Election 2008 - a heavy turnout report

So this morning Natasha and I went to our Electoral Precinct to do our civic duty.

The line was absolutely packed, with some recognizable neighbors.

We were told by the lady at the door that the wait to vote was approximately 20 minutes.

That was very approximate as it took over an hour.

it was complicated by the fact that two precincts shared the same entrance and a ton of people had no clue which precinct they were in -- the precinct maps were of course farther inside past the line splits. This should not be that complicated - your voter registration card has your precinct on it and the Michigan Secretary of State Web page will let you look yourself up, check your precinct and even get a nifty example ballot listing all the candidates as they appear on the ballot. Proper preparation prevents poor performance you know.

First there was the line where you fill out the voter identification slip - we did this while in line.

Then you got in line by groups of last names for you to show id and get your slip checked.

Then you got in line to get your ballot and then you waited for a spot to vote.

Natasha commented that in the Soviet Union, with compulsory voting (if you didn't vote you were in deep trouble) it went a lot faster. I pointed out that back in the USSR you only had to vote and didn't need to choose as there was nothing to choose. She noted that was a good point.

At least the lines remind us of the great efficiencies of government and if you love the efficiency of long waits in line to vote, just wait for the efficiency and long lines for government health care.

Should be quite a race. Onethe interesting comments I heard two voters say -- these were a couple youngsters who were in voting for Obama -- they then asked "Do I have to fill out the back? (of the ballot). They were politely told its their choice to do as much or as little as they want and the ballot will still be ok if the back choices are made or not. I think most of us in line waiting wereof the opinion they should quit wasting time as if you're that clueless just vote and leave please and get out of the way of those who actually looked at the issues beforehand.

Well the voting has been done, now to watch the counting and asociated punditry.