election day

Yesterday I interacted with about 600 people at the polls. It was an amazing experience from the three little Russian ladies with their translator to the man who ran up the driveway into a heavy chain in hopes of voting before the 8:00 deadline. He made it, but his shirt was torn and dirty, his cell phone lost, and his body bruised. I called his cell phone and he found it.

There are so many different kinds of people. And they all wanted to vote. I was proud of them and glad to help. Young people seemed particularly involved. Lots of people willing to go back home to get identification and go through the process of casting a provisional ballot. We didn't have the lines we expected, except in the morning. Early voting really affected late afternoon and evening. Those who usually have to vote after work evidently stood in long lines to vote early. Ironic because we had no waiting at the polls. It was a long work day -- from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.