Open voting and election thread – send in your voting pictures


People are turning out in record numbers for the 2008 US Election. In some districts the turnout is 90% and more of registered voters and people are waiting in line for a few hours to exercise their right to vote.

What was your voting experience like? Did you wait at all and were your sure your vote went through?

I sent in my absentee ballot a couple of weeks ago to my last district in the US. It’s times like these (and Halloween) that I really miss home.

Please send links to your voting pictures and share stories about your experiences. I may be going to bed soon as it’s 6 hours later than EST here in Berlin and I plan to wake up early like a kid at Christmas time to see what happened. I’ll update this post with your photos in a few hours once I wake up. JayBird will let you know if there is a clear winner by 12am EST.

Photo below credit Dan Carlson. It was taken in Sherman Oaks, California at about 10:30 am and Carlson said it took him around a half hour to vote. Header image credit David in Chicago.

Update: Here are more photos of people voting in Brooklyn’s 26th district, where there was over a two hour wait. Credit: WENN. There is also a photo sent in by user T-Money:

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54 Responses to “Open voting and election thread – send in your voting pictures”

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  1. masquedance says:

    I don’t have a photo to share, but there wouldn’t be much to see. My fiance & I waited until 2:00 pm to go vote, as that expected to be the slowest time in our area. The wait was minimal, the workers had binders of barcoded stickers for each person registered in the precinct and they peeled it off and stuck in on a card they handed you to take to the booth, so at least no one could vote with the same name at the same precinct twice. Touch screens were used for voting and you were given several opportunities to review your choices and see them on screen and actually printed out before hitting the final confirm button. It was surprisingly simple and uneventful! πŸ˜€

  2. Kristin says:

    I am working there right now, so I will try to take some photos. πŸ™‚

  3. Anni says:

    I think iΒ΄ll stay up late today and watch the news. On the other hand i am terribly tired already. hm.

  4. cori says:

    I got to my polling place at 6:15am…was on my way to work by 7:00am. Not bad…I would have waited hours if I had to. By the time I finished voting and was leaving the polling place, the line was probably 5 times as long as when I went in. Regardless of who your’re voting for, this kind of turnour really solidifies the fact that America does care and people are willing to sacrifice lots of time to have their voice heard.

    ~Be the change you want to see in the world!

  5. notprfect says:

    I sent my vote in by mail on Thursday. I think I might have to stay up past my bedtime tonight, too because I can’t wait to see if Obama wins. I hope, I hope, I hope!!! :mrgreen:

  6. DB says:

    Here in Chicago it’s pretty quiet. No major races, hardly any turnout, and not a lot of voter involvement.

    I mean, except for the big honking rally in Grant Park to which over a million people are expected this evening. That, and the fact that the next President will be from here.

    So no, nothing much going on.

  7. Hollie says:

    I showed up at 6:40AM and waited almost two hours to vote. It was worth it. I would have waited longer if I had to.

    We are showing the world that we care! Good luck Barack!

  8. what is ever. says:

    Hey DB, I’m in Chicago too! My husband and I voted on the way to work this morning, just a bunch of “blue hairs”, no one else. Took 15 minutes combined. To be honest, you would have had no idea that there was a huge presidential election at all, just by looking around Chicago, it’s almost eery.

    My coworker on the other hand lives in Highland Park, and waited nearly an hour, and that was at 6:40 am!

    *edit on the other hand, Highland Park is full of “top tier” tax bracket people– so I guess they were probably there to show some McCain love.

  9. Diva says:

    I’m sitting here at work completely unable to think about anything else. Wishing that this day was just OVER and we had a result.

    I live in a very small town so the polling place is a local church, and there were about 5 of us in there at 9am this morning. I didn’t have a camera, lol. Like I said before, in Washington all but two counties are mail in vote only, but I always take my ballot to the polling place on election day rather than send it through the mail.

    I’m going to miss doing that in the years to come.

  10. T-Money says:

    I’m hoping today we start a brave new world.

  11. Codzilla says:

    I live in a small, relatively unpopulated county, so it took about ten minutes to park, walk in, vote and then drive home. My husband has specific instructions to wake me up if I fall asleep before the winner is announced!

  12. liz says:

    i wish i ws in america to vote. i hope people realise that this doesn’t just affect america, but it affects the whole world. we do not need a repackaged bush running the country again! same party = same policies and decisons people cant spend 8 years complaining about bush and then vote in his ‘little brother’ . vote for obama! we need a change, america has suffered enough.

  13. Mairead says:

    Well done all those who waited in line and bravely posted their vote πŸ˜‰

    I fell out love with politics a long time ago – but i do love a good election. And I am SOOO excited about this one.

    Whatever happens in 12 hours time it’s the start of a big sea-change in world events and we could potentially have some big changes over the next 4 years, no matter which team wins.

    I can’t speak for domestic changes that they’d bring, but I think internationally McCain will be conservative regarding business – basically allow large American corporations work as they are abroad. But I think Obama has a much greater understanding of diplomacy and foreign events and would bring the energy of trying to solve major conflicts that Clinton had.

    So either way, best of luck to both candidates.

  14. Ron says:

    As I have said before I live in LA. I Just got back from voting at 2p. Only 5 people in line, so that was great and I asked the Poll worker how turn out was and she said it’s the highest she has seen in 20 years. I think that’s great regardless of the affiliation of the voter. Making your voice heard is what freedom is all about and we are lucky to have that right!

    And now for the biased part of our program…GO OBAMA GO!!

  15. CC says:

    i voted 3 weeks ago, early voting in Georgia

  16. Ceenitall says:

    I was all excited and prepared to wait in line for hours to cast my vote. God I love this country!!!!

    I was a little disapointed when I got there and there was no one in line in my district. I live in a small suburb so I guess everyone is in the city working. It took about 20 minutes and that included drive time.

    By the way did I say I love this country?

  17. actingrc says:

    I’m in New Haven, CT. we switched to scantron voting for the primaries and it’s state-wide now. i was a little nervous at first, but it seems like it really combines the benefits of electronic and paper ballots. plus, it’s super fast. a line of maybe 30 people only took 10-15 minutes to clear out.

  18. Bodhi says:

    No photos, but I only waited in line for about an hour & a half, but my husband (so weird to say!) had to wait for almost 3 hours.

  19. stellapurdy says:

    I didn’t wait at all at 9am eastern time. However I too live in a small metropolitan city with many polling places.

    I’m interested in what people used to place their vote. We’re still using the booths with the levers which I trust a bit more than the electronic touch screens, considering Diebold, (the manufacturer of the touchscreen for those that don’t know), is a big Republican supporter.

    I would rather we went to paper ballots.

  20. masquedance says:

    Oops…I failed to mention earlier that I live in a small suburb outside of Charlotte, NC! I probably also should have mentioned that over 40% of registered voters in my area voted early. Also, the poll workers did say this was still the largest turnout they’d ever had – I just chose to go vote during the slow time. I didn’t mean to make it seem like the voters in my area weren’t getting out to the polls! 😳 Props to my fellow intelligent gossip aficionados who made their voices heard! πŸ˜€

  21. Anni says:

    aw bodhi…i just smiled when i read “husband”. i am so happy for you!

  22. mollination says:

    DIVA! You’re a washingtonian too? I live in a little town in King County (one of the 2 counties which are not mail-in only) and was so excited to wait around the community center for 5 minutes. Smelled like old people and toast. haha.

  23. mollination says:

    How strange. I’m being moderated. πŸ™ anyway, DIVA, i was just saying I’m a washingtonian too! So excited to vote (I live in a county where we show up to the polls, not one of the mail-in counties) at my local community center.

    CONGRATS BODHI! That “boy” is yo’ man now! πŸ™‚

  24. Moderator says:

    Again, sometimes moderation happens because a single word can trip the sensor.

    Please be patient and if you haven’t said anything wrong, it will clear.

  25. Bodhi says:

    πŸ˜€ Thanks! I have, however, already lost him the the martial Wii. It was fun while it lasted πŸ˜†

  26. Thumbelina says:

    I waited an hour but that’s not a complaint! This is a historic election.

  27. Cari says:

    I live in an area north of Tampa, FL (read: retirees galore!)and I thought there was going to be a *huge* line at 7:20 am, the parking lot was fairly full, but I only waited about ten minutes.

    God, how happy I was to be there. I would have waited hours, if I needed to. πŸ˜€

  28. Mairead says:

    heh heh @ bodhi – newlywed votes are extra-special… FACT! πŸ˜† If you’ve survived a wedding, the next 4 years should be no bother to you πŸ˜‰

  29. aleach says:

    im in atlanta and people had been waiting up to 10 HOURS to vote in early voting. its so crazy.
    i went on wed. and waited about 2.5 hrs but time flew by, and we made some sweet friends in line.
    i was just so glad to be there, i didnt mind waiting at all!

  30. Renee says:

    A lot of my friends and coworkers waited hours in line to vote early. I went today at 4, walked right in and back out with no wait. Fabulous.

  31. xiaoecho says:

    Bohdi….. OMG are you married??? Congrats on the nuptials πŸ˜›

  32. vdantev says:

    Obama is ahead 103 electoral votes to McCain’s 34, 270 needed to win. I was in and out in 20 minutes today.

  33. MsA says:

    I am from the southwest suburbs of Chicago and my polling place was not busy at all, mind you that I went at 8:30am. Kudos to those that waited!! πŸ™‚
    I actually have a picture of me inside the voting booth with my ballot! I don’t know if I was allowed but I did it anyway! :)I had to get sneaky! LOL! My friend told me he tried to and was yelled at.

  34. breederina says:

    Congratulations Bodhi, much happiness to you both ! πŸ™‚
    Today I was at the polls with two friends stumping for No on 8 ready to fight the good fight. Ironically we were assigned a very liberal neighborhood where all the people we met said they voted no and thanked us for coming ! One lady came back with home baked cookies. There was one crazy guy yelling about the KKK and two yes voters with civilized questions. That was it. Then no line at my neighborhood place.
    I’m currently doing my version of wishing , hoping , praying for all the right wins. . .

  35. Mairead says:

    CBS predicting current tally 102 vs 51 for Obama.

    CNN predicting a very confident win of over 60% for Obama in Pennsylvania

    (I’ll probably keep nodding off and waking up to catch up during the night – this is exciting stuff!)

    EDIT – to paraphrase Kaiser, ZOMG WIDGET!! I just noticed the nifty results widget on the main page – mighty stuff CB :mrgreen:

  36. Glowstar says:

    I live in northern va and got to the polls at 5:45am. There was already a line out the door. Luckly they were very organized and it only took about 30 mins. Hoping for a blue VA!

  37. california angel says:

    Congrats Bod hi!
    I was really bummed to find out that I was only the 213th voter in my town. Of course, it is really small, however I did not have to wait in line at all.
    As of Now CNN says, Obama 199 McCain 78.

  38. enchantress says:

    Walked down to the polling place which is in an old building about a half block from the ocean. Got right in and voted touch-screen-wise, no paper printout so hopefully no software shenanigans are in store.
    If you live in California and are reading this, please: Yes on 2!!
    And…..GO OBAMA!!!!!!! πŸ˜€

  39. Syko says:

    Every year I seem to take longer to adjust to the time changes, and I am yawning my head off at 9:50 EST, but almost afraid to go to bed until Obama gets those other 70 electoral votes.

    I see so much happiness on here about getting to vote. Isn’t it wonderful we are feeling that way? I hope this isn’t an isolated election, and that we can continue to be excited and glad to be voting in the future. Look what complacency did to us. This feels like a fresh new start.

  40. Bodhi says:

    πŸ˜€

    I feel ya, Syko. Its ridiculously dark already!

  41. vdantev says:

    Obama 200 McCain 73 πŸ˜€

  42. jennifer says:

    So I’m watching the results – and I’m SO happy happy happy. As someone above mentioned, the US election is so important, bcs it doesn’t just affect you guys, it affects so many of us worldwide. So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. πŸ˜€

    And I have a question, bcs I’m not sure how these things work – what happens to Palin now? Does she just go back to what she was doing before, or…? (I guess what I’m asking is – is it too much to hope I’ll never see her face again? πŸ˜›

    For real though, what now?

  43. Anne says:

    Has it been called yet? I read that McCain can’t win now. 7:42pm pacific time.

  44. Anne says:

    I think Palin will go back to being the governor of Alaska? I don’t imagine she was getting any work done as governor while campaigning. In Canada you must step down from your office before you can run for another but I don’t think that’s how it works in the US. So, basically I don’t know, aren’t I helpful? πŸ˜‰

  45. stellapurdy says:

    Palin goes back to being governor of Alaska if they lose the election.

    If Biden loses he is also on the ballot for re-election of senator of Delaware

  46. enchantress says:

    People down the street are setting off fireworks πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€
    This is a great day !!!!!

  47. stellapurdy says:

    CNN PROJECTION: BARACK OBAMA ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 11:00PM EST

  48. jennifer says:

    Thanks, stellapurdy! I didn’t know if since, like, she was the potential VP that meant she would now hold a higher political position or…you know? Some sort of promotion or something…like I say I don’t really know how these things work… πŸ˜†

  49. Hollz says:

    McCain has Conceded! YES!

  50. Trashaddict says:

    I must have hit my demographic on this website. Polling place a block from my house tops the page!
    Looking at the next 4 years with hopeful optimism and enlightened skepticism – because no politician can deliver all they promise, but I think this man hears the voices of more Americans than McCain would have.
    And very, VERY relieved that Palin will not be one coronary away from having her finger on the button.

  51. Anne says:

    LANDSLIDE!!! Sorry for yelling! πŸ˜€

  52. elisa says:

    338 electoral votes…that’s amazing! They thought it would be a lot closer. GOBAMA!!!!

  53. Cheyenne says:

    Long lines waiting to vote all over NYC today. I’ve never seen anything like it.

    A friend in northern Virginia told me he waited almost two hours in line to vote and said he’d do it all over again in a minute.

    History was made today and we were part of it. πŸ˜€