I've never before voted early. I've never before even known it was possible, except for expatriates, etc.
This past weekend, I put on somewhat-better-than-the-usual-Saturday-gardening clothes and my Obama button and went (as promised here last week) to my county seat (pop. 2,226) of Pittsboro, NC, and eagerly cast my vote. (They wouldn't let me take a picture of my ballot, no doubt fearing I would duplicate it and stuff the ballot box.)
I've never been more excited about voting and that's saying something because one of my own brothers has held statewide office elective office here for eight years and I still have the campaign hats and buttons to prove it.
Here's the big news: There was no line. Which is one big reason to do it now. I was voter 1028 at that site, but I still didn't have to wait. Where I usually vote, at an AME Zion Church just down the dirt road from my house, I've been as low as number 17, and I don't tend to get up early. So there's an exciting lot of action going on, and voting early lets you enjoy it.
For a Democrat, I discovered, Pittsboro is a fun place to vote: lots of like minds. I just did a little research on the place. Fascinating trivia:
"Pittsboro is known for its large population of single adults. (59%!)
Approximately 36% of Pittsboro is non-white. The town boasts a diverse population for North Carolina, with several racial groups well-represented among the population.
There is an unusually large share of women in the town."
Lot of arts and crafts and granola and live music and garden supplies, too, as you might imagine.
All of which is to say: the weather is finally crisp new fall, it's a new season, so take part in it by voting now. (And please consider voting for the candidate who will bring us a much-needed fresh new season: Senator Barack Obama.)
If you like this post, please bookmark it on del.icio.us, share it on StumbleUpon, vote for it on Digg. Thanks so much.
5 comments:
Sounds like you had a wonderful experience, Peggy! What a fun little town to exercise your right to freedom in!
Hugs,
Debbie
I'm glad it was a good experience. I saw video recently from an early voting station and it was pretty sad. Mostly black voters in line for early voting and being heckled by mostly white McCain Palin supporters.
Made me happy I don't live in NC anymore.
It's a cool town. Also, Debbie, I just set up another teaching week at Rancho La Puerta. It's 13 months away, but I'm already looking forward to it. I've never been there before in fall weather.
Mandy--how awful! Where was that voting site? I've been feeling right proud of NC lately. I grew up in Wilmington, which a has history of some very bad treatment of black people. But the Huffington Post recently did a story about the impressive amount of Obama support there.
!3 months away, I just may be ready for a retreat by then. Since my brother's death, I still find it difficult to leave my family, but by then I might just be able to break away. I would love to attend another one of your teaching weeks! And who could complain about spending a week at Rancho? Thanks for letting me know.
Hugs,
Debbie
You're right about Rancho. I'm pleased to have it back on my book again. And I find that a year is about a week long now.
I sure understand about staying close after a loss like you've had.
Post a Comment