Suburban MA, got in a line of approximately 9 people around 8 and was finished at 8:20. Things were moving along nicely but the line behind me was pretty long.
Our polling place is actually just a few hundred yards from our house. It’s a Baptist Church—a regular house of Bush, I suppose. The parking lot is fairly full but no line outside the building. Marcie and I voted early, last Saturday, and we were in line just under three hours. We were treated to the sight of several women running beside the line while shouting “Vote for the man who supports life!” They were being pursued by a couple of Rent-A-Cops and one real, live, Sherrif’s deputy. I hope they hauled 'em all to jail and beat them with canes. Damn republican law breakers.
I went into the polls at 7:15 this morning, and was out by 8:00. There were probably about 50 people ahead of me in line, and by the time I left, at least 100. From what I heard of others in line (this is my first election), no one had ever seen such a turnout at this hour before. The pollworker lady I spoke to said that the turnout had been incredible so far.
I was #115 at 7:15.
One poll observer, and two people standing outside the building (outside of a chalk line that said “40 FEET” encircling the building) – one man wore a Bush/Cheney sticker but was nonpartisanly handing out a piece of paper summarizing some amendments we were voting on, and another man wore a Kerry button and was handing out information on Kerry to anyone who asked. Neither were intrusive at all, and both were pleasant to talk to.
The line was out the door and down the block at my polling place. However, that was due in part to the fact that they’ve rearranged the process indoors. We used to crowd the lobby of the park building and it took forever, they made us wait outside this time and voting went much faster. 45 minutes all told. However, the line was only three people out the door by the time I was done.
cj
Forty minutes, including the walk across the street both ways. Not long, but a big jump from the ten minutes (including walk) that it usually takes.
And dalej42, I don’t care how you voted. You’re a good citizen, a good neighbor, and a patriot. Add my thanks to those of your fellow precinct-members.
Mine was quite crowded. I got there about ten minutes before they opened and I was about 75th in line. Then they announced that everyone with a last name between S and Z should skip the line and go to the last table.
The screwy thing is our voting setup was like Marley23’s. However, we were given our ballots in these opaque plastic things that were like clipboards that didn’t open. They had a little window so that the election guy’s initials were visible. After filling out the ballot you put it back in the clipboard and the man at the ballot box tips it into the hole in the box.
Not too bad a system, I guess. Except they had like seven of the plastic clipboard things.
The two hundred people left in line as I made my way out were going to be there for a loooooong time.
-Joe
The longest I’ve ever seen at my polling place (a nursing home, of all places) - at 7:10 there were 5 people in front of me, and I’ve never had to wait behind more than 1. And this is in MA - the only formally-contested offices in my precinct were President, Congress, and Sheriff, and none of them are real races anyway.
Here in the Peoples Republic of Minnesota its cold, wet, and gray. Figured go in when they open at 7 am, be in and out in a matter of minutes…
Ha!
I got to my polling place a little before 7:30am and there were at least 50 people in line! I just now got into work. Last time around I went at the same time and there were maybe 3 or 4 people in line. This is amazing.
Small town Ohio, here.
Arrived about 7:30 when the polls had been open an hour. Had to wait about 2-3 minutes. Everyone was saying that it’s the longest they’d ever had to wait.
No poll watchers or challengers.
There was a steady stream of people going in to my polling place to vote around 9:15, but it didn’t look like more than a few minutes wait for anyone, plus this location handles several election districts which AFAIK aren’t huge. I’m sure traffic will pick up again after work. Voting was a breeze on our old mechanical monsters… nothing quite like that satisfying thunk when you pull the lever back and your votes are recorded. 
I did meet Mehitabel, who is on the job there as a poll worker. She said that for her district (one of six or so in the building), about 75 people had shown up by 9:30 AM, compared to about 40 people all day during the September primaries. I’m really heartened by the numbers of people coming out to vote!
Twenty minutes early, about dozenth in line, but the polling place covered two precincts. I was fourth for mine. Got out at 7:10; the line was up to about a hundred. No poll watchers in evidence.
I was slightly amazed at how many people had no idea which precinct they were in, and more amazed that the election workers didn’t have a list of addresses for each precinct so that these people could figure it out.
Happy to hear about voter turnout…
Good Luck and Good Election to you americans… I’m enjoying my holiday over here. 
I arrived at the polls 7:40 a.m. there were 15 people in line. It took about 12 minutes to sign in, and get a ballot. I was voter number 161.
The election judges were younger this year-- mostly fifty- sixty-year olds. Back in 1996 I don’t think any of the election officials were under the age of 70.
I was ready to stand in line if needs be, I brought my iPod and latest edition of MacWorld. Fortunately everything went pretty fast.
Co-workers from other parts of the St Louis area are saying they had too wait longer than I did, however.
Is that an indicator of the number of first-time (therefore mostly highly-motivated) voters there?
This also was the first time I’ve ever seen a poll worker who might have been younger than 75. I had thought there was a legal minimum age for the job.
I work in the enormous Fairfax County Virginia Government Center. Fairfax is one of the largest counties in the US, and the building is known locally as the Taj Mahal for its immense size and rather imposing construction. The polling line starts at one end of the building and goes down the corridor and wraps around again.
On my smoke breaks I have asked a few people how long it took. The range is from three to four hours. I feel like I should be out there fetching them coffee and cookies. Really though, I would think they could do a better job than that of staffing polling places and moving the lines along.
No lines in my lil great white north. In and out in about 15 minutes. Walked my butt through the cold and grey Michigan morning and was in just long enough to warm up. I was in at 9:00 a.m. so I missed the before work crowds, but there were still more people there than any of the other elections. I’m not sure when the polls opened but I was voter #173.
Just got back, the crowd was significantly thinner this time around. Took me about 15-20 minutes. There’s still a good crowd, and I was about 10th in line for 2 of the booths. I was voter 161 for my booth, of course, they probably had 2 dozen booths, I didn’t even try to count them.
Very possibly. I’ve voted in three different precincts in Denver; there has always been more than one precinct at my polling place. First time voters wouldn’t expect that.
I was #14 and finished voting at 7:20am, PST. The line in my precinct was not long at all, but it is kind of a small precinct.
However, seeing 13 people in line ahead of me when the poll opened was a larger line than I have ever seenat this precinct!
MPSIMS: Oh my it was satisfying to darken in the oval next to the name of John F. Kerry!