I voted! - Your story here.

The morning was...sultry. I awoke early, here in eternally infernally sunny Venice, CA. It's gotta be 87 degress already!

I pounded another 850-odd words into my National Novel Writing Month novel (a worthy endeavor I recommend to anyone. Write every day in the month of November, and in 1 month you can be a Novelist or Novelista!) - fried some eggs, showered, did my quick research on ballot initiatives (San Francisco Bay Guardian vs. LA Times) and then I walked up the street to do my civic duty! :)

And I was done! Now I'm off to work.

And how was your voting? Please tell us your tales below.

For me, the polling place was in a nice little African-American church up the street. I never go to church, but I was glad to see the inside of this one, filled with nice mostly-older folks checking the voter rools, and 5 booths inside. It was 9:30 AM, and already the place was filling up.

Voting was easier this year than ever before - straight Democrat all the way. I steered clear of most of the judicial elections; for the state supreme court, though, I was careful to vote for justices who were NOT prosecutors. Justices should be on the side of the accused. It's that simple.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

•  Voting.

  my own lilliputian blow-dart at the corrupt GOP colossus

  Ha ha... death by 1,000 cuts!

  by droogie6655321 on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 09:56:32 AM PDT

  •  or 1,000 pricks

    which perfectly encapsulates the GOP.

    by exiled texan on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 10:14:40 AM PDT

    •  Points for clever wordplay.

      by droogie6655321 on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 10:16:34 AM PDT

•  that's really nice

  but it would be so much nicer to just post in the open threads and stop clogging the diaries; just saying...

  by oysterface on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 09:59:15 AM PDT

  •  I wanted to get a lot of other vote stories

    which is why I posted a diary about it. Wanted a big thread of comments.

    by jbeach on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 10:59:08 AM PDT

•  I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!

  When does Drudge call this thing, anyway?

  by JohnGor0 on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 10:00:29 AM PDT

•  I did touchscreen voting in Chicago

  Piece of cake.  Paper trail, voter confirmation, the whole shabang.  Go, go, gadget voting!

  by ultrageek on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 10:02:01 AM PDT

•  Please post this as a comment in an open thread

  and then delete this diary to help keep the site running smoothly.

  by redlami on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 10:21:04 AM PDT

  •  I disagree, sorry

    Which is why I posted this as a diary.

    by jbeach on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 10:59:41 AM PDT

    •  Me too.

      This is an awesome diary. It is the perfect place for me to say that I went to my polling place this morning feeling absolutley priviledged to be able to do so.

      I love voting so much. It is my favorite day. It is right up there with my birthday. I had to stand in line and take a test and I served in the USAF to become one of ya'll so I COULD vote.

      At our poll in California we still have paper ballots and the process is so smooth and the voluteers so friendly and efficient.

      I haven't been this happy in many months.

      by TekBoss on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 11:41:00 AM PDT

      •  Thanks. :)

        I felt a tad piled on. Well, good stuff.

        Yeah, California worked great. What's the problem with paper ballots? Nothing.

        by jbeach on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 12:13:55 PM PDT

  •  To be clear - looking for stories, not checking

    on voter fraud.

    This diary is just for tales of people's voting across the US, and not specifically 'how is your vote going' checkup. That appears to be what Susan G's thread is about.

    by jbeach on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 11:02:43 AM PDT

•  My Paper Ballot

  My Paper Ballot
  I'm going to let it shine
  My Paper Ballot
  I completed it in no time
  My Paper Ballot
  Was counted by machine
  My paper Ballot
  Was saved in a ream
  My Paper Ballot
  Left a nice paper trail
  My Paper Ballot
  Allows democracy to prevail!!!

  by TekBoss on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 10:44:24 AM PDT

•  Voting in Silicon Valley

  Very easy to vote; electronic w/paper receipt - lets you review and, if necessary, correct; friendly poll workers.  Too bad that I couldn't vote for Lamont, Whitehouse, Webb, McCaskill, Tester, Ford or Charlie Brown, etc.

  Live long & prosper.

  by RealityBites on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 10:44:37 AM PDT

•  on voting

  Voting is being called up for service -- a solemn affair.
   
  My mother imparted to me a sense that in a democracy one's vote is sacrosanct -- sacred and inviolable.

  If reality in practice does not reflect those values, it's not for lack fighting and the struggle to right the crimes committed by this and previous republican administrations.

  by suskind on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 10:46:44 AM PDT

•  Hello neighbor

  Here in Malibu, I voted by mail last week. It was a GLORIOUS occasion! LOL. I voted for my main man Waxman, who's gonna kick some GOP ass in January. Wicked!!

  by munky on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 11:05:08 AM PDT

•  It's butt-humping hot!

  Did you know that yesterday was a record 95 degrees?  I thought it was hot, but I thought it was like 80 degrees hot and I was uncomfortable because I had just gotten used to the chill.

  At any rate, I voted this morning with my babies in tow.  Precinct workers oohed and aahed over my baby who they had never met (I had him last year on Nov. 12th).  Made noises over my 3 year old they've known since she was a mere fetus and all was uneventful except I accidentally cast a vote for Feinstein.  All my voting life I had managed to never vote for her and this time I did.  The anguish was all very overly dramatic on my part, with my accidentally knocking over a couple of booths for effect.  They offered to give me a new ballot, but I said, "Nevermind, I'll throw Dianne a bone this time."

  by fabooj on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 11:13:13 AM PDT

  •  I paused there too

    But having a Democrat who leans conservative, is still better than any Republican. (Lieberman is the exception to this rule.)

    by jbeach on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 11:25:39 AM PDT

•  Thanks for posting your voting story

  It makes me feel a little better.  I walked out of the polling place feeling like a fool because I didn't know a single name up for the  local judges.  I hap- hap -happily filled in my straight dem oval, and then was absolutely dismayed to find I couldn't vote the rest of the ballet for fear of getting a nutjob on the bench. I feel now that it was a missed opportunity for surely they are the seedbed for the higher judgeships that are setting policy in America today?

  For the rest of it.  I always feel totally creeped out voting in my totally red precinct and imagined a scowl on the face of the nice republican lady as she took my ballet and glanced over my vote as it fed into the electronic scanner.

  I walked away feeling cowed and vowing to myself, I will get involved with my local democratic party now, even though I havent been able to find their location or phone number, I will put forth the effort it takes and try to make a difference.

  by deminmarineland on Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 11:17:02 AM PDT