*** OFFICIAL "I VOTED" THREAD #5 ***

[Skinner]

We've got a bunch of competing "I voted" threads, and it's difficult to find everyone's voting story. Some members have asked to have an official "I voted" thread so we can all meet in one place. After you vote, please post in this thread to tell us about it. If you've already posted your voting story in another thread, feel free to post it again here. And don't forget to assign yourself an "I Voted" avatar!

IMPORTANT: After you post your voting story in this thread, take a moment to go post positive, pro-Kerry voting experiences on blogs and message boards for your local newspapers and other media. Let's help spread the word that we're excited to vote for the Kerry-Edwards ticket!

When this thread gets too long, we'll open another one.

[neomonkey]

1. 8 am at a crowded intermediate school in suburban LA

I love to vote early, but damnit, it's no fun braving all those crazy rushed parents as they drop their kids off. I took my own life into my hands in order to vote!

[Sugarbleus]

22. LOL-->I took my own life into my hands in order to vote! WTG!!

[osaMABUSh]

6 ET - Voted with my 8 grader he was wearing a black hoodie !!

And I live in a very conservative, repuke area. Mosh on!

[Sugarbleus]

20. Wooohoooooooo with the hoodie....I LOVE it!

Thanks for the report!

[osaMABUSh]

2. 6 ET - Voted with my 8 grader he was wearing a black hoodie !!

And I live in a very conservative, repuke area. Mosh on!

[osaMABUSh]

3. 6 ET - Voted with my 8 grader he was wearing a black hoodie !!

And I live in a very conservative, repuke area. Mosh on!

[Silver Gaia]

4. WOOHOO! We voted!

Hubby, daughter and I cast our votes around 12:30 Pacific Time. No lines here, and no problems. I almost cried when I looked at my ballot again right before turning it in. It was a sacred moment for me. Emotion is running high... butterflies in my tummy. Excitement!

[Political_Junkie]

10. I had the same feeling.

Never felt that way voting before.

[matcom]

5. Mrs Matcom & I PROUDLY VOTED!!!

:bounce:

#1159 & 1160 in our precinct OUT OF A TOTAL OF 1400!!!

LET'S GO KERRY!!!

[ace2u_in_MD]

6. 9:00 AM EST

Had to wait 45 minutes.

[Coventina]

7. Voted in Scottsdale, AZ...no lines....no problems

Now I have to go, because I have to pack for my honeymoon!
:-)

GO KERRY!!!!!

I LOVE YOU DU!!!!!

[Sugarbleus]

23. WTG, and Congratulations on HM!! eom

[childslibrarian]

8. Got to see 2 voting venues

Where I work (super crowded) and where I vote (biggest turnout ever they said). No problems and made sure I had no hanging chads. Move On was there and I checked in. I just want to say...I love DU!

[Political_Junkie]

9. Awesome experience.

My mother and I voted together today. She hasn't voted for a president since Jimmy Carter. She said she is more excited about Kerry winning then she was for Carter.

[Diana52]

11. I early voted

in East Tennessee, but tonight I drove around the local precincts, and all of them were covered by teenagers, holding up signs that said "Honk for Kerry", so I damned near wore out the car horn, and every time I beeped, the kids jumped and squealed. No B/C supporters anywhere in sight. I was just amazed to see these young people doing this. (The weather here tonight, is dreary and humid.)

[Sugarbleus]

19. God, that gives me chills.........GO YOUTH VOTE!

Thanks for that exciting report :hi:

[ykfn326]

12. I voted !!

Moved from CT to AZ so hope my vote helps to turn AZ into a Blue State !!!

Good luck KERRY/EDWARDS and thank you Du !!

chris

[bigwillq]

13. It was so promising where I voted!

I voted at 11:30 a.m. est in Ansonia, CT, a small town of about 20,000 folks about 10 miles northwest of New Haven.

My district is not that big and I had to wait 10-15 minutes, the longest I waited in my 8 years of voting.

Lots of young voters, new voters (they were checking out the mini voting booth) and "minority" voters.

All those signs point to a Kerry victory.

[Zookeeper]

14. Voting was a breeze!

I was number 897 in the early afternoon. No line, no problems. I wore my Kerry button into the polling place with no challenge. Most of the other voters were students from the fundamentalist Baptist college nearby and I spotted one of them with a pre-printed sample ballot. Both neighborhood Baptist colleges send their students to vote with crib-sheets. Other than that group, our neighborhood is probably about 55% for Kerry and 45% for Bush.

Mr. Zookeeper voted a couple of hours later, also with no wait and no problems.

After voting in every election since I turned 18 (about a bazillion years ago), this vote was the most satisfying! I was more politically active this year than usual and know that regardless of the outcome, I tried to make a difference.

Cheers to all DUers!

[Fretless]

15. Wife and I both voted

Polls opened at 7:00, we voted at 11:45 and already there where 526
showing on the ballot taking machine. Pretty good turn out for a small town. Maple Valley, Washington.

Also, my Father, having never voted before cast his ballot for Kerry/Edwards this morning.

[milkyway]

16. I voted while listening to REM's "Around the Sun" from "Going Upriver."

It's a great song about John Kerry that closes the movie while the credits roll. An ipod sure is handy.

[Warren DeMontague]

29. 20 Year R.E.M. fan here...

Woo-Hoo!

I've got Lifes Rich Pageant in the Car CD player.

My humor's wearing thin and
change
is what I believe in!

[Blue-Jay]

17. Whooo. Not a Repuke in sight!

Voted at 7:00 this morning. My precinct is BLUE without a doubt.

Ohio will deliver.

Bank on it.

[meow mix]

18. just voted in LA - quiet, friendly, catholic church..

never had any problems there in my 15 year voting career. love my poll.

[Babel_17]

21. A special feeling

I just voted (working nights this week) and as a bonus I caught a great vibe at the polling place.

It wasn't that hard to sense the quiet determination and confidence of my fellow Kerry voters. And while on line I ran into an old high school chum I hadn't seen since our 20th year HS class reunion back in '95.

I have no doubts to who he voted for, his father was a local dem politico and he himself has been a loyal lifelong dem.

We exchanged only a few words regarding family and acquaintenances. But we both had on gleeful smiles.

Lol, I'm even wearing it now. :)

[LTR]

24. What? No line to vote???

Went right after work, around 5:30 CST. Coming up to the school, I saw few cars on the street. Thought they must all be in the lot. Nope. Got there before the evening rush, and was in and out in 15 minutes.

I was waiting for the girlfriend, and just happened to accidentally see a few ballots. Of the five or so I saw, four were straight ticket Dem, one old lady with purple hair voted for Chimpy. I live in a mostly Dem district, but there are quite a few Pubs here.

[ikojo]

25. I got in line at 615 this morning at a local Catholic school

The line was the longest I have ever seen at this place. Usually I go right on in, get my stuff and vote.

Everyone was patient. I could tell that most of the folks around me were for KERRY based upon what was being said in line. I think everyone realized the importance of this election.

I live near Washington University and was happy to see a couple of students voting. As a matter of fact their booths stayed busy throughout the time I was there!!!

In total it was 45 minutes from the time I got to the polling place to the time I left.

[fairyduster]

26. I'm so excited!!

Hubby and I were going to vote after he got off work but, I just couldn't wait any longer. I live in a small rural town in central Illinois but I have never seen so many people there to vote.
Of course I voted Dem all the way. My hubby (Army vet)told me that he voted straight Dem on his way home from work.
YEA!!!! OBAMA WON!!!! Just heard it.
:D

KERRY LANDSLIDE!!!!

[paulk]

27. My wife and I voted this morning

got to the polling place at 7:40AM - voted at 8:35AM. It's the first time in 12 years at that polling station that I've ever had to wait more than 5 minutes. Others in line also expressed amazement at the large turnout. Our precinct is 85% registered Democrat. The guy in line behind us said, "If there's turnout like this everywhere, Dubya's gonna be looking for a new day job."

[Andromeda]

28. I voted this morning

and so did my husband. Went smooth as glass -- no lines and the sun was shining. We live close to the precinct and have voted there for many years.

I hope everybody has a positive voting experience and to those who have encountered problems, I hope they were resolved with a minimum of hassle.

[Warren DeMontague]

30. Sonoma County, CA Checking In!

My wife & I just voted. No lines, everything went smoothly.

A very warm, beautiful fall day here.

Feeling Good.

[Disturbed]

33. Damn, I hate to stand in long lines!!!

I went dreading what I would see but to my pleasant surprise there no line at all.

2PM SF Bay Area.

PS Got an error msg. for Avatar change. Oh... well.

If Kerry/Edwards don't get in I will join the REVOLUTION!!!

If they do, I will join the folk that will push them to keep their promises and also end this HORROR of a WAR on the Iraqi people.

[LeftCoast]

31. 4pm Pacific - I FINALLY VOTED!

Have been trying to go vote for the last week. Had to do my homework first though. Between all the SF and CA ballot propositions I must've had to research 30 different issues.

Turnout has been incredibly high according to the poll worker I talked to. There were no lines when I was there, but there was a steady stream of voters the whole time.

Looks like America finally woke up!

[Psst_Im_Not_Here]

32. Colorado has 2 more votes for Kerry!

Hubby and I wore our black hoodies, and it only took 5 minutes! That is actually good news in this republican stronghold of the Springs. Especially on our side of town! Waahoo! It felt great. Adrenaline flowing.....

[Boomer]

34. West Virginia Panhandle

In and out of the poll in ten minutes - no line, no hassle.

There were groups of Kerry supporters at several major intersections waving signs and getting a lot of honks in response. NEXT had volunteers out in droves, and I don't know how many times the phone rang with someone asking me to go vote.

[absolutezero]

35. 5 pm

crowded elementary school in NJ, most people i've ever seen there. And i wasn't the only one in a black hoody.
I love eminem

[njdemocrat106]

36. Yep, I voted at around 12:20 p.m.

at the local firehouse. Busier than usual, and saw quite a few young people there too. I felt proud to push the button for John Kerry and John Edwards!

[Shadow30]

37. Very easy...

...I went and voted around 2PM today,I live in Reading Pa.I walked up to my polling place, a church a few blocks from my house.I voted a strait Democratic ticket.My father was working at my polling place he told me 3 times more people had voted by that afternoon than had voted all day in 2000.

[Eloriel]

38. I voted -- and FINALLY got my computer back and am online again

after way too many days. I don't even remember how many days. It's all been a fog, a haze, a nightmare, Dante's 7th Hell, etc., etc.. Sunday, probably, it went down. Cracked a whip over my poor computer guy and FORCED him to get me back online by tonight. The good news: I'm on line (finally) AND I am going to love XP. The bad news: lost a lot of stuff, and have tons of stuff to download (again), AND despite being online again finally, I'm in a cranky mood. Real cranky. So Bush better goddamned NOT win tonight or I'll probably have a one-woman civil war all by myself. :evilgrin:

Now that the important stuff is over, voting:

At 7:15 a.m. at our very rural little Georgia outpost, DH reported 150 people in line. He drove on, deciding to come back later and vote. I went in at about 11:30 and zipped right through with less waiting than I have had at other times for less important elections. The Diebold machines seemed to work fine -- I liked the new user interface (cosmetics), but I left several races unchecked because I just couldn't bring myself to cast a vote for the only candidate if that was a Republican. At the end, reviewing my ballot, those races were highlighted, but there was no message of any sort on the screen telling me that they were unvoted, and what to do about them. Not terribly good, IMO.

[Algorem]

39. If K/E win Ohio by one vote I'm taking credit , was last voter at location

,got there at 7:25,were a couple others there but they left before me,I win.Was wearing black hoody,too.Probably would've worn it anyway(raining,warm though),still...felt good.

[zls44]

40. I voted in CT

HUGE UConn student turnout.

[bobbieinok]

41. voted ca 1:30 in Tulsa OK...no line for me, mini line when I left

poll worker said half of registered voters in precinct had voted, a very high turn-out

saw man behind me voted Kerry

then went to filling station....asked black man if he'd voted; he said you bet....I said I hope for Kerry; he said we've got to get Bush out.......he also reported that half of the registered voters had voted at his precinct when he voted

[Kitka]

42. I was voter #45 in my precinct...

Just before 8 a.m. this morning. There were only 2 others in the school gym voting with me! It felt good, but within minutes I was getting nervous, and had a full blown panic attack around lunch time. I'm so nervous.

[onefreespiritedchick]

43. Cali here - I voted by absentee ballot, Oct 21

[CMO]

44. Everything went smoothly

today. I went to vote 1st thing this morning and I was in and out. I also noticed a ton of Kerry bumper stickers on cars in the parking lot...and that says a lot because I live in a really repuke county!

[dmr]

45. I voted just after the polls opened

at 6am. There were quite a few people, but it the line went fast and smooth.

I can see the polling place from my house, and there is still quite a long line out there - the polls close at 9pm.

I am just too giddy for words!

[Retrograde]

46. SF, CA report

I actually voted in my own county two weeks ago, but I did some volunteer work in San Francisco today. Passed two polling places with block-long lines at 9:15AM (one polling place gets my "only in San Francisco" nomination - a Starbucks on Irving at 9th Ave.) One still had a long line at 2 PM. Overheard some people on the streetcar discussing whether Bush sat for 7,9, or 11 minutes in that Florida school.

Walked past my own polling place at about 3PM - not packed, but seemed to be a steady stream of people coming and going.

[demio]

47. Rode My Bicycle To The Poles To Vote For Kerry & Edwards!

Yep, I live in a heavily Republican area in Ohio. I knew the Republicans would be around the poles jibing the Dem's showing up to
vote. As I rode up amidst the parked SUV's and monster Pick-Up's I racked my bike before going in to vote..

Sure enough I started hearing "Four more Years"! I just smiled and pointed at my bike and said, "I'm ready, got a 65 mpg Honda Insight sitting in the diriveway at home too so BRING IT ON"! It got real quiet. So I just went on in and punched my silver bullet thru the card for Kerry and Edwards and every other Democrat on the list. I haven't felt this good in the last FOUR LOUSY YEARS!

DEMIO

[GettysbergII]

48. I voted then pollwatched,,,,,

.....Chicago's southside for the rest of the day. Everything went smoothly. Didn't run into a Bush supporter all day. The African American vote has to be approaching 0% for Bush/Cheney

[Webster Green]

49. No line, no problems, no challenges, nobody asked for ID

....and I wore my black hoodie

[DemBones DemBones]

50. It's a 'Rainy Night in Georgia,' and I voted

in the rain around four this afternoon (dressed in Democratic blue!) We hit our polling place just right and didn't have to wait at all.

The poll workers confirmed that turnout had been high all day and we were just lucky to hit a quiet time. (Not entirely luck, we planned to avoid the before work rush, the lunch hour rush, the quitting time rushes -- one for mill workers on first shift, one for people who work until 5-- and it worked.)

I've only talked to one friend so far and she reported long lines at her polling place. She and her husband had to wait about an hour and a half to vote.

[HuskiesHowls]

51. No problems here in central Iowa...

at a small precinct. They actually started voting a little early, enough people were lined up. Now, with 20 mins yet to go, they're starting to take stuff apart....no one in line. There were about 50 lined up right after work though.

[PatriotGames]

52. The wife and I voted here in NJ. w00t

[Dangerman]

53. I voted.

[catzies]

54. I voted and was my precinct's Dem GOTV person. Checked and

re-checked my polling place until closing time. In between I called everyone who hadn't shown up and reminded them. It's nothing huge, maybe a hundred people.

[REP]

55. I Voted 7 AM PST

I was the 11th voter at my precinct.

[fortyfeetunder]

56. 0830PT. Another sleepy day in Western Washington

I drove to the school where my little one attended last year, and where I've voted the last 20 years. I thought an absentee ballot had issued to me, at least when I completed the application a couple of months ago...

It was a dark, grey and rainy day. School had started when I entered the library to vote.

Anyway, the school only has about 4-5 voting precincts, and I believe most voters are absentee. I didn't have to show my ID because I am a "regular", even with my black hoodie. I confirmed that I didn't have an absentee ballot mailed to me.

Of the couple dozen booths in the library, there were two booths available to vote in. Entered got in one booth, took out my list of who I was going to vote for and had at it. Took all of about 5 minutes. Then left the school, and drove off to work.

Maybe I'll forego the absentee ballot idea, it was fun to visit the school again.

[AZCat]

57. Tucson, AZ: Voted here!

Walked in around noon, and had no problem. Apparently a bunch of new voters (a dozen or so) had finished up right before I got there, so congrats to all the hard-working people pushing new registrations! We have been out drinking (yeh) since five or so to avoid the early spinning of exit polls, and I am surprised I can type after six hours of drinking/pool playing. I am now sufficiently numb to watch the process without freaking out too much.

[Swamp Rat]

58. I voted early today before I went to my afternoon classes.

Geaux Kerry!