Hi y'all!! I'm baaack.

I started another thread here before the election when it appeared I would be going to either DC or Boston for this election and indicated some personal dissappointment in that thread when it turned out I would be going to Columbus, Ohio instead. I was wrong in my disappointment. As it turned out, Columbus was the place to be for while it may have lacked the historical significance of our past that both DC and Boston hold, it was the epicenter of the results of that history on Election Day, 2004. What was started in Boston over 200 years ago and what is memorialized in DC today was demonstrated in Columbus, Ohio this year and I was there to witness it firsthand. And it was glorious.

My job was to beam images of American Democracy in action to all of Europe. ITN in the UK, LCI in France, ARD in Germany and a host of other nations as well. Spain, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and some others as well. It was interesting to look at American Democracy through the eyes of others, to hear their comments and talk with them about their perspective. They were interested in mine as well since I was one of the few within the "media horde" who would admit to supporting President Bush. They wanted to know why and I told them. I think Secretary Powell owes me a lunch....

We were there the day before the election, parked right outside the Statehouse in Columbus and the fine citizens of that city were out in force. Demonstrating, holding up their signs, honking their horns. Bush supporters were yelling "Four more Years!" and the Kerry people were responding with "One more Day!" and they filled the sidewalks around the capitol building. It was a celebration, a block party for America and it was fun and inspiring and amusing and wonderful. Both sides were filled with passion and both sides were filled with respect for each other. It could have turned into a riot, but there was no riot, nothing of the sort. It was America doing what Americans do and exercising their rights.

I stood watching all of this with the UK reporter standing next to me. He remarked, "These blokes are bloody touched!". He had a point. It was windy and cold and the rain was coming down from time to time yet they stayed and yelled and screamed for their candidate. They dressed up like flip-flops and had their kids carrying blow up dolls of Flipper the dolphin and taunted the Kerry people and the Kerry people taunted the Bush people back and the only time they pushed or shoved each other was when we turned the camera around and they wanted to get in front. But, I told my British friend that he was witnessing American Democracy in action. We are a passionate people. I told him to wait and see what happened on Election Day.

And what he saw was people standing in line in the cold and rain for hours waiting to vote. "Bloody Amazing". Yes it was bloody amazing, but it always is to me. Friends and neighbors can passionately disagree when it comes to politics, but they'll share a six pack on the weekend while they watch the game together. On Wednesday night after it was all over I went into a local bar I found next to my hotel filled with Kerry-supporting labor union construction workers and was promptly announced by the bartender as "here comes the Bush guy!". I didn't get killed, they bought me a beer. Actually, more than one.....

I had a hell of a good time in Columbus, no place I'd have rather been on this past election day. Good people in Ohio, really good people.

So, where were you on Election Day and what was your experience?

Aquilla, you were gone?

Seriously, welcome back. Glad you had a fun time.

So, where were you on Election Day and what was your experience?

I actually detailed most of mine in another thread, as well. I went in early and beat the rush (and the rain) by about 15 minutes. When I went in there were about 12 people in front of me. When I left, about 250, in line.

Pretty boring after that. I was at the hotel, making sure things went right for a couple of local campaign parties in our banquet rooms, and watching the results along with everyone else.

Once I got home, I logged on here in chat and sent a few hours hashing it over with our fellow members, along with the usual fun and nonsense that accompanies the chats. That helped my "depression" over the loss

Welcome back!

Like almost every day, I did nothing special on that day but sleep, eat, and go to work. My experience? Well, nothing surprised me but the overwhelming support for bans on same-sex marriage. That still stuns me.

Voted early, shortly after the polls opened. Walked about half a mile in the rain to do it. There was no line. There rarely is where I live. It isn't because our turnout is low, I think we just have it organized better than most places.

Came intending to vote for Badnarik since I'm not in a swing state. Couldn't do it, too much at stake this time, went for Bush instead. Voted GOP for winnable state races, Libertarian for the rest. And as it turns out, I guess most LP voters felt similarly: Badnarik scored 0% (7000 votes) in WA, while statewide LP candidates averaged 3-4%. Headed home.

Took a nap, ate breakfast, left FNC on in the background. Alternately surfed the net and played Baldur's Gate II the rest of the day. A little surprised at how it turned out. Rove is a freakin' genius. He did it by appealing to the base while growing the base and expanding support among women and minorites at the same time, turning conventional wisdom about big turnouts on its head. I like it.

Still not sure how much I like Bush, but one thing about him: He has all the right enemies. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" and all that.

The only disappointment was I hoping for a replacement for Sen. Patty Murray and didn't get one. Still don't know who the Governor is, they're still counting absentees.

Watched the returns come in like the first Q of a superbowl where you just knew a rout was happening.

Shut off media early. Slept, dreamt, and woke up to uncertainty with Ohio.

Then later, the soul of this country conceded to the powers that be.

Congrats. You got it all. Now lead, follow, or GTFOoTW.

Its good to hear you had a fine time Aquilla. And thanks for the images

On November 2 I was ill at home with an upset tummy, so I sat for the most part at my computer or watching the images from America.

If I'd known some of those from Ohio were being sent by you I would have paid extra special attention, but alas, I didn't.



Oh... and congratulations

So, where were you on Election Day and what was your experience?

For a number of reasons, we chose to vote by absentee ballot this year. It was an option that was being pushed to an incredible degree by both political parties. I grew to be very distrustful of the process. I was certain that one of the parties was going to be challenging those votes, and trying to disenfranchise us somehow.

So...

After speaking with our local Volunteer Co-ordinator, we left home about 7:00 PM Monday, and drove about 4 hours through a miserable storm to a city that I recall visiting briefly once. We arrived at the motel and the clerk said a very surprised, "Hi Mr. (Curmudgeon), what are you doing here?" We never could agree on where she knew me from; but I began to have a feeling that I was supposed to be there...

When I woke up at 1:00 AM and began to look for Internet access so that I could get on to America's Debate, I was told there was none available yet at the motel, no Internet Café, and by the way... How are your daughters? I went to Carpenter school with them. When I needed a real challenge at Scrabble, I would go to your house and play Scrabble with them. He was the first person to tell me anything about my older daughters in nearly 18 years. This was getting to feel a bit weird though, to meet two people who knew me this far from home.

I found a phone book. I wanted to express my fears. My cell phone underlined my lack of telephone skills. They hung up on me after 14 seconds...

I decided to go and look for the Kerry Headquarters, thinking that certainly I would find someone there the night before the election. Perhaps I could trade some volunteer time for Internet access. The policeman that pulled me over asked if I was drunk, told me my story made no sense, and told me to go back to my motel. When I stopped at a 24 hour grocery store to see if I could find directions, I couldn't find an open entrance, and the policeman reminded me that he had sent me home. He escorted me to my motel. Okay, perhaps there was a reason that I was there...

About six, it occurred to me that I had the phone number for the Muskegon Kerry Headquarters on my telephone. I called and identified myself. Is there anyone there that recognizes my name? I was immediately connected to an always busy professional who always told anyone who was answering the phone, "Here's a list of four names. If any one of them calls, put them through. Otherwise take a message." The last two names on the list were always God and John Kerry. She gave me a pair of phone numbers to call in the city we were in. The first number got me an answering machine. The second got a message that "We've got enough drivers at the moment, if you call back in about five hours; I'll be able to tell you if we have any open phones." I persuaded him to call Muskegon. I bought a can of pop from a vending machine. My cell phone went off. "If you can tell us exactly where you are, there is a driver coming to pick you up."

At the staging area they took me to, I was handed a phone book and a list of names and addresses that didn't have phone numbers. I asked if I could use the computer, and I was fortunate enough to get hits on my first three tries. The list was split, and I started to train another volunteer how to use the computer...

An incoming phone call resulted in a search for a volunteer member of the Democratic Party who could make the time commitment to supervise the counting of absentee ballots. When everyone else in the building had declined, they asked me if I could do it. I gave them two phone numbers for Paladin Elspeth. She answered neither one. They called the desk at the motel to leave a message. "She's in the pool with your daughter. Someone's going to get her." A few minutes later, what I was being asked to do had been explained to her by someone else, and when I finally talked to her, she said, "It sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime. Go for it."

My newspaper, cell phone, and political buttons were confiscated and sealed into an envelope. The ground rules were explained. I could walk anywhere, ask questions, observe, but not influence the process. I would be locked in until all the ballots had been counted. NO POLITICS COULD BE DISCUSSED! You can not set any food or drinks on the table with the ballots or on the floor near the ballots. As I was sworn in, they reminded me that I was not allowed to set my can of pop on the table. Yes, it was the same can of pop I had opened in the motel.

I was introduced, and asked to explain why I was in their city for election day.

The woman seated to my right remarked that she had spoken to her neighbor, a policeman as she was leaving home. "He had pulled over some out of town nut case who thought the Democratic Headquarters would be open in the middle of the night. I told him that they probably were busier the night before an election than he would believe. Next time he'll probably be more understanding."

Yup! Somehow, I was where I was supposed to be...

At 2:30 in the afternoon, the machine count and the hand count were off by 1 ballot. It was determined that the machine had likely taken two ballots at once, reading the front of one ballot and the back of the other. The scanner was unlocked, emptied, zeroed, and they started again.

I could not interfere to the extent that I was not allowed to remove a pile of used staples from the middle of the table and throw them away...

6:00 PM A ballot could not be located. Everyone was certain it was there. The search for it took nearly two hours. It was located.

7:45 The ballots that had been turned in on Election Day were brought in.

10:00 PM I asked someone to call PE and tell her that she had been invited to the Democrat's volunteer party. They returned with a message that I had both sets of car keys.

"Could someone deliver a set to her?"

"No, nothing can leave this room until the vote counting is completed."

(You might want to ask her how she spent Election Day...)

Somewhere after 2:00 AM Wednesday, a final count of 2212 ballots had been counted out of 2247 that had been issued. We weren't allowed to know any of the numbers because of 9 places in the County where ballots were being counted, ours was the second to report. "We can tell you that CNN has named Bush the winner.

Ours had been a preliminary count. The Board of Canvassers would have to meet and review all the ballots. Everything had to be inventoried, placed in bags, sealed...

I was stopped on my way out. They had forgotten to collect my name tag. It was part of the inventory. If I had left the building with it, they would have needed to find another volunteer, start from scratch and do a recount...

And that is how I, as an AD member, ended up spending Election Day not discussing Politics with anyone and with no access to the Internet.

I was impressed with the professionalism of the ballot counters, and the integrity of the system. I am going to have to trace through my posts here when I first got involved, but I am writing a story about the experience, tentatively titled, If you hadn't stolen my yard sign, I might not have gotten a chance to vote.

Like yo A-dawg, you were in my town and you didn't holla at me? How you gonna play a brutha?

One of the local alternative weekly rags wrote a really awful story about the election, but featured a photograph of a long line of people standing in that cold and rain to vote. Turns out it was the place where I vote.

I left work early to vote. I had planned to vote before going to work, but my wife who got up at 7:30 am to do same came back to report there was already a line outside the door. When I came home that afternoon, I walked over to the polling place, stood in the rain for 30 minutes and once I got inside waited another 45 minutes to vote. When I came back out, my wife was standing in a line that now ran out the door and looped almost to the back of the building.

There were young and old, black and white and Latino. I had never seen as many teenagers and young people at the polls in my life. Usually, I stroll right in and vote. That day I was the 1,526th person to vote at my location. The polls closed officially at 7:30 p.m., but there were still people in line to vote up to 11:00 pm!

My wife came home two hours later, wet and tired. We ordered pizza and watched the returns for a while before going to bed. Bush won Ohio, but lost Franklin County where Democrats did well in local races.

The final result was not what I had hoped for, but I was awed and inspired by how many people showed up to exercise their civic duty, stood in the rain and didn't lose their temper or good humor. Sure, there were a lot of sore, soaked feet later, but by and large it was well worth the wait.

And Aquilla, the next time I'm in Cali, don't call me and I won't call you....duuuuuuuude.

Welcome back, Aquilla! I'm glad you had a ball in Ohio.
I have spent some time there, too, and the people are as friendly as can be!!

So, where were you on Election Day and what was your experience?

I was up at the crack of dawn on Election Day. I was one of the first 20 voters
at my polling place (a school near my house). The general feeling amongst me
and my fellow-voters was one of anticipation....

After I voted I rushed home to get my kids ready for school. After I dropped
them off I had to go to school myself, and that day happened to be a day that
I am in class from 12:30 P.M. to 9:15 P.M. So, as the day rolled along, I didn't
have much access to results and overall predictions.

Of course, it wasn't until late that night that Bush was deemed the certain winner.
I was disappointed with the results, but not with the overall energy that made this
particular election quite exciting..

Dang NT! For some reason I thought you were in Cleveland. I'd have at least given you my cell number to see if we could get together, even if it was only at the truck. Dang! I was parked down by the corner of High and Broad and was there from 9 am Election Day until around 5 pm the next day.

I'll tell you one thing though, NT, the people you had from the State Government who were coordinating with the media really did a fine job of it. Extremely well-organized and very responsive to the media's needs. And, as you know, television can be rather demanding at times. But, your folks had every base covered.

Edited to add.....

I forgot to mention that even the crew I worked with had an international flavor. My coordinating producer from Eurovision was born in the Ivory Coast although she had since moved to the US and is now a naturalized citizen. Luckily, she spoke perfect French which came in really handy at times.