North Dakota allows counties to determine whether or not to have early in-person voting. My county started yesterday. I voted for women in the congressional, senate and presidential races.
For congress, Pam Gulleson. For senate, the initimable Mary Catherine "Heidi" Heitkamp. And in the presidential election, I had the honor of voting for three outstanding North Dakota women: Ms. Guy, Ms. Link and Ms. Sinner. There was a line at the polls, and I didn't get a chance to note their first names, but judging by their last names, I'm guessing they are the wives, widows or daughters of North Dakota's three most recent Democratic-NPL governors.
No, I did not vote for Barack Obama. Then again, neither will you, unless you are one of the lucky 538 voters who vote for president in December.
But getting back to the line at the polls. In our county, about 10,000 people voted for president in 2008. Yesterday, at 3 p.m., I was about the 400th voter. The poll workers said they were in the middle of a slight lull compared to the rest of the day. If they keep up at that rate, by the end of today about a tenth of the voters will have voted.
This is not about the presidential race. While I respect the party for choosing as our electors the female relatives of our former governors, they will not be casting votes for Obama in December. I doubt anybody is standing in line this early because the presidential race in North Dakota is so exciting.
This is about the senate race, and a strong turnout should be good for our side. A new poll shows Heidi up 50-48, according to the front page. Bill Clinton packed the Fargo Civic Center last night for a rally for Heidi. Oddly, I have not seen any announcements touting George Bush campaigning for her opponent.
Heidi is on a roll. In a pre-Citizens United election, she would have won in a cakewalk. As it is, she should win in a squeaker. Go Heidi!