Today is important. I always get super nervous on election day and have been known to pull an all-nighter and chase every last return and poll and otherwise be useless. So let’s just see how useless I get.
5:40 woke up a full hour too early with nerves. I have my semi-absentee ballot all filled out so I can just drop it off at the polling place which is a block away but somehow not in my district (long story). Man, it will be a long day.
7:40 no projection reports yet, thankfully. My guess is people were so burned by exit polling that it just isn’t happening. Still at home, still trying to not watch the news. Feel good for working out. Time to drop off that ballot and put on my “I Voted” sticker.
8:24 just noticed I dressed in a lot of blue today. Subconscious voter leanings?
9:50 have evidence of the free Starbucks tall coffee working (coworker). Will likely try for the free Ben and Jerry’s cone later.
10:01 traffic was awful coming in today, but it meant I got to listen to much of the first hour of Forum on KQED talking about the history of the election process including the electoral college and why we vote on Tuesday. Politcal nerd heaven.
13:32 back from lunch. Saw a few “I Voted” stickers including the person who took my order at La Bamba’s Taqueria. I passed Mountain View City Hall and saw some people holding “No on 8” signs the requisite 100 feet from the polling place. Otherwise it was very quiet at lunch. Seemed like less people were out… hopefully they were voting.
14:17 story time! Why we vote on Tuesday: short form it had to be on a day to allow travel to and from the polling place. People don’t travel Sunday (Sabbath!) so if Monday is the travel day, Tuesday is the vote day. Long form: Wikipedia
14:30 Election Day results pages: Google, CNN, California Sec’y of State, NPR
15:00 Distraction: Terry Tate, Office Linebacker is back… and bringing the pain train to the voting booth… Whoooo!
16:08 numbers coming in… McCain supposedly taking Kentucky and Obama gets Vermont. 8 vs. 3. Someone needs to explain to me how they can call a race with 10% of the vote in. I’m sure if I listen to NPR they will tell me.
17:00 getting antsy. I have to pick a source and stick… MSNBC is calling South Carolina for McCain (making it 16 vs. 3) but I don’t see that anywhere else… right now the NPR map is down. I’ll likely leave work soon and listen to NPR on the way home and get something to eat while I watch more results. I’m definitely going to need a drink soon.
17:08 haven’t left yet. MSNBC just called a bunch of states and it’s now 34 to 103. CNN showing 34 to 77. KQED/NPR still down. Google has not made any new calls.
18:50 just got home. heard on the road that Obama is carrying New Mexico and more importantly Ohio. That means if he carries every state that voted for Kerry he’s over 270. Obama will win!
18:55 I just reread the last one. Obama will win! I’m so freaking excited. I know it’s not in the can yet, but OMFG people!. OK… now it’s going to be an hour until we get some California results.
20:00 NPR all but called the election for Obama. I’m going to have dinner now and hopefully the California ballot results will be as uplifting.
20:30 just listened to John McCain’s fairly magnanimous concession speech and I have hope that he will do what he says, though I don’t think Sarah Palin has any serious chance to any national office, and I’m fairly fine with that. California results are trickling in (KQED and Sec’y of State website have them)
21:21 just listened to Obama’s acceptance speech and I’m somewhat embarrassed to be teary-eyed. I’m somewhat unhappy with initial California returns almost across the board. It sounds like, though, that the early voting and absentee votes may make the difference.
21:44 having a nice scotch feels good. Once the laundry finishes I’m going to finish my drink and make out with my wife for a while.
04:34 Wow. Making out with my wife did go for a while. The scotch (Macallan, yay) took me to dreamsville, but it just wore off. I’m sobered very quickly by election results. I’m happy about everything except the election map for Prop 8. I can’t believe they’ll call it done today, though, with over 2million absentee outstanding. I’m happiest for the outcome of prop 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10 (Take that, T. Boone Pickens!). Oh yeah. And Barack Obama! And with enough coattails to have nearly 60 Dems in the Senate, and they’re still counting?
Why do we vote on Tuesdays?