This is almost an MPSIMS, but I’m interested in hearing from people who are voting today. I always try to vote on the day of because I’m able to get to the polling place just before it opens with minimal disruption to my own schedule. Last night I had this conversation with a friend:
Him: Have you voted yet?
Me: I’m doing it tomorrow morning.
Him: Last minute, eh?
Me: spluttering Voting on election day is not last minute!
I get it, though, It really does feel that way this year.
Anyway, this morning I was maybe the 10th person in line, but I was the fourth person to turn in a ballot. There was a lot to fill out and I’d already made my decisions so I didn’t have to do much reading. Most of it was quadruple-checking my vote for President. The line was about 20 people deep when I left, roughly 15 minutes after the polls had opened. There were two poll watchers in the room but nobody had showed up yet to wave signs outside.
They let me take two “I Voted” stickers. One to wear today and one to stick on something.
They ended up putting me on the “stand-by” list of election workers-- the people they call when someone scheduled calls in sick, or otherwise unable to make it, and they texted me at 6:30 that all was clear and I wasn’t needed.
I hadn’t gone in early because of the likelihood that I’d be working (I don’t usually go in early though). When I hadn’t been called by 5:30, I headed to the nearest polling place, and arrived at 5:50 (I walked). The line, with social distancing, was about 100 meters, which really wasn’t all that long. Started moving right at 0600, and I was out and done by 0630. By the time I left, though, the line was way down the block, and the parking lot was overflowing (glad I walked).
I’ll be voting today. It’s the way I’ve always voted.
I didn’t want to vote by mail because of the issues that have come up this year. I trust in person voting more.
I considered voting in person before election day. But the early voting polling sites are all at least twenty miles away so they would have required me to make a special trip for the purpose. And they’re in the city so I figured they might have been more crowded than my actual Election Day voting site which is here in my small suburban town.
I’m figuring on going over in around half an hour. Avoid the people who showed up when it opened and the people who are going at lunchtime. Hopefully there won’t be a line.
I voted 2 weeks ago. Waited in line 40 minutes at one of my county’s couple dozen early voting sites.
This morning ~9am I saw a neighbor leaving. She said they were going to go vote. I wished them luck with the lines. They just reported back that there were zero lines at our local polling place. :smack:
My wife and I voted early a month ago. Dropped both our ballots off in person that day.
On my morning commute I drove past a polling station and saw about two dozen people lined up outside the door 20 minutes before the polls officially opened. The weather is supposed to be great for 90% of the country. Should make for increased in-person voting today.
My worries about a possible long line were unjustified. I was in and out in less than ten minutes. Wearing my heavy coat in case I had to stand outside and having a book in my pocket in case I was waiting around.
As a one person datum; at my polling site they give a little cheer when a person is voting for the first time. They gave it three times in the ten minutes I was there.
I voted this morning. I arrived before the doors opened at 7, hoping to be the first voter, but I was 15th in line! That’s the biggest crowd ever IME at this polling location.
I plan on watching the returns tonight and celebrating Trump’s crushing defeat
I just voted in small-town Kansas. No line; I walked right up to the check-in table. The election worker told me that they had been busy, but not overwhelmed.
I chose a paper ballot, because Ivanka. When I left there were a few people waiting in line.
I voted this morning on the way to work. Stood in line for about 5 minutes before I realized that the line I was in was for people whose names began with H–O. Then went straight ahead and voted.
I took today and tomorrow off. Today, because it should be a holiday in the first place. Tomorrow because this is going to be nuts and despite my attempted aloof attitude, I know I’m going to be glued to the TeeVee and the Internets for at least the next twenty-four hours straight.
At the moment I’m in pregame, preparing to go vote. I’ve been watching news feeds all morning and I think I’m finally ready to decide.
TRUMP/PENCE 2020! MAGA!
Just kidding, I would vote for those assholes for pivot man in a circle jerk.
I’ll update the masses on my voting experience upon my return.
We live in Oregon – 100% vote by mail – and the first election that I was old enough to participate in was the 2000 general, which was also the first election done 100% VBM. So I have never had to go to a polling place, never had to wait in line, never had to… well, I really don’t know what the experience is like. I vote at my dining room table while drinking a cup of coffee and then drop off my ballot at the local courthouse. I could’ve mailed it, but this year I chose to drop it off in person as a precaution against postal shenanigans.
My wife is the poster child for procrastination, so she’ll fill hers out today and we’ll drive it to the courthouse this afternoon.
The deed is done. It was easier this year than most other years, though most other years I haven’t voted midday. They were only allowing so many people in at a time, but they weren’t at their limit when I got there. This year they opened another area for voting … another building on the school campus at which I vote. I walked in, got my ballots, took about three minutes to fill them out and another minute to double-check them to make sure I didn’t accidentally vote for Susan Collins or something stupid like that, and I was out of there in about ten minutes, if that.
Masks were required - plexiglass all over the place - buckets of hand sanitizer - everybody got their own pen - and they weren’t handing out stickers. Totally no contact.
Now I have the next day and a half off and I’m going to try to relax for a little while before big hunks of turds start hitting fans.
I voted about 12 days ago, in the last hour for early voting of that day. From when I joined the line to walking out after having voted was about 45 minutes. Masks, social distancing, no harassment in sight, very boring and efficient. Every day since has ratcheted up the tension just a tiny bit. I haven’t imbibed in over 20 years, but disastrous early returns may have me taking a trip to the corner store. I need SANITY!
I voted today, a little before noon. My polling place is about a three-minute walk from home. There were two people in line when I got there; I was in and out in under five minutes.
There was somebody trying to fix the machine where I would usually insert the ballot. I heard them on the phone saying there was a paper jam. I was directed to just put my ballot through a slot into the secure box, and I assume that they’ll run them through a counting mechanism later.
waited 45ish minutes in line, 48th voter. we had really cool stickers in philly today. i hope to get a few tonight and as is tradition stick one on the white cat’s head.