Hope this is substantive enough for everybody, but I for one enjoy reading about people's experiences with early voting in the various states. Last Saturday I went with one of my twin daughters to a nearby branch library, one of the three places in Gainesville available for early voting. My daughter was fired up, has phoned and canvassed for Obama, but unfortunately couldn't vote because she's only 17. For me, it was the first time I had ever voted early.
Early voting had started on Monday and I had heard there was a pretty good turnout. I didn't know what to expect, but I came prepared to stand in line if it was necessary. When we got to the library there was a short line of about 5 to 10 people outside the door. This being the case I was quickly inside the door, where there were another ten or so people in line ahead of me. I counted 24 voting stations, and they were all full. There were a couple of volunteers checking to see if everybody had the proper ID (in a good way, they were just there to assist.) At the front of the line were two other volunteers who took IDs, swiped them through a scanner attached to a computer,and asked people to confirm their address. Mine went through without a hitch, and I was given the proper ballot for my precinct. Although the room was full, the whole operation was very efficient and everybody seemed to be in a good - even downright festive - mood.
A voting station opened up and another volunteer directed me to it. We have optical scanned ballots in which you fill in the appropriate oval with provided markers. The presidential race was first, and I felt the proverbial Chris Matthews thrill as I filled in the Obama/Biden mark. There were a lot of judges and constitutional amendments that demanded careful consideration, but I was done in about five minutes. I inserted my ballot into the collection machine, received my "I Voted" sticker and rejoined my daughter. I shared a smile with one of the volunteers as I came out the door, and although I don't know who he was for or who my fellow citizens were voting for, I'm pretty darn sure the great majority was for Obama. Yes we did!