Blind Prophecy

I waited until after the morning (pre-work) rush and walked over to the library about 10am to vote. As I approached the library, my neighbor handed me a list of endorsements from the Democrats and a young African-American woman handed me a list of Republican endorsements. I accepted both graciously. If nothing else, the Republican sheet could give me a handy guide to who NOT to vote for in nonpartisan races where I was uncertain.

There were about 50 people in line ahead of me, but the poll officials told us that the wait time was approximately 35 minutes to get into the building and 10 minutes once inside. After voting in Reno, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and San Francisco, this is the first time I have ever encountered lines at my polling place.

When I first stepped into line and began having conversations with my neighbors, everyone started out fairly guarded in discussing their political leanings. After a few coded comments about “going to see him last Sunday” and how things “didn’t turn out well last time” we established that pretty much everyone around us was liberal-leaning. By the time we reached the front of the line, we were sharing our doubts that Steve Driehaus was too conservative and our hopes that California beats prop 8. One of the great things about living in Northside, on my entire block there is only one McCain sign and dozens of Obama signs.

Jacob voted earlier in the morning and had to vote on a provisional ballot because of a problem with his registration. I had no such problem and proceeded directly to the voting booth.

I basically voted a straight Democrat ticket, choosing not to vote in the races where the only candidate was a Republican. I voted for an Ohio casino, for limited on predatory payday loan companies, and for a ranked candidates voting process.

I know everyone has been saying this, but I got a little emotional filling in the bubble for Obama/Biden. I waited until today to vote because of this moment.

When Bush was first elected, I tried to put a positive spin on it in my mind. “This will force the progressives and liberals to get their act together. AIDS organizations will have to become more creative and more responsive to the community because federal funding will get cut. LGBT equality groups will have to work strategically and spend time changing the culture.” Etc.

But as I fed my ballot into the optical scanner and collected my “I voted” sticker, all I felt was relief. It feels like our long national nightmare is coming to an end. No more brave face and positive spin, soon I will feel genuinely optimistic for the leadership of the country.

Filed under: politics by Jere Keys