This is the first year Louisiana has offered early voting, and today is the last day to go to the polls. I stopped to check out how it was going last night, and was told that the line was 3+ hours long, just as it had been since the polls opened on the 21st.
My husband got in line a 9:00 this morning- he voted at 1:15 this afternoon.
At one point local news came by and he was interviewed. He told them that he believes that this is voter suppression, without a doubt. I agree with him- I certainly don't have 4 hours to stand in line this week. I'm a magazine publisher and we're on deadline.
The news crew asked him why he was willing to stand in line for so long, when the general polls will open up all over the city next week. He told them, "Because I'm making a stand for Obama by getting out the vote early, and because I'm going to be busy helping get out the vote on Tuesday."
I've been involved with this man for 18 years. We lived in Berkeley, CA, and moved to New Orleans last summer- in the whole time I've known him, I've never known him to get actively involved in politics, and I've never seen him stand in line for more than 20 minutes for anything (not even ice cream and he has a sweet tooth like no other) but airport security lines, and that was only because he had no choice.
When he called me, he was on his way home to feed the cats, change his clothes, and go spend the afternoon working the phones at the Obama headquarters - and he plans to be there every day until the polls close next Tuesday.
I believe there are millions of good, patriotic Americans just like him who are fed up and stepping up. I believe we're going to win this thing, and I believe we're going to swing a Southern state or two blue.