My older daughter is a junior at U. Mich, 20 years old. This is the first presidential election she could vote in. She told me she had run into a problem when she tried to vote and I worried that she would miss out on voting and would not be able to look back on this amazing election as one of the people who elected Barack Obama president.
But Ann Arbor is not like Florida in 2000 or Ohio in 2004 --
She had waited in line for more than 1/2 hour, only to be told when she reached the front that her name wasn't on the list -- even though she had filled out a form months ago to change her voter registration address from the dorm to her apartment.
One of the poll workers phoned her former precinct and was told that her name was still on the list there. Another poll worker checked to make sure she had a way to get there (it was only a few blocks away -- so no problem), and she walked over and was able to vote in this most historic election of the century.
I talked with her this morning and she described the scene in Ann Arbor last night.
She's been battling a sore throat and so skipped an election party at a friend's house. Her apartment is about 1 1/2 blocks away from the main part of campus. She had been hearing noise all night from a local bar as the election returns came in. But after the announcement at 11 pm -- she heard yelling and screaming and all sorts of noise -- looked out her window and saw hundreds of people out in the street marching. She threw on her jacket and shoes ("I didn't even bother to put on a bra!"), joined the throng which now numbered in the 1000s, and forgot all about her sore throat. They had been marching already for a number of blocks but kept going, circled around and ended up at the Diag (center of campus). People brought pots and pans to bang on, sang, cheered, hugged each other, talked and laughed with total strangers. She met up with her girlfriend and some of her closest friends.
It was totally joyful, peaceful, full of hope.
As I talk with her, read the articles about the peaceful, wonderful, and spontaneous celebrations all over the country, I think about how engaged the young people have been in this election, how their energy and dedication made the difference. With the youth of this country no longer apathetic, no longer cynical and indifferent to politics, we can hope that our country really is entering a new era. In my older daughter's generation, many of the racial and cultural boundaries have already been broken down. They're not all gone -- but there is movement in that direction and her generation is spearheading this change. For this white middle-aged lifelong Democrat, the new voices in our party make all the difference -- change is needed, change is here, and it feels so damn good.