US people: Who has voted?

[RootAnn]

Kind of a reminder and kind of a gauge on how the Hive participation rate is this election day.

[TCB]

I voted today in person. This feels like an important one.

[J-rap]

Yes, I plan to later today!  It never fails to be a thrilling experience for me.

[Rachel]

We had a line today at my polling place, there is never a line! 

[LucyStoner]

We are all mail in voting here.  No polling places with a few exceptions.  

I filled out my ballot a week ago but it’s still on the visor of my car.  I’ll drop it off on the way home.  While I am enthused for the midterms, nothing in my area is close.  There’s no one actually running against my congresswoman.  

Edited November 6, 2018 by LucyStoner

[HomeAgain]

Yes, every adult in my house voted today.  We took turns going since we had workers coming to the house today.  My street was actually well represented - out of the six houses, I saw at least 3 of my neighbors at 7:30am when I went to vote, standing in line with me.

[RootAnn]

Exciting to hear there was a line, @Rachel!

Sorry to hear that, @happysmileylady but at least you've voted in the past and plan to in the future.

@LucyStoner We had some uncontested local elections where I would have liked to have had a choice, so I get it.

[Guest]

I voted early. It was absolutely packed! 

[LucyStoner]

Just now, RootAnn said:

Exciting to hear there was a line, @Rachel!

Sorry to hear that, @happysmileylady but at least you've voted in the past and plan to in the future.

@LucyStoner We had some uncontested local elections where I would have liked to have had a choice, so I get it.

 

Technically there is a choice on the ballot but I support the incumbent and she will win by at least a 20 point margin.  I was more actively involved in campaigning in an adjacent district that could flip.  My own district is a bit of a snooze fest this year.  There are a few ballot initiatives but I dislike ballot initiatives on principle.  ?

[madteaparty]

We are in a swing district, I plan to leave work early to vote. One lady at my bus at around 7am had voted in person already and I felt like a slacker. 

[thessa516]

Not yet, but I will be in about three hours (waiting on DH to get home from work).

[edelweiss]

DH and I voted last week.  We were in and out in 5 minutes.  So glad I did it then! I don't know if the polls around here are are busy or not today, but I am so glad that I went last week if they are.  I am not the most patient person and I know that I would be unlikely to wait in a long line if there was one. 

DD18 voted by mail.  She had no interest in having to go to a polling site.  That's what I am going to do for the next election!

[regentrude]

I voted this morning before going to work.

I grew up in a country where we did not have the right to vote. I am very mindful of how big a privilege it is to voice my opinion without repercussions.

[Mbelle]

There was a line to vote and only 5 machines and we were also waiting on the cards.  It still only took 30 min, but we are in a very small voter area.  I saw 2 of my neighbors from my street with maybe 8 houses.  DD and Dh voted 2 weeks ago and waited a lot longer than I did.

[medawyn]

DH and I took the kids this morning and then took them out for donuts.

DD3 went tearing through the house this morning yelling, “I’m so excited about voting!” Followed by a quieter, to herself “I have no idea what voting is.” ? I guess my chats about the election process need to be revisited in a year or two.

[scholastica]

I just voted. Still didn’t like my choices, but I did it.

[teachermom2834]

I generally take advantage of early voting and voted early last week.

I am embarrassed to admit I haven't always voted in midterm elections. I don't think dh has ever made it for a midterm (hard with his work schedule) but he got there this morning. So, based on our sample size of two I say turnout should be high!

[Angie in VA]

I am so offended that *tea* was not included in the obligatory other option!

Of course I voted. In my family it wasn't merely a privilege. It was a civic duty. 

[Ravin]

I did an early ballot, then volunteered this morning with Native Vote and stood/sat outside a local polling place for 5 hours. It was really cool to see such a diverse crowd, age-wise. I remember the last time I went to vote in person, the crowd was definitely on average much older than me. Today I saw a lot of young folks too, which was good.

[hepatica]

DH and I both voted in person this morning (no early voting in CT, something that needs to change). We vote in every election. It was embarrassing how quick and easy and efficient it is to vote in a wealthy, white CT town. At 9am there was no line and I was in and out in about 7 minutes. Kudos to all of you and all the folks nationwide who have to wait in lines in the rain for hours. There is no excuse for that.  We can do better.

And, I personally would like to see as many people as possible cast a vote, regardless of your demographic.

[MEmama]

We were there when they opened at 7am. Already a long line, but super efficient and fast. 

DS spent the day volunteering, handing out I Voted stickers. ?

[DoraBora]

I accompanied my first-time voter dd so I could get a photo...  ?

No line, just a few people there.  Lots of early voters in my area.  I can't wait to watch returns this evening!

[Ravin]

2 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

Dh has to work a double today. We have a polling place close by. I'm sure we'll work out something so I can get away to vote. Worst case, like absolute worst case, I'll leave the two kids home alone for a short bit I suppose. I really don't want to do that, though. Not because I think it's a horrible thing, but because with my kids I don't know what I'll return to. 

 

Take them with you!

[Sdel]

DH and I voted early.   I am done with elections!!  I’ve spent the last two weeks actually counting votes and matching them  to historic vote data.   Ugh.

Stefanie

[HomeAgain]

2 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

Dh has to work a double today. We have a polling place close by. I'm sure we'll work out something so I can get away to vote. Worst case, like absolute worst case, I'll leave the two kids home alone for a short bit I suppose. I really don't want to do that, though. Not because I think it's a horrible thing, but because with my kids I don't know what I'll return to. 

You can't take them with you?  I've taken mine in the past, plus any other littles that happened to be at my house that day.  The older ones sat against the wall at the back and the under-4s sat at my feet at the poll.
All the schools here are closed for voting day, so there were plenty of kids sitting at the polls waiting for their parents.

[MrsMommy]

I hobbled in on my crutches and voted this morning. No long lines, but the polling place was busier than usual. I was voter #247, which is unheard of at that time of day in a non-presidential election year, so I think that's a good thing!

[RootAnn]

6 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

Dh has to work a double today. We have a polling place close by. I'm sure we'll work out something so I can get away to vote. Worst case, like absolute worst case, I'll leave the two kids home alone for a short bit I suppose. I really don't want to do that, though. Not because I think it's a horrible thing, but because with my kids I don't know what I'll return to. 

In my state, employers are required to allow workers up to an hour and a half to vote on election days, I believe. Hard to make happen sometimes, but legally the case.

[SKL]

I went in the morning since I won't have the car in the evening.  Plus I wanted to make sure I had time in case they asked me for anything new that I didn't bring.  This is our first election since they changed the rules and the process here.

I did have a brief wait, but it was relatively quick.  The longest thing was having to read the issues on the ballot.

I hope the counting machines are accurate.  ?

[SamanthaCarter]

We walked over and one of my kids waited outside with the dog and the other two came in. Busy, but no line. There were three dogs waiting outside, which I found very Rockwellian. Walkable neighborhood. 

[vonfirmath]

14 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

Dh has to work a double today. We have a polling place close by. I'm sure we'll work out something so I can get away to vote. Worst case, like absolute worst case, I'll leave the two kids home alone for a short bit I suppose. I really don't want to do that, though. Not because I think it's a horrible thing, but because with my kids I don't know what I'll return to. 

 

Why not take them with us?

We've done that in the past.

This year, my husband is a election inspector so we went out and voted early. Him because he's in another county and me so I didn't have it on my plate today.

 

[Lanny]

Overseas American here...   I sent my Absentee Ballot to Texas, via the least expensive Snail Mail method, near the end of September.  It got there about 2 weeks ago. There will probably be a lot of races that take a while for them to determine the winner. I am a "MOVE Act" voter. That's for Deployed Military and Overseas Americans and there is an office in the Pentagon that is extremely helpful. Their URL is https://www.fvap.gov/

[Arcadia]

We haven’t register as voters and need to do that at my county’s election office. My polling place is actually a 5min walk down the road to the local library’s community room.

No lines for sure. Many have already cast their vote at the ballot boxes at all the nearby libraries, city halls, community colleges and state universities. We have so many ballot box drop off places nearby that my husband’s company doesn’t need to give time off to vote. 

California DMV did mess up voter registration this year registering more than 24,500 people who are not eligible to vote. 

My city’s district election would be interesting because my city lost the lawsuit on racial discrimination and now have to do voting by district instead of voting at large. 

[Pen]

We are all mail in or drop at a box voting and I did it before today. 

[Mergath]

We went! We all go as a family for every general election. Both of my dds have now come with me for every single general election since infancy. We're big on voting around here.

[Faith-manor]

Voted along with 21 year old son and DH. Our other two boys had to vote absentee since they are too far away at college to travel home for it.

[Joker]

We voted early this past weekend. We had to wait about an hour but every polling location I've driven by today has lines well out past the door.

Prior to this year we've never had more than a 5-10 minute wait even on election day. 

[unsinkable]

Yes, I cast my pointless vote in my 1 party city, that's in my 1 party district, that's in my 1 party county, that's in my 1 party state. 

I didn't show ID. I wasn't asked. I have NEVER been asked probably bc it is pointless anyway.

[Rachel]

I saw a toddler at the library today wearing a “Future Voter” shirt, it was so cute! I want to get something similar for my kids for our next election. 

My kids go with me every single time there is something to vote on. My parents drilled it into me that you don’t miss the opportunity and I have only missed one opportunity to vote since I turned 18.

Our oldest won’t vote for another 8 years but we have had a lot of great conversations in the last week. One of the mayoral candidates stopped by our house yesterday and I spoke to her for almost 30 minutes. Before she stopped I definitely wasn’t voting for her but after the conversation I spent some more time investigating local issues and she at least gained my consideration. I was able to discuss with the kids why I hadn't initially planned to vote for her, what she said that made me reconsider, and why I ultimately chose to vote otherwise. 

[Farrar]

We wanted to take a walk the other day so dh and I walked to the other side of the 'hood and voted then.

Supposedly there were legit lines today. Which is funny. We have no federal elections really. The mayor is a shoo in for re-election. There is a contentious at large city council seat with some crazy rhetoric flying around. You can vote for two people and I bullet voted for the person I wanted to win. The other seat will go to someone I dislike and my candidate's closest competitor is the person I don't want to get it, so I felt eschewing my other vote made sense.

We now have all digital voting, but we get a little printout we can double check. I like that.

[Rachel]

1 hour ago, RootAnn said:

In my state, employers are required to allow workers up to an hour and a half to vote on election days, I believe. Hard to make happen sometimes, but legally the case.

My state allows 4 hours time off as long as the employee makes the request at least a day ahead of time. At every job my husband or I have worked at full time that has been paid time off but I’m not sure it is the norm. 

[KrissiK]

I am permanent absentee. I voted last week!!

[Lady Florida.]

I've been voting by mail the last few years. According to the supervisor of elections they received my ballot on Nov. 2nd.

I cast my first ever vote in an off year - 1973. Since that time, in 45 years, I have voted in Every. Single. Election. Even the little seemingly insignificant ones. I take my right to vote very seriously. 

Edited November 6, 2018 by Lady Florida.

[73349]

I voted early last week, bringing DS along (and he delighted in his Future Voter sticker). It was a pretty full ballot: in addition to offices, there were six proposed amendments to the state constitution and three local bonds on there.

DH voted today, working from home so he could do so. (He works an hour away.)

Local schools opened 2 hours late, and the city made buses free for the day to reduce impediments to voting. (However, not all polling places are served by the bus system. Ours isn't.)

[historically accurate]

2 hours ago, RootAnn said:

In my state, employers are required to allow workers up to an hour and a half to vote on election days, I believe. Hard to make happen sometimes, but legally the case.

Personally, I think we should can Columbus Day as a holiday and add Voting Day. Close the banks, Post Office, schools, etc. to let people vote.

I voted at about 8 am, and I was #42. 

[happi duck]

My kids and I voted this afternoon and it was crowded!  Dh is currently in line!!  So glad it seems a good turnout!!

Shout out to all the election judges who keep things moving!!  My late mom was always an election judge so I'll always have a soft spot in my heart ❤

I visited my sister's grave today because she was very passionate about politics and voting.

[RootAnn]

10 minutes ago, happi duck said:

I visited my sister's grave today because she was very passionate about politics and voting.

? I was able to visit my dad and brother's graves today, too. I hope my nieces that are old enough to vote did so (even though I believe they probably would vote very differently than their father would have.) The important thing is that you educate yourself and vote.

[AmandaVT]

3 hours ago, Arctic Mama said:

I registered in our new county when we moved and voted.  I’m positive I’m not the demographic  the voter drive people wanted to turn out but oh well ?

 

I think it's great to vote, no matter your demographic or party. 

 

I voted last week because our town clerk posted on a local e-mail board that she cleaned out her yarn closet and anyone who came could help themselves to free yarn that she didn't want any longer. I voted and got a lovely bag of yarn!

[Sallie Mae]

I felt myself coming down with a cold yesterday, so I did absentee voting in the afternoon without my "little helper" in tow. There was a line out the door at the only absentee voting location in town. It took about 50 minutes from getting in line to walking back out. I'm relieved to have voted yesterday since I have no voice today, and I feel officially lousy. Enjoying being able to be home all day.

[Mbelle]

I do usually vote and today I voted for everything except one thing.   However, I do have respect for not voting and I do still think people who don't vote can also still have an opinion.  I do believe in the freedom to vote or not vote.  I can usually find something to vote for during and election, but I have skipped minor elections before.  

 

@Thatboyofmine  !!!  fingers crossed!

[wendyroo]

I live in a state that asininely rejects absentee voting by choice.  All voting must happen in-person on the official day of the election unless you are a senior citizen or can "prove" that you legitimately can't make it to the poll for one of their pre-approved reasons.  (And if you have such a reason, you much register for absentee voting no later than the Saturday before the election.)

It is also officially illegal here to leave children under the age of 6 unattended in a car for any length of time....which is why I got to drag four children, two of them actively puking, to the polls with me today.  I just puffy heart LOVE government bureaucracy; my nannies, I mean legislators, are always looking for ways to support and improve our lives!!  ?  

DH did not get to vote this election, because yesterday an urgent business trip suddenly came up and had him flying to DC at the last minute.  Him being out of town would have qualified him for absentee voting, but since he did not know until yesterday, he was out of luck.  I encouraged him to just knocked on the door of the White House and tell them his vote in person since he was being disenfranchised by the voting restrictions in our state.  He said he would think it over.  ?

Also, as a side rant, our city is now too cheap to buy "I Voted" stickers.  Really?!?  We are an affluent community.  They somehow found the funds to paint a hideous new logo on the water tower, but they can't spare the money to buy some stickers?  Next election I am going to have to remember to bring my own blank sticker and marker!!

Wendy