Election Day

I'm still a bit in shock that we're at Election Day 2012 already. It seriously seems like a blink ago that I worked the polls (in NC) for the 2008 election. 

I can remember quite vividly, watching the tv all night (I was tracked out and didn't have to work in the morning) and being so hopeful that Obama would win. I remember really wanting him to win and feeling so emotionally connected to the election.

I also remember not being too concerned if he didn't win. Being a Democrat to my core, I wouldn't have given my vote to McCain, but I supported him and would have been happy with him as my President.

This year is different.

Maybe I'm different, and because my life has changed so much over the last four years, my views are not as tolerant. I don't know what it is, but this election has me worried.

While I'm not as emotionally connected to Obama with his re-election (in fact, had other individuals been named the Republican candidate, I may have given them my vote today), I just cannot, for the life of me, get Romney.

I don't want comments about him. I don't want to know why he's so great for women (BARF) or why he's "so much better than Obama" because to me, he's not. To me, he's worse than GW Bush (and that was PRETTY bad).

So tonight I feel a lot of nervousness about the outcome of this election. It's going to be a close one, and we may not know the results for a few days. However, I will eagerly watch to see who will be the 45th President of the United States.

This morning, Gus and I went to vote at 9am. It was raining quite heavily when I left the house, and had not stopped when I parked at the school where we vote. Fortunately, there was ample parking and I got Gus situated in the umbrella stroller and we made a mad dash through the rain to the school.

When I walked in, I was amazed. The place was practically empty. I was not anticipating an empty cafeteria! I expected at least some sort of a wait, but thankfully, we walked right up, got the voter card and headed to a machine to vote.

I don't know if you're supposed to take pictures of your ballot or not, but I took one anyway. In GA, we vote electronically and use a yellow card that goes into the machine when you vote and then the data is downloaded. Our ballot was very short this year (four pages total- eight items) and I was done in no time at all!

 

Voting cards and stickers

 I hurried Gus back through the rain and got into my car and the time that it took from leaving my car to getting back into my car was 13 minutes. It was amazing and I was so thrilled that I didn't have to wait in a long line with Gus.


We headed home and a little after 10:45 this morning, Gus threw up all over the kitchen floor. It was quite disgusting and I almost threw up cleaning it up. He has been fine for the rest of today, but I've decided to keep him home tomorrow and not go to the mall for our MC event there.

We played with dough tonight as we waited for Steve to get home from work. Gus was loving it. I'm so excited for Thursday because it's his first speech therapy session. I'm already loving the way he says blue "beeew" and orange  "oooooooar---ge." I'm eager to see what more he'll start to say with a little bit of help. I'm so glad that we'll be starting therapy before he's 2.5 (granted, it's three days before turning 2.5) because our pediatrician said if he wasn't talking more at 2.5 then we should seek help. Well, the help has arrived!!

That's it for me. I'm going to go to bed. I hope when I wake up in the morning, I hear that Obama was re-elected. If not, it's going to be a VERY long four years and I don't even want to think about the direction that our country will go.

Voting in GA

Today was Election Day here in GA (Primary election). Steve and I wanted to go together since neither of us have voted here yet. We waited for Gus to wake from his nap and it was 6:30 by the time we left the house (the polls closed at 7).


When we arrived at the school, we weren't sure where to go and there weren't signs ANYWHERE. It was really odd to not see a million campaign posters/signs. After turning around and going around the other side of the building, we found the entrance.


I was surprised to see that we had to show our driver's licenses to vote. I thought that was illegal. Anyway, after showing our IDs, we were given directions to head to the next table and instead of being given a big long ballot (like I've ALWAYS been given), we were each handed a yellow card (like a credit card). This was our ballot.


When we went to the voting booth, we put the card into the reader (like a credit card reader) and it made a click and locked in the card. Then my ballot showed up on the screen. It was all touch-screen and SO EASY. I literally just went through and checked a box on who I wanted to vote for, and then on the issues, same thing. At the end, it let me review my ballot before hitting the submit button.

When I was done, the card was ejected and I took it back to the lady at the first table and she gave me the above sticker. 


It was so easy.


I didn't have to bubble in anything with a pen. I didn't have to worry about feeding my ballot into a machine and worrying about it not taking it or going in wrong-side up. It was incredibly efficient and very high-tech.


I loved it.


Now let's just hope that my votes were worth something and how I voted pans out as I had hoped.