The day before

I'll admit it: I'm a Presidential election junkie. For the past two years, I've been following the news, watching the speeches, analyzing the debates and laughing at the mishaps and Saturday Night Live sketches. It's been kind of a rush.

Indiana is one of the states where you can vote early, so yesterday I headed down to one of the polling places to cast my vote.  I was quite surprised with the number of people waiting in line - there were probably a hundred people lined up out the door and around the building. Of course, there were also people passing out flyers and trying to get you to vote for their candidate (in addition to President, there are several state and local offices up for grabs). I wish they would not allow people to do this. For one thing, it's annoying. It's also environmentally unfriendly  - as evidenced by the huge pile of discarded flyers in a trash bin by the entrance. Anyway, by the time I get to the polls, I've already made my mind up and need no additional convincing. 

Fortunately, the line moved quickly, and soon I was inside the building. There I found that the line continued, with people coiled around like a snake, and the actual voting booths in the center of the room. There were several checkpoints, from ID checking to verification of registration, but it was a well-oiled machine and the poll workers kept the line moving. I marked my ballot, sealed it in the envelope, and was out the door. In all, the process took about 30 minutes.

I felt great afterward - and relieved. Now I won't have to stand in an even longer line tomorrow. I won't have to worry about taking time off from work, or getting a speeding ticket on the way to my local polling place before the very early closing time. I'm not sure why Indiana is one of the first states to close polls. But it is.

One thing's for sure, history will be made tomorrow. Being the Presidential election junkie that I am, I'll be glued to the news until the results are in. Let's just hope it won't take an act of the Supreme Court to decide this one because I'm not sure I can handle that again.

What will I do when this is over?!!