On the Ground In North Carolina
This story must be told. And where better to share it than with the Kossacks here at Daily Kos? It seems that not a single day goes by without a tear in the eye or sometimes tears running down the cheeks for change. I am talking about early voting in North Carolina here in the bluest of the blue dots in the Triangle of NC. Follow me below the fold...
It has been an honor and privilege to witness and be a part of the history being made at one of seven early voting sites in Durham County of North Carolina. As a coordinator of volunteers working to inform voters of the arcane voting ballot in these locales, I am overcome with emotion for the folks that have served as poll greeters and support staff and for the intrepid voters in the days of early voting.
It’s useless to attempt to suppress emotion and tears as a witness and participant of this process. One early voter paused to show her dusty fingers after voting. She had visited her ancestral home and scooped up some "earth" to carry to the polling station. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she explained that she had rubbed her ballot with the "soil of her ancestors" before she cast her ballot. I will always carry that moment in my life.
Or the joy that resonated when a radiant woman helped her mother back to the car explaining that it was that very morning when her elder mom announced that she would vote for the Obama-Biden ticket after watching Colin Powell on "Meet the Press."
The efforts to converse in spanish, the helping the handicapped for curbside voting, the being present with the young first time voter, not to mention the overwhelming emotion of the bedraggled soul saying this is the first time to ever vote. This is what democracy looks like. I can hardly write about it without tears welling up in my eyes.
This is the true "on the ground" stuff that is happening. It is powerful and wonderful.
Early voting ended yesterday in North Carolina, so we can take a breath and prepare for the GOTV efforts... A deep breath.
The Durham County Board of Elections estimates that there are 175,000 active voters in the county. With 97,697 early voters and about 4,500 voting absentee by mail, that means about 58 percent have already voted.
Just so you know (lol), there are now 17 satellite Obama/Democratic offices in Durham County (just one out of 100 NC counties). We rock! (imho).
Here’s what the local paper has to say...
http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.c...
Here’s the "money" quote from the newspaper article:
Most had already made up their minds who to vote for for president. The choice, overwhelmingly, was Barack Obama, the first-term senator from Illinois, whose message about "change" has hit home for many people around the country who are discontent with the past eight years.
And for a final anecdote... Early voting ended at 5 pm yesterday. The final voters had to race up a long sidewalk to make it to the line to vote. The Obama volunteer greeters lined the path and clapped and cheered and encouraged these procrastinators to scurry to make it to the end of the line. The final 150 or so voters were ushered into the building to vote and the doors were closed after the sixteen days of early voting. The election judges were all inside as were the voters. The sun was setting, the crescent moon of hope was rising on the horizon, and the only remaining folks were the volunteers in the parking lot that had come together to explain the ballot and provide sustenance (read hydration) to the voters. There was really nothing else to do except exchange some high fives and hugs with each other and to commemorate and celebrate the end of early voting in North Carolina. We gathered and made this picture gathered around a Barack Obama cutout.
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Other diarists may pontificate and speculate on the prospects of the tar heel state turning blue this election cycle. And there may be comments about what our local experience means for the state of the state of the election in North Carolina. But this is not a diary to expound upon the success or failure of the process of change.
Our volunteer office manager, Cathy, postulates that change actually begins on November 5th. We have assiduously garnered the contact info of hundreds (if not thousands) of our neighbors into our local database. And as we prepare to distribute the thousands of "door knockers" in our GOTV campaign and turn out the rest of the vote for election day, there is a sense and a feeling that whatever happens, there is no turning back on the change happening in our neighborhoods, in our community, and in our lives.
We are family. And I am so grateful to be a part of this process of change.
Consider this a voice and an invitation to be a "part of it all." It will change your life and ultimately the world we live in.
www.barackobama.com
Peace.