I figured I'd throw my diary into the mix about early voting today in middle Illinois.
First off, I've been putting off voting for a week. Been meaning to drive down to the courthouse and fill in the ovals, but just never got around to it. Today, after work, I decided to take a walk, put my iPod earphones in and started listening to "This American Life," the episode about "How to Win Friends and Influence People."
It was a little chilly, but the walk was pleasant. Skies were overcast. As I walked down one of the main streets in town, I counted yard signs. These older, stately houses were about evenly split between McCain and Obama signs. Funny thing was the McCain/Palin signs were posted in front of houses that didn't quite have the same aesthetic appeal as the houses that had Obama signs in front of them.
At the courthouse, there was no line. A couple of other people were in the booths filling out their ballots. I showed my ID and picked up the ballot. The entire ballot in our county consisted of about 10 items. I filled in the ballot for Obama/Biden (made sure I got that one right - I was shocked at how many names were on the presidential ballot - about six!), and then filled in the circle for Dick Durbin. I voted Dem for the congressional district, but our Republican congressman doesn't have much chance of losing. Some of the local races, I didn't have a clue who was who, so I mostly filled out the Dem names on the ticket.
I did vote "NO" on the proposal for a constitutional convention (something that has to be voted on every 20 years - idiotic), because that would be opening a whole can of worms here in Illinois.
I turned in the ballot and thanked the clerk. She was very nice, said "Thanks for voting early!" Walking out, I had a little extra bounce in my step. I'm going to wear my "I voted!" sticker next to my Obama button next week, and celebrate heartily on Nov. 4th when our nation elects an intelligent, warm-hearted, thoughtful human being as president for the first time in 8 years.
One more thing: As I walked into the courthouse, I noticed a plaque next to the door. It was an image of Abraham Lincoln. Below the image, it said that Lincoln had visited the courthouse often as a lawyer. The county voted for Lincoln in both his presidential elections.
I think he would be smiling to see another Illinoisan follow in his footsteps, especially Barack Obama.
Yes we can!