Got to my ward right at 7:00am and it only took me about an hour to vote. Really nice turnout, but MN usually has a good turnout rate so it's hardly what I would call a "bellwether".

One thing I did notice was that the political TV ads were running non-stop this morning. Didn't there used to be a law of no political advertising on election day? Of course it was the Obama/Write ad running constantly. The right's one last chance to scream "terrorist" to the electorate.

Grand Rapids, MI : Voting took about 40 minutes. Everyone was in a good mood, and the line, probably 40-50 people long, moved quickly.

There are reports that one local polling place had very long lines, and 7 more voting booths were delivered there.

At the same polling place there were reports that poll watchers were clashing: "Kent County Clerk Mary Hollinrake earlier said she was hearing reports of Democratic poll watchers yelling at Republican challengers at the school, 1010 Alexander St. SE. Those reports are still unconfirmed."

Lower Makefield, PA: Turnout about the same as in 2006 at my polling station. 15-30 minutes wait at 8am.

We had 30 people in line at 7:00 AM this morning, a first in my 30+ years as an election worker. We voted 63 voters in the first hour(not counting absentee ballots returned to the polls) and worked the line down to five. Our staff worked the voters through as fast as the voters voted. We have a long ballot so it takes some folks awhile. Go Obama!! Go California!! We know how to do it here!!!

Got this from a friend of mine in brooklyn:

"in new york you vote in one polling place with many districts. crazy! they put me in the line for the wrong district, had me cast a provisional ballot, and by the time i looked at my voter reg. card and figured it out, they said too bad you signed an affidavit on the envelope and we can't get the vote back. even though it will be... thrown out because i voted in the wrong district."

No lawyers present.

Washington, DC: Little over an hour if you got there before 7 am, as much as two to three hours if you got there afterward. Great turnout, long lines.

Washington, DC: Little over an hour if you got there before 7 am, as much as two to three hours if you got there afterward. Great turnout, long lines.

Voted in Pittsburgh. Long, long lines, but kept moving. Took about a half hour. Just drove by my polling place about a half hour ago, and the lines are MUCH longer.

Needham, Massachusetts: At 8:45, there was no line whatsoever at the Broadmeadow Elementary School, despite the fact that turnout is nearly always high here. It was a great moment for us personally, because our son, who had been a student at Broadmeadow what seems like an eyeblink ago, voted for the first time. My first vote in a presidential election was in 1980. I think he will remember his more fondly.

Voted on first day of early voting in NC. It was an unbelieveable feeling of pride and joy to vote for Obama. I have volunteered with the campaign for voter registration and then onto canvassing to get the vote out! I believe in Barack and the direction we are heading into for the near and long range future of this country.

Upper West Side (73rd & Amsterdam) - usually takes about 5 minutes, this time 30. The poll workers were, however, rude as ever.

From Virginia Beach: Got to the the polling station at 5:45. Finished by 6:45. Long lines, but moving relatively smoothly. Light rain, so no electioneering outside. Everyone quiet and polite and private.

I am in Chicago. I was first in line and to complete the voting process in my precinct. I got there about 5:30 am and by 6:00 there was about 40 when it opened. We were still using manual ballots so I felt more confident about casting my vote.

I am a TX transplant and first time voter in IL. I hadn't done a manual vote since '96, but that only brought back old memories. I feel good about my vote, but at this time refrain from any excitement until the last vote is counted.

I only feel anxious because I actually have a horse in this race. This is why I don't gamble and hate doing so.

My family's voting experience today in Raleigh, NC: We elected to vote on election day
rather than early because we didn't want to wait in line. Yes, most
people vote early to avoid lines, but if you go at the right time on
election day you have no line, at least at my precinct. A line is
guaranteed at early voting sites. My wife went to the polling place, which
is 3 blocks from our house, at 7:05, while I stayed home with the baby.
She was back by 7:25. I left at 7:30 and got to the polling place by
7:33. Chick-fil-a was there and a pretty, perky young lady was offering
samples of chicken sandwiches and coupons. The cow mascot was there
too. Isn't democracy great? I was out of the polling place by 7:40. I
went to Starbucks (no line at all) and got my free cup of coffee, and
got to the office by 8:05.

There are three voters and a baby in my house. I got up this morning and my daughter asked if I could feed the baby while she went back to bed. My wife woke up and decided to vote. She came back an hour later, and took over the baby. I dressed and went to vote. When I got back my daughter decided it was time for her to vote. Right now Grandma and I are back on baby duty. I guess we will go to work as soon as she finishes voting.

One interesting thing. This is my daughter's first election. The Obama campaign registered her. She was called by an Obama campaign worker a few minutes ago. They were following up to make sure she had a way to the polls. I find that amazing.

The lines here in suburban KC were fairly long moved quickly.

I nearly couldn't vote because the elderly woman who signed me in apparently had not been trained to use the computer which issued voting cards for the machine. When her supervisor came over and corrected her errors, she insisted on pushing him away and repeating the mistake which showed her (erroneously) that I required a voting machine with auditory amplification which my polling place did not have. This went back and forth with lines piling up behind me as she continued to press buttons and incrementally foul up the process. This went on for over fifteen minutes until she was relieved. As soon as I left her station, however, she sat right back down and continued (judging from the shouting of people in line) to make the same boners she had done before.

All is smooth in North Jersey. I only waited about 5 minutes at 7:45am.

I have been voting in the Philadelphia suburbs for over two decades. Part of that time I have been a poll worker. I always vote at 7 a.m. when the polls first open. I have never waited more than five minutes. Ever. Even as a poll worker, I never saw a wait of more than 20 minutes at the busiest of times in the busiest of elections.

Today, I got to my polling place at 6:45 a.m., leaving my dog in my car (obviously, I expected to be in and out pretty fast). What I saw, first, was a packed to overflowing parking area. Second, I saw lines that looked like those at Splash Mountain at Disneyworld. Literally-- the line even snaked back and forth just like the way it does at Disneyworld.

I voted, finally, at 7:45 a.m. The line moved fast, too. My guess is that the overwhelming majority of the crowd were voting the straight "D" ticket, too. No one was in the booth long enough to be voting for the races individually, and the cues I got from the crowd convinced me these were Obama people, by and large.

brooklyn heights, usually takes 5 minutes, this time 12, and the poll workers were sweet as always. felt real good, throwing that switch.

In Los Angeles-- One of the local polling places is the Cheremoya School, on Franklin and Beachwood at the foot of the Hollywood Hills. The polling place serves both the somewhat more la-di-da residents of the Hills and the somewhat more working- and middle-class Armenian and Hispanic neighborhoods of the flats.

Today at 7:30 there were lines around the block--about a hundred soon-to-be voters by rough count. Today at 8:20, the line was if anything slightly longer.

I have lived here since 1992 and have never seen or experienced more than three or four people on line.

California isn't even vaguely "in play" for the national election; there are no contested Senate races; and the state-wide propositions, though controversial, are no more controversial than in other years. So it's stunning to see this kind of a turnout. Perhaps, just perhaps (as Mr. Leonard Cohen would put it) democracy is coming to the USA.

I have been voting in the Philadelphia suburbs for over two decades. Part of that time I have been a poll worker. I always vote at 7 a.m. when the polls first open. I have never waited more than five minutes. Ever. Even as a poll worker, I never saw a wait of more than 20 minutes at the busiest of times in the busiest of elections.

Today, I got to my polling place at 6:45 a.m., leaving my dog in my car (obviously, I expected to be in and out pretty fast). What I saw, first, was a packed to overflowing parking area. Second, I saw lines that looked like those at Splash Mountain at Disneyworld. Literally-- the line even snaked back and forth just like the way it does at Disneyworld.

I voted, finally, at 7:45 a.m. The line moved fast, too. My guess is that the overwhelming majority of the crowd were voting the straight "D" ticket, too. No one was in the booth long enough to be voting for the races individually, and the cues I got from the crowd convinced me these were Obama people, by and large.

Bergen County, NJ (11:00 a.m.): no lines but was told that already about 50% of people in my precinct voted early this a.m. It was fantastic voting for Obama and I had my kids in the booth with me to witness it!!!

I voted a few weeks back and just walked right in on a Saturday afternoon with no lines..whole thing took 5 minutes tops.

EVERYONE...DON'T FORGET. FREE STARBUCKS WITH YOUR VOTING STICKER!!!

Looking good in Venable precinct, Charlottesville, Virginia. I really think we're going to take Virginia this year.

So don't be tempted by the shiny apple
Don't you taste of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth

'Cause all that you have is your soul.

My family's voting experience today in Raleigh, NC: We elected to vote on election day
rather than early because we didn't want to wait in line. Yes, most
people vote early to avoid lines, but if you go at the right time on
election day you have no line, at least at my precinct. A line is
guaranteed at early voting sites. My wife went to the polling place, which
is 3 blocks from our house, at 7:05, while I stayed home with the baby.
She was back by 7:25. I left at 7:30 and got to the polling place by
7:33. Chick-fil-a was there and a pretty, perky young lady was offering
samples of chicken sandwiches and coupons. The cow mascot was there
too. Isn't democracy great? I was out of the polling place by 7:40. I
went to Starbucks (no line at all) and got my free cup of coffee, and
got to the office by 8:05.

So don't be tempted by the shiny apple
Don't you taste of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth

'Cause all that you have is your soul.

I live in Massachusetts, and pretty much everything on my ballot is a foregone conclusion, so while I expected heavy turnout figured "who bad could it be?"

I live a short walk from my polling station, and had the bright idea that I'd pop out of bed, feed the dogs, get the coffee started, and run over to vote as soon as the place opened. I arrive 10 minutes before the doors open, and there's already a line from the lobby of the bank stretching across the parking lot!

Came back at 8 (there was no way I was going to face that line without having coffee first), and the line is now across the parking lot, up the street to the corner, around the corner and up another half block. It took almost 2 hours to cast my votes for Barack, Senator Lurch et al.

Truly an amazing moment in history...

In beautiful downtown Jersey City, the line was longer than I have ever seen it, but I got in and out in about 10 minutes.

Voting was so painless, I wanted to do it again.

Randall County, Texas: This is one of the reddest counties in Texas. 60 to 70% vote a straight Republican ticket. At other elections, I have waited as much as half an hour to vote. Today, the voting place was practically empty. I have never seen it like this. There is a distinct depressed mood. I was the happiest person there. Myself and the other 15 to 20 other Democrats in town are getting together later for an election watch party.

I arrived at my polling place in the city of Riverview, Michigan at about 8:55 am. It's a medium sized City Hall and it was a little confusing because there were no signs pointing out the actual location of the polling booths. After a bit of wandering, I found the location. There was no line. Their might have been 10-15 people in the room. I was out within 15 minutes. They didn't have any 'I voted stickers' which was disappointing. I like to display my participation. The area remained quiet and without a line as I left.

I did have one problem prior to today: I recently moved to a new county. I went to Secretary of State in mid-September and filled out the change of address and new voter registration paperwork. It never arrived by mail and when I checked on-line yesterday I realized that it had never been processed - I was still listed at my previous address. I had to drive nearly an hour to get to my old precinct to vote. If I hadn't looked on-line I would have gone to the wrong place. If I hadn't been previously registered, I wouldn't have been able to vote at all. I wonder how many other people might not have had their voter's registration processed....

Uptown in Minneapolis.

No line at all. There were a lot of poll workers who were efficient and seemed to know their job well. I was in-and-out in just a few minutes even without being registered before.

Los Angeles South Bay - Did something very un-L.A. and actually walked the few blocks to the polls at the local middle school. At the doors at 7:00, about 25 people in line. The process didn't get rolling 'til about 7:10. Took about 20 minutes from there. The gentleman running the show seemed a bit on the stressed end of things. Pretty conservative looking crowd for the most part. Not much chit chat. A house across the street bore a monstrous McCain/Palin sign. I resisted the urge to flip them the bird as I walked passed.

Randall County, Texas: This is one of the reddest counties in Texas. 60 to 70% vote a straight Republican ticket. At other elections, I have waited as much as half an hour to vote. Today, the voting place was practically empty. I have never seen it like this. There is a distinct depressed mood. I was the happiest person there. Myself and the other 15 to 20 other Democrats in town are getting together later for an election watch party.

Uptown in Minneapolis.

No line at all. There were a lot of poll workers who were efficient and seemed to know their job well. I was in-and-out in just a few minutes even without being registered before.

outside of ann arbor, MI here. no incidents. 30 minute wait.

We have diebold machines that scan the ballot, I of course asked the guy: "where is my receipt?" he said, "there are no receipts."

I said, "too bad. I thought I should get a receipt verifying who I voted for." he just looked at me and I left.

In thoroughly blue Charlottesville, Va., I waited until after 9am to vote, so I wouldn't clog the line for people needing to get to work (I'm self-employed, so my boss was flexible). There was almost no waiting in my precinct, but the poll workers told me the line had been out the door and all the way to the nearby bridge earlier. One surprise: I was given the choice of voting electronically or by paper ballot. Nice! I chose the latter. Everybody was in a *great* mood! The downtown Obama office is also flooded with volunteers today. Since it's raining intermittently, I dropped off an umbrella at the polling place, in case there's a line a lunch. The Obama table was filled with donated snacks and bottled water.

Brooklyn NY here.

I went with my family to vote at about 9 oclock. My cousin got there at 8 and was online waiting. However, my Grandmother used a cane(she walks just fine) and my Grandfather used a walker(it was his cane) and they allowed us to move right to the front of the line so they wouldn't have to wait. There was a lady (who was about in her 40's who was glad to let us go in front of her, she was saying "your Grandparents have to go in front they have been waiting to vote for an African American President even longer than I have." We all voted and got home in about 20 minutes. Oh yeah, my cousin got out of the line about 20 minutes ago, needless to say those lines are 2 to 3 hours long folks. LANDSLIDE

Piece of cake. Suburb of Kansas City.

There was a line of @25 people for last names A-F.

Nobody in line for G-Z names. From a statistical standpoint, If found that very odd.

In and out in 15 min tops.

They were out of "I Voted" stickers though. I'll do my best to not let that ruin my day.

Long Island, NY. Was at polls at 6:01AM. Voted for change. All went well. Now just posting everything I can to FB to encourage friends to vote today.

I live in a very red part of northern Illinois. I got up at 4:00 a.m. Felt like Christmas morning. Went to vote with my wife over at the local convention center. We were the first voters there and waited at the head of the line about fifteen minutes before the polls opened. I text messaged both my sons while we were in line “please vote!” As 6:00 a.m. approached, there were about thirty people behind us. My wife and I joked with the election judges. They were all looking at the clocks on their cell phones. They were all senior citizens and thought the cell phone clocks were a great innovation. When their cell phones said 6:00 a.m., they opened the polls and, we voted no problem. When we got home, both my wife and I put our “I voted” stickers on the Obama-Biden bumper sticker we have hung up on the dining room wall. Four hours later, I still have butterflies.

Lake County in Northeast Ohio- sorry, no drama here. I voted by mail a month ago. ;)

I'm sitting at work in London (UK), reading these accounts and wishing I could cast a vote for Obama too. Everybody I know feels the same. It's going to be a very special night.

Welcome back, America. We've missed you.

I was greeting voters at the Arlington Central Library in Virginia this morning where the line snaked out the door, through the parking lot, and down the street. The McCain campaign election monitor told the Democratic polling monitor that the McCain campaign plans to challenge the votes of anyone not physically inside the Library at 7pm when the polls close. Apparently they claim the rules are voters have to be inside the building when polls close to be considered "in line."

The Democratic polling monitor is working with elections officials to make sure the letter of the law is satisfied and that everyone in line (inside or outside) at 7pm gets to vote. But it's a pretty clear example of McCain's strategy -- disenfranchise as many voters as possible. Guess that whole "Country First" thing only goes so far, huh?

Early voting here in TX. I voted on Saturday Oct 25. I specifically waited for a Saturday to vote so that I could bring my 14-year old pro-Obama son with me and so he could see a small part of history in the making. The past 2 elections I had to vote by absentee ballot because I was working in Europe at the time so I really wanted my son to be present for this one. Not a big line, maybe 12-15 people in front of me. I could have voted straight ticket Democrat but I really wanted the satisfaction of touching the screen next to Obama/Biden.

My husband is a soldier who is on his second deployment to Iraq and he voted last week by mail. He's a Chicago native and voted for Obama, of course.

I have been voting in the Philadelphia suburbs for over two decades. Part of that time I have been a poll worker. I always vote at 7 a.m. when the polls first open. I have never waited more than five minutes. Ever. Even as a poll worker, I never saw a wait of more than 20 minutes at the busiest of times in the busiest of elections.

Today, I got to my polling place at 6:45 a.m., leaving my dog in my car (obviously, I expected to be in and out pretty fast). What I saw, first, was a packed to overflowing parking area. Second, I saw lines that looked like those at Splash Mountain at Disneyworld. Literally-- the line even snaked back and forth just like the way it does at Disneyworld.

I voted, finally, at 7:45 a.m. The line moved fast, too. My guess is that the overwhelming majority of the crowd were voting the straight "D" ticket, too. No one was in the booth long enough to be voting for the races individually, and the cues I got from the crowd convinced me these were Obama people, by and large.

Long Island, NY. Was at polls at 6:01AM. Voted for change. All went well. Now just posting everything I can to FB to encourage friends to vote today.

I live in Massachusetts, and pretty much everything on my ballot is a foregone conclusion, so while I expected heavy turnout figured "who bad could it be?"

I live a short walk from my polling station, and had the bright idea that I'd pop out of bed, feed the dogs, get the coffee started, and run over to vote as soon as the place opened. I arrive 10 minutes before the doors open, and there's already a line from the lobby of the bank stretching across the parking lot!

Came back at 8 (there was no way I was going to face that line without having coffee first), and the line is now across the parking lot, up the street to the corner, around the corner and up another half block. It took almost 2 hours to cast my votes for Barack, Senator Lurch et al.

Truly an amazing moment in history...

I am from a very small town in Kentucky. Kentucky of course is in no way a swing state, but I saw some god things this morning. My family, our two sons, my wife and I went to the high school to do our voting. We have 4 registered Democrats including myself. I was surprised to see the amount of people there. Usually there are about 10-15 milling about talking after they vote, but today there were actually lines. I asked the volunteer about the longest line and which precinct it was. She told me which little town it was and was shocked. I didn't know the little town even had that many people. What was even more surprising was there were actually African American people in the line. You have to understand though that there are about 2000 people in this county. There are hardly ever any minorities. Everything seemed to go well and people were in good spirits. I know many were there for McCain, but I also know there were many closet Obama voters there as well. Our county usually goes Democrat. With our 4 votes for Obama, I am hoping the turnout keeps us in that bracket.

I'm 60 miles west of Philly - Reading - Mt. Penn Borough.

We were 17th in line at 6:30. Voted at 7:05. By the time we left, a line of nearly 100 stretched down 25th Street.

Lots of youngsters.

Special Note: Upon exit, a well-tailored Obama "Observer" from NY state asked us if the machines were operating properly.

What a friggin ground game!!!

I only hope that Obama's crew has observers in states like VA, OH, FL.

South End, Boston MA.
Polls opened at 7am. I arrived at 7:15. Approximately 50-75 people queued up - all shapes, colors and sizes. Everyone was smiling. I waited about 40 mins to vote. Damn it felt great!

Uptown in Minneapolis.

No line at all. There were a lot of poll workers who were efficient and seemed to know their job well. I was in-and-out in just a few minutes even without being registered before.

My husband and I took advantage of early voting here in Maine a few days ago. Upon arriving at the town hall we discovered that we were the only ones there for voting. The town clerk personally helped us with our ballots. She led us to a vacant conference room where we filled out our paper ballots in private and then returned them to her in sealed envelopes. Total time -- 20 minutes, most of which was spent on the several state referendum items on the ballot.

Duluth, MN Voted at about 10AM today. Lots of people there but no lines. There were tables set up around the room for people to mark their ballots. Tables were all full, about 50 people voting at once. Then ballots into the scanner and we got our "I voted" sticker. We were out of there in 10 minutes. Worked slick. Why doesn't everyone vote this way? PS We also have registration at the polls.

We were voting in NE Philadelphia about 10:30am. No lines, no wait. Steady stream, but moving along well.

There are 4 precincts that vote at my location (in Hyde Park, but not Obama's polling station). The line for mine was only about 8 people, and it took me 20 minutes to get in and out. The line for another of the precincts was about 100 people long, another line 30 people. One guy was letting his little kid fill in the ballot.

Then as I was waiting for the bus (on the street that runs by Obama's house) a little motorcade went by (toward his house) - an SUV with the back open and several dudes who looked like commandos sitting in it, a black SUV, and a police car. I guess it could've been Obama, or Michelle, or both, or William Ayers, or Rev. Wright. I read an AP article that said Bill Ayers voted right after Obama (they were there at the same time), which cracked me up.

outside of ann arbor, MI here. no incidents. 30 minute wait.

We have diebold machines that scan the ballot, I of course asked the guy: "where is my receipt?" he said, "there are no receipts."

I said, "too bad. I thought I should get a receipt verifying who I voted for." he just looked at me and I left.

Santa Barbara, CA, 8:00 a.m.: greeted at door of my polling place, a retirement home, by a very nice woman. Went immediately to pick up a ballot, for which I had to wait approx. 30 seconds. There were no lines obviously but there was definitely bustle, which I have never seen before. Usually I am alone or one of two voters but today there was energy and excitement and almost all of the voting stations were occupied.

It's really more efficient when everyone is given pen and paper: no interface to learn, no machine errors. I am a big fan of the voting-by-bubble system, to say the least.

Eastern Indiana. Ten minutes all total. Two people in front of me. The woman was having an issue because her ID had a different address. She apologized for holding up the line, and I could only smile - I was like, yeah, I'm so upset that it's going to take me ten minutes instead of eight. Here's to turning Indiana blue.

Voted at W63rd Street in NYC - 111/112/113 districts. Got there at 7:20AM and the line wasn't particularly long, but it was filling up as fast as it was moving. The voting machines are the old pull lever type and they work perfectly. No training required and they make such a cool reassuring mechanical noise when you pull the lever.

Everyone was smiling and people brought their children to participate. NYC is going to send a clear message.

GObama!

There are 4 precincts that vote at my location (in Hyde Park, but not Obama's polling station). The line for mine was only about 8 people, and it took me 20 minutes to get in and out. The line for another of the precincts was about 100 people long, another line 30 people. One guy was letting his little kid fill in the ballot.

Then as I was waiting for the bus (on the street that runs by Obama's house) a little motorcade went by (toward his house) - an SUV with the back open and several dudes who looked like commandos sitting in it, a black SUV, and a police car. I guess it could've been Obama, or Michelle, or both, or William Ayers, or Rev. Wright. I read an AP article that said Bill Ayers voted right after Obama (they were there at the same time), which cracked me up.

Savannah, GA: I voted absentee six weeks ago, but I rode my bike past the local polling place this morning to see what was up. Even though GA had a big turnout for the primary this year, the line was only 3 or 4 people long before work on that day. Today, at close to 11 am, the line was about 50 people long. That is way more than I have ever seen at one time at this polling station, but nothing like the numbers I am hearing about elsewhere. Perhaps, turnout is not that high due to our massive early voting in this state (over 2 million). I hope people haven't got complacent, though. Or, perhaps we have lot of polling stations. The town is 60% black, and the mayor and other high-ranking city officials are also black, so I doubt there will be any systematic disenfranchisement here. If we take GA, it's game over at 7 PM. Wouldn't that be sweet?

Central Kentucky

My wife and I took our two kids with us to the polls

My daughter went in with my wife and my son joined me.

We explained what we were doing, how we were doing it, and why we were doing it... and we explained that everybody else in line was doing the same thing... and how fortunate we are to have this opportunity. They paid close attention the whole time!

After making my selections, I carefully reviewed what I had done and explained to my son that now we need to hit that big green "VOTE" button... "This one?" he asked. "Yep. Go ahead! Push it."

He did... with watery eyes I watched my son cast my vote for me

BTW, there were at least 50 people in line - the most I've ever seen in any election! I had to wait about one half hour... the kids were late to school.

While driving them to school we passed another voting location (a Middle School)... the parking lot was PACKED!!! Cars were spilling out into the grass!! It was really quiet remarkable!!!

Remember folks, THIS IS HISTORY

� +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++#######+++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++############+++++++++++++++
++++++++++###############+++++++++++++
+++++++++#####++++++++###++++++++++++
++++++++###++++++++++++###+++++++++++
++++++++##++++++++++++++###++++++++++
+++++++##+++++++++++++++####+++++++++
+++++++#+++++++++++++++++###+++++++++
++++++##+++++++++++++++++####++++++++
++++++#+++++++++++++++##++@##++++++++
+++++##++++++++++++############+++++++�
+++++##++++++++#+++##+####+####+++++++
+++++##++++#####+++#++#####+####++++++�
+++++##+++##+###+++#+++****++####+++++�
+++++##+++++#++#+++#+++++++++##++++++
+++++##++++@++++++++#+++++++##+#+++++
+++++#+++++++++++++++#++++++##+#+++++
++++++#+++++++++++++#++++++####++++++
++++++##+++++++++++####++++####++++++
++++++++++++++++@#+###++++++####+++++
+++++##+#+++++++++++++++++++##+#+++++
+++++#++++++++++++++##++++++####+++++
+++++#+@++++++++++######++++##+++++++
+++++#+#+#+++++++##+++#+++++##+++++++
++++++#++#++++++##+++###++++##+++++++
+++++++#++++++++++++++++++#####++++++
+++++++++#+++++++++++#++++#####++++++
+++++++++++#+++++++++++++############+
++++++++++++#+++++++++++#############+
+++++++++++++#++++++++###############+
++++++++++++++##++++########+########+
+++++++++++++#++###########++########+
+++++++++++###+++#########++#########+
++++++++#######++++######+++#########+
++++++#########+++++++##++++#########+
+++++##########+++++###++++##########+
+++############+++++#++++++##########+
++##############++++#++++++##########+
++##############++++++++++###########+
+###############++++++++++###########+
+############### ++++ +++++###########+
+###############++++++#++############+
+################+++++#++############+

Another northern New Jersey voter here. I posted my experience in my blog here, but to recap, it was pretty uneventful. The poll worker had to look at the back of her book because I'd registered just recently after moving to NJ, but she found me with no trouble. I waited about 20 minutes to vote. The line was longish, and was getting much longer when I left, but everything seemed to be moving smoothly. African American turnout seemed quite high, but then again, my neighborhood is about 50 percent African American.

The voting machines here are easy to use and give satisfyingly immediate feedback--when you make a selection by pressing the area next to the candidate's name, a little green light comes on to confirm your selection.

Voting was actually quite a bit easier than posting this comment. I keep getting the annoying Javascript message saying that my session has expired and I need to log in again.

There are 4 precincts that vote at my location (in Hyde Park, but not Obama's polling station). The line for mine was only about 8 people, and it took me 20 minutes to get in and out. The line for another of the precincts was about 100 people long, another line 30 people. One guy was letting his little kid fill in the ballot.

Then as I was waiting for the bus (on the street that runs by Obama's house) a little motorcade went by (toward his house) - an SUV with the back open and several dudes who looked like commandos sitting in it, a black SUV, and a police car. I guess it could've been Obama, or Michelle, or both, or William Ayers, or Rev. Wright. I read an AP article that said Bill Ayers voted right after Obama (they were there at the same time), which cracked me up.

Personally - I was disappointed that we didn't get ink stains on our forefingers to prove that we voted today.

I want physical evidence that I voted for Obama and Biden

I have never before walked up to the polls fighting back tears.

I keep thinking about Frederick Douglass, and DuBois and King, and even Booker T. Washington.

And I think about Robert Kennedy - the only other candidate in my lifetime to whom I attached so much hope.

- George Conk, New York City

It was my first time voting in my current residence in Dearborn, MI. However, people in line with me who'd lived there all their lives said that they had NEVER waited more than 5 or 10 minutes to vote at that location before. We spent just over an hour in line, at 7am this morning!

Voted in Pasadena, CA. I got to the voting location when the polls opened at 7am and it took about an hour to vote. When I walked out at 8 the line was probably 15-30 minutes longer than when I got in at 7.

This is probably a "no duh" statement, but this process could be so much more efficient. When I finally got into the voting room I saw one voting booth in use and five others vacant while the poll workers verified names and addresses. Meanwhile voters with absentee ballots walk in, completely avoid the hour-plus line and turn in their ballots. Wow. How does that not turn on some lightbulbs in the heads of election reformers? I'll be taking a closer look at Oregon's vote-by-mail system now...

Minneapolis, MN (Whittier). Arrived at polling place at 7:10 AM. Line wrapped around the parking lot. Voted at 8:25 AM. They have two precincts voting at this location, so that was confusing. The other precinct appeared to be no waiting. Many voters were registering on the spot (it looked like at least 50%).

With you all in spirit, here in Brighton, England. The American people are doing something amazing today. It feels good to be alive.

Long lines in Brooklyn, as noted by others, due to multiple districts voting in one polling place. Abandoned the line at 9 am (it wrapped around the block, with est. wait time of one hour), then came back an hour later, and was done in 45 minutes. Huge crowds, harried but generally upbeat poll workers (one of whom hadn't had a bathroom break since coming in at 5:30 am). Best part: Running into a neighbor who recently became an American citizen and was voting in his first election. "Wow," he said. "Is it always like this?"

With you all in spirit, here in Brighton, England. The American people are doing something amazing today. It feels good to be alive.

South Minneapolis: I voted for the first time today (Colombian-born--recently became a citizen). Arrived at the poll at 6:30 AM and there were a handful of people in line. By the time we left, there were maybe sixty people waiting. The process was fairly smooth, people were upbeat, friendly, excited. No overt signs of party affiliation (though this is a predominantly liberal area of town). Went with my wife and 1-year old boy. Behind me in line was a young Somali man and I got all warm inside at the thought that both of us, new citizens, were taking part on this historic day where we elect a man who has captured the hearts and the minds so many!

I just voted in Western Ky. Biggest turnout I've ever seen. Had to wait in line for 20 min. Line was longer when I left.

I've been to five polling place around my Los Angeles neighborhood starting at the 7:00 a.m. opening time. Long lines at every precinct. Wouldn't it be lovely if our votes actually made a difference in the national elections.

alaska

cnn reports that sarah palin, citing her right to privacy, declined to say who she voted for this morning!!! ROFLMAO

Irvine, CA: Got up at 6:30 to hit the polls at 7:00 sharp and already there was a long line despite it being a rare rainy day in Orange County. I waited 45 minutes to vote and the line kept getting longer and longer (good thing I got there early). Most of the talk out here is about striking down Propositions 4 and 8. Hopefully, Proposition 8 will fail by a wide margin, but we need everyone out there in California to get behind this! It's scary, but there are actually quite a few "Yes on 8" signs floating around Irvine and on UCI campus. Don't let bigotry win out over civil rights! Also, if TPM could give us a final tally on crucial propositions such as Prop 8, that would be fantastic!

DuPage County, IL: I voted about 7:15 this morning. Short line as usual. The election judges are usually retirees, older white folks, but today, in addition to the retirees, there was a young girl of twenty or so, an Asian woman, my neighbor Rosemary, and a young black man wearing a tie. It was a great looking crew. No trouble voting, beautiful day, and I hope hope hope it all works out.

I also called about thirty PA voters for Obama this morning, and I may call another batch soon.

Duluth, MN Voted at about 10AM today. Lots of people there but no lines. There were tables set up around the room for people to mark their ballots. Tables were all full, about 50 people voting at once. Then ballots into the scanner and we got our "I voted" sticker. We were out of there in 10 minutes. Worked slick. Why doesn't everyone vote this way? PS We also have registration at the polls.

Irvine, CA: Got up at 6:30 to hit the polls at 7:00 sharp and already there was a long line despite it being a rare rainy day in Orange County. I waited 45 minutes to vote and the line kept getting longer and longer (good thing I got there early). Most of the talk out here is about striking down Propositions 4 and 8. Hopefully, Proposition 8 will fail by a wide margin, but we need everyone out there in California to get behind this! It's scary, but there are actually quite a few "Yes on 8" signs floating around Irvine and on UCI campus. Don't let bigotry win out over civil rights! Also, if TPM could give us a final tally on crucial propositions such as Prop 8, that would be fantastic!

Downtown Atlanta -- got in line at 7am. Line didn't start to move until about 7:45. Got to vote by 10:10. My wife got in line about 8:15am and voted at about 11:30. Line looked pretty consistent.

I've been to five polling place around my Los Angeles neighborhood starting at the 7:00 a.m. opening time. Long lines at every precinct. Wouldn't it be lovely if our votes actually made a difference in the national elections.

Portland, Maine: A couple of hundred people in line at 8 a.m. Took about an hour. But seemed smooth--no problems.