroom teacher, I registered permanent absentee (thank you, California!) because I had to be at work when the polls opened, and couldn’t be certain I’d leave campus before the polls closed. I do miss the sticker, though.

  302. I dropped my ballot off in a white mailbox marked “Official Ballot Dropsite” in King City, Oregon. Ballots arrive in the mail 2 weeks before Election Day, you sign the outer envelope, slide your ballot into an inner privacy sleeve and mail it back or drop it off to one of these white mailboxes. It has to ARRIVE by 8pm on Election Day, so mailing it is not a safe option by the Saturday prior. Filled mine out at my desk, with info. on several tabs in my browser, and a full cup of coffee at hand. The only way to go. Ballots are heavy paper, can be run in batches through several counting machines if need be to verify that the count came out the same. None are connected to the internet, so Putin can go pound sand.

  303. I voted in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and accomplished my good deed of the day my helping a women find her polling place on my phone.

  304. Um…I gave blood?

    No but seriously, I had to get on my commute before polls opened today. I’ll vote after work.

  305. I just voted in a state with no early voting. In our rural district of about 700 people, they had already run out of “I voted” stickers when we were finishing up around 1:30 (they had requested only 200; my husband and I were voters 242 and 243). I should note that we’re also in a swing district with tight races for both state senate and assembly. Assuming most people vote 5-8pm after offices close, it will be interesting to see what the turnout is.

  306. I voted on Nov. 3rd. Had to go to the election office in my Washington State suburb of Portland, but it was well worth it. There was a profound sense of relief when I slid that ballot into the slot.

  307. I am another Evil Immigrant ™, but my better half voted shortly after 6 am here in the KC metro. The line was maybe 30 people and less than 10 minutes long. It was too early for any of the people who stand at the 25 ft limit trying to help you with any last minute indecision.

  308. I voted! Straight-ticket D because the alternative was a burning pile of shit in human form.

  312. Voted this morning before going in to work. No line. It took me longer to walk to the polling place than it did to vote.

  313. I’m Dutch. So no vote but this is the first time I truly wished I could do something more constructive than biting my nails while Americans decide to vote for small-handed Armageddon or, you know, someone who can actually do the job.

  315. You bet, my wife and I, 35 minutes after the early voting starting in our area some two week ago.

  319. I voted early. Lines are apparently very long, but crowds are civil, as is usual in my small Midwestern town.

    As a bright spot on an otherwise stressful Election Day, four of my coworkers voted for the first time today. One is only just eligible, but the other three would have skipped at least one prior election. I suspect voting is habit forming, so seeing people do it for the first time makes me happy.

  320. You bet. Just before lunch in Georgia. Line was only 10-12 minutes, running very smoothly. No one “monitoring” with firearms. Everyone being patient and polite.

  321. As with others who live in states where all voting is “by mail”, everyone in my family voted last week by dropping our completed and sealed ballots in the ballot drop box about 5 minutes from our house. I verified later that they were received by checking online on the secretary of state’s website.

  325. In the Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest this morning:
    “Mark Kirk may have been the captain of the GOP’s 2010 recruiting class, but with both sides treating him like a redshirt in 2016, Daily Kos Elections is moving this race from Likely Democratic to Safe Democratic.”

  326. Washington is pretty much vote-by-mail, but they also have drop boxes in convenient locations, so I filled mine out and dropped it off on Sunday. (I suspect that today it’s more like it was on the date we voted in the primary, a small line of cars with people waiting to drop off their ballots.)

  328. I voted bright and early at 06:30 today. I was very happy to see that there was already a line!

  329. Voted today. Might as well have voted early. They didn’t have the accessible voting machine at my polling place today like they did for the primary — counter to my hopes and expectations. Even with all the early voting this year, my polling place was doing steady business this afternoon.

  330. I voted straight-ticket Democratic in rural western PA this morning. My region will go for Trump, but I hope I have a hand in turning Pennsylvania blue! I’m a historian, and I’ve been thinking about Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and the Grimké sisters all day. May their memory be eternal.

  331. Voted this morning at 10 am at the local high school. We were #239 and 240. There was NO line, but there was a constant stream of voters moving in and out. It went very smoothly, but I’m sure other districts have had long lines and other problems.

    I’m just glad it’s over.

  334. Oh, I guess I should have said – Brooklyn NY.

    My first Presidential vote was for George McGovern in 1972.

  335. I voted. Both candidates for state rep were abhorrant (one a hyper-conservative, the other a literal crazy person), so I wrote in Joffrey Baratheon (who’s clearly a better candidate than either of them).

  337. And now I have actually voted. I went at around 3:00 PM, figuring (correctly) that others would either be at work or picking up kids from school, etc. Spent more time in line afterwards getting “safety” donuts (instead of cake) than I spent waiting at the polls. It was even better organized than the past several elections – wonderful. Also, my community is diverse, & it was nice to see some diversity in the poll workers this time. :-)

  338. Yep. Voted. What was impressive me, though? A friend who’s been in England for a while didn’t receive his mail-in ballot in time, so he and his wife freaking flew home last night to make sure their votes counted. Serious voters are serious. :)

  339. Voted early, a week and a half ago. (Texas is a very odd place to live, but we do have early voting and it seems to run pretty well, at least in my general area.)

    Thumper, I salute your friends. That’s an impressive effort!

  340. I voted early in Texas two weeks ago and stuck one of those US flag stickers on my shirt after voting. Thought it would be cute sticking it on my forehead like a Chiquita banana sticker and post a selfie on FB. I did a double take at the picture … say what? The words on the flag sticker said: Yo Voté

    Okay, that’s cool, this is Tejas.

  341. I voted @ 2:21pm today. No early voting in my backwards state, but very small town means no lines. Failed my dodge check against girl scouts at the exit and took 2 boxes of tagalongs damage.

  342. Early voter here (October 28). Lines at my neighborhood polling place are traditionally long on election day, so we went early to the county election office and still had to stand in line about a half-hour. Not too long for the privilege, mind you, but encouraging that so many wanted to be counted. For the record, daughter away at college voted her absentee ballot last week, too.

  343. I voted early for Hillary Clinton here in Portland, Jay County, Indiana, voting in the same courthouse (because early voting) where my mother and grandmother first registered to vote. I took their pictures with me.

    My grandmother was born in 1888, my mother in 1913 – she was around to vote for President Obama in 2008.

  345. I voted today. Got teary-eyed as I did, too. My two daughters voted in their first presidential election today. My wife voted a few weeks ago.

    Can’t wait to see Donald implode.

  346. Just voted in your home state (and mine)! Plus my dog voted too (not really, but they gave her a I voted sticker anyway).

  351. Voted a little after 8am here – NJ doesn’t have early voting, and no ‘I voted’ stickers either. 5th in line – normally at most 1 ahead of me, so that’s a lot. 35 folks ahead of me in our ward… and they usually are busiest in late afternoon as people get off work.

  352. Off to vote right now. With my no 8 & 10 yo children as always; this year they want to help mark the ballot.

  354. Forgot to say earlier that I had to stand in line two hours to early vote.
    Today in making sloppy joes for the family to enjoy as we all come together to watch election returns!

  356. Well I voted an hour ago here in Portland, Maine in the ethnically diverse voting district in the state. Only had a few minutes wait as the heaviest voting was up to early afternoon. Polls here are open to nine, longer if need be.

    Very happy to see lots of African immigrants, particularly women in their early twenties, waiting in line to register vote. (City had translators there if need be.) It bodes well for democracy here.

  358. I voted on my way in to work this morning! And cancelled out the vote of the woman standing in line behind me, very loudly proclaiming who she was hoping would win (which I’m pretty sure is *heavily frowned upon* if not outright illegal.)

  359. Voted this afternoon. I’m a traditionalist, I love voting on actual Election Day, because seeing my neighbors at the ballot box makes me feel like part of my local community as well as part of a nation.

  360. Voted by mail last week. There were 39 things on my ballot (although some of them were folks running unopposed) so I was glad to be able to take my time with it.

    Now to scamper out of work early and set up for my election night party. Cake, pie, deviled eggs, dips, left over Halloween candy and booze if you want it. Should be some night.

  361. Voted first day of early voting, so two weeks ago. Voted Dem for president and congress. Mixed Dem and Green for local positions. Also voted one Libertarian. I was there bright and early as soon as the early voting started because I wanted to get it over and done with. Many people must’ve had the same idea because we were in line about an hour. Everyone was polite- just chit chat in line.

  362. My partner and I voted this afternoon. Same with me, it’s a chance to gossip with the neighbors. Now to go somewhere without tv’s for a few hours….

  364. Two weeks ago, and while it was actually slightly less convenient than the process on Election Day, it was nice just to know that no unforeseen contingency (long line, medical emergency, bad commute, giant meteor) was going to keep me from doing it.

  365. Just voted in Maryland with wife and 18-year-old daughter. (The daughter at university voted early, by mail, last week. In MD any permanent resident can do so by absentee ballot, no reason needed.)

  366. Of course I voted. Last week, because while I would stick it out in a line to vote if I had to (and have done so in the past), I see no reason to do so when there’s a better option available to me.

  367. Voted this morning at around 10:30. Short line, but longer than usual. I’d heard about long lines and decided NOT to vote at 8 AM as originally planned, so I dodged that. Blue all the way down, and progressive on the school board (who are all Democrats).

    My ward and district usually has two voting machines, but this time they only gave us one. Hudson County, NJ being a Democratic stronghold, I doubt this was about suppressing votes at the national level, though they may have wanted to suppress school-board votes (the 4th ward includes Public Housing).

    We had two ballot questions: one was about allowing casinos in two additional counties, with certain individuals being given preference for casino licenses. As they didn’t say which counties or what individuals, this stank like a dirty sock in a dirty jock, so I voted No.

    The other one was about committing the gas tax to transportation projects. Well, DUH. I voted Yes.

  368. Voted November 1 in Geneva, Illinois. (And commenting for the first time because I wanted to see Geneva in the thread twice.)

  369. Voted this afternoon! Can’t understand why any woman wouldn’t. I was raised knowing how hard we had to fight to get the right to vote. No line, though the all the booths were full. I’m in NC, most of my friends did early voting.

  370. I VOTED!!! By mail, two weeks ago. I am extremely optimistic that we are about to elect our first woman POTUS. I am hopeful the Dems retake the Senate majority.

  373. I voted! Early, as some are wont to do, but in Wisconsin, which the Donald kept visiting. Looking to keep WI blue!!

  375. I voted Ohio absentee about a month ago. Never checked to see if my ballot was counted cause I can’t do anything if it wasn’t…. Just sitting up in Canada trying to will my erstwhile state (and country) blue.

  378. I voted today. No wait in early afternoon but I was assured by workers that there had been crowds earlier.

  379. I voted for Clinton (and all the other Democrats on the ballot) this morning on the way to work – #364 in my Raleigh NC precinct at ~9:30 am.

  380. I voted a week ago here in cheesy Wisconsin, and our city clerk commented to me that it had been a record year for early voting in my fair city.

  384. Wow. 8:30 pm on Eadt Coadt, and while still subject to change, currently Clinton is ahead in Ohio…. that would be a surprise!

  386. Just voted. Sadly, they only had the regular “I Voted” sticker. I was hoping for a “I Waited Till The Last Minute And Then Voted” sticker. :D

  388. I’m still looking forward with keen interest to election of the President and VP that I expect will soon happen on Monday, December 19th, 2016 (provided the subsequent joint session of the incoming Congress on Friday, January 6th, 2017 then accepts the 538 electors’ votes, and provided that candidates top 270 votes).

    I mean, it was lovely casting my vote for a slate of 55 electors in my state pledged to vote for Hillary R. Clinton and Timothy M. Kaine, but that still leaves, y’know, the election. But yay for the ‘I voted’ sticker, which I affixed to my laptop lid next to the existing NOW and ACLU stickers, just to annoy Trumpublicans.

  390. I voted! I voted! I live in a state where we put our ballots in the mail and feel very lucky to do so. But I still think Election Day should be a federal holiday.

  391. Well I didn’t vote but for the first time in about 30 years I’m actively following election results — and it’s not even for my country!
    Fingers crossed you guys have a workable result, as opposed to the mess we have in Australia.

  392. I voted back in our federal election here in Australia, back in about June. Wound up standing around in the wind for about 30 – 40 minutes, too. Not pleasant. Next voting opportunity for me is in the state government election, which is scheduled to be happening in early 2017 (probably by March at the latest).

  393. I voted today. Did all my research on everything on the ballot; brought my cheat sheet in with me, and was in and out in about ten minutes.

  394. Voted absentee from Canada with my son (his first U.S. Election!) No stickers, but the U.S.Vote Foundation website gives you little sticker graphics to share on tumblr and stuff, so there’s that.

  398. Voted first thing this morning. Took my 5- and 10-year old in with me. Told the 5-year-old it was like a multiple-choice test you had to take to show you were a good citizen, went over each item on the ballot, and explained why I voted the way I did for each. Now sitting here feeling queasy waiting for Virginia to pull it out …

  399. I know you don’t drink, John, but we are seriously considering it in this house. This election worries me.

  400. Voted at 7:28 this morning. No lines, despite the packed parking lot –which was probably due to the polling place (elementary school) have a small parking lot, and no parking on the street.

  402. Voted the straight NRA (No Rrpublicans Allowed) ticket in sunny San Jose, California. No “poll watchers”, armed or otherwise. Minimal lines.

  405. Clinton’s firewall in PA and the Midwest is in flames. NYT is giving a >95 percent chance of winning. 538 was at 58 percent a moment ago.

    This is epic. The Trumpshift is going to rock the world.

  406. To be clear: I voted for Clinton in Maine’s 2nd. It certainly feels odd to have cast what may be among the most important votes in the country.

    Fingers crossed. She can pull it out.

  409. I voted in California (if we end up with a Trump presidency, I REALLY hope we manage to pass the proposition to legalize pot. We’re gonna need it.)

    My wait was about an hour, but 15 minutes of that was me getting out of line and joining my sister in the back. So about 45 minutes of actual wait time.

  410. I voted absentee and spent 9 hours in Bucks County PA doing 118 door knocks, reminding a couple dozen people to get to the polls, and drove one woman there myself so she could cast her vote.

    And it’s looking like it didn’t help enough.

    I feel sick.

  412. I voted. Now I may have to explain to my kids how it’s still important, even though the most unqualified idiot in history may be the leader of the free world.

  414. I voted. I had tacos tonight with friends, and we are white knuckling it tonight.
    Our friend who isn’t white tapped out to go home and cuddle her pets because she couldn’t watch the news anymore.

  415. And yet again democracy has completely failed to give us what we want and instead given some other people what they want.

  416. For all the Trump supporters out there, tomorrow I have to tell my daughter that we have voluntarily given power to a man who openly brags about having the power to do anything to anyone without consequence to himself. Who has openly proclaimed he will make political changes to advance his personal and economic interests. Who mocks the patriotic military service so many of you hold sacred. Can you seriously tell me that your night mares about what was on HRC’s servers is bigger than that? Oh and that the FBI intervened in the course of our political process without even the semblance of a case they intended to prosecute. Sleep well tonight. You’ve earned those big visions of making America great again.

  417. Privateiron– well said. I think there are some real problems that this election exposes; one of them is that “racist”, “bigot” and variations around that have very little impact anymore. The words have lost the impact they are intended to convey. And second, people are more happy to deliver an “f— you” to the establishment than they are in solving problems. Sad!

  418. I voted on election day. Took me about 5 minutes. Wish it’d done some good. The only good thing about today is this: now Midwesterners are no longer allowed to tell Southerners what idiots we are. If you’d like, we can send you some rust-colored Confederate flags and teach you how to say “y’all.” It’ll go well with the Trump votes. Holy shit, what an unforgivably fucked-up and stupid night.

  421. This really is a catastrophe. Goodbye, Affordable Care Act; hello, the worst administration ever; goodbye, Supreme Court. I seriously wonder whether they will try to repeal the 19th amendment. Goodbye, civil rights; goodbye, marriage equality.

  422. Well, if Trumpublicans are the flavour du jour for the next few years, as is now (provisionally) looking most likely than not, it’s going to be the golden age of political comedy, so at least there’s that. The Democratic Party can keep appealing to every demographic other than old, angry white guys, which is to say building a growing avalanche of support from the overwhelming near-future majority of the electorate, and just bide its time while the GOP doubles down on its failure to follow the 2013 Autopsy Report and ensures its permanent loss of influence everywhere, exactly the same way it did here in California.

    I’ve lost elections before, and sometimes you just wait and win a lot bigger and more definitively the second time around.

    Damned shame about the probable next few Supreme Court appointments, though.

  423. Congratulations to President-Elect Trump, and a long, healthy, and happy retirement for Madam Secretary.

    But, Nate Silver WAS WRONG. Almost all the polls were WRONG.

  425. Well a lot of fucking good that did. My personal upside to this catastrophe is that I don’t have kids who are going to have to live with its long-term devastating ramifications.

  426. Well, the USians have gone with the ‘better to burn out, than to fade away option’. Interesting choice. Comiserations to those of you who disagreed..

  427. A lady friend in England just asked me “What the fuck?@?” So yes, what I’d been saying most of the night was her first reaction too.

    So, should we start a pool as to how far into the Presidency Mr. Trump will make it before the shiny wears off and he decides to bail because it requires WORK? Like more work than bankrupting a casino and his various other enterprises.

  428. Let’s call this what it is: The Second American Revolution. Both involved plebians, viscerally hated by the corrupt Powers-that-be, led by minor “elites” who the “real” elites laughed off.

  429. My wife is still living in the US. We’re now redoubling our efforts to extract her from there and get her citizenship in a more stable country before the shit REALLY hits the fan.

    My sincerest sympathies to those of you having to live with the nightmare that solipsism made.

  430. WTH. Well, I’ve been saying ‘don’t underestimate the Donald’ for more than a year. Hate that being proved true though. Was hoping for Madame President. I suspect there will be almost as much gridlock under Pres Trump as we would have had under Pres Clinton, but we shall see. I suspect many of those who voted for Trump because they think he represents change will find out the changes he will make are not changes they will like.

  431. I voted early, two weeks ago. I’m heartsick tonight, having trouble sleeping. Many of the positive developments from recent years–things that many of us thought of as glimmers of hope or signs that our country was moving towards being a more inclusive, compassionate place and that the haters were slowly losing ground–are in mortal danger.

  432. I voted, then went home and washed the taste of it out of my mouth with a cold beer.

    I still can not believe how utterly wrong the pollsters were, leading into yesterday. That whole ‘science’ needs rethinking.

  433. Dear Democrat party: when they go low, you can say “we go high”, but it sure as shit would help if you also have a plan that effectively deals with the fact that they are playing dirty, are willing to appeal to the lowest common denominator, and have no shame.

  434. Looks like time travel is actually possible, because surely someone has stepped on a butterfly in the Jurassic. What the actual hell.

  436. I’ve seen several online lists of countries that are favorable to move to. Feel free to check them out. Oh, most seem to require some level of financial support, pass a citizenship test, etc.

  437. I voted on the first day of early voting in Indiana. My Democratic Representative won, but him aside, few if any of the people I voted for prevailed. Here in Indiana we’ll have the double whammy of a Statehouse and Federal government firmly in Republican hands.

  438. I’d been talking up early voting to my husband for weeks before it started. We had been planning to go the first Saturday because we wanted to do it together and his work schedule was pretty packed. But the first day it was open he called me at 2:30 in the afternoon and said “I had a student cancel; we can go now if we hurry.”
    I said “I’ve been working in the garden but I’ll throw on clean clothes while you drive over here; let’s do this thing.”
    We actually had to wait in line but only 20 minutes.
    I was bouncing on my toes by the starting line waiting for a machine to open up. The woman who took my form said “well, you’re the most excited voter I’ve seen today.”
    I said “Yes. Yes I am.” I felt a big grin come over my face, but I didn’t say anything more because I didn’t want to provoke anything in this deeply red county.
    So I didn’t vote yesterday, but I put on a pantsuit (well, cobbled together one from a jacket and pants that almost match) in honor of Election Day.

  439. Thank you Chuck for saying what I was thinking yesterday: this is the first election where that bit really resonated with me – I kept hearing thunder.

    To stay on topic per “How to Be a Good Commenter” (currently reading The Mallet of Loving Correction): Yes, I voted. Not for that man, and my state went blue, although we don’t have enough electoral votes to have much impact (not to mention the time zone thing which means afternoon voters here often cast their ballots after the national decision has been made – see VCarlson’s comment).

    And now? I’m somewhere between unsettled, depressed, disturbed, and borderline terrified.

WHATEVER


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