Finally!

Image description: Button courtesy of Nezua. It's round, reflective, 3D-ish and looks like a real lapel button. It's blue with a few stripes of red and white at the bottom. It reads "I VOTED," with the "v" as a bold red check mark over a landscape and a blue-toned Obama campaign logo. The word "CHANGE" arches subtly along the top, blue on blue.

It's done! And it took me just a half-hour from start to finish here in my little town. Everyone votes at the same place, with the rec center gymnasium divided into the three local precincts.

The weather is stunningly beautiful today, and that made the crowded parking lot less stressful. If I'd driven and parked myself it would have maybe taken a half hour to find a place to roll out my van's ramp, but I went with family who did the parking for me. There is disabled access parking but it was all taken. The entrance is all level with no steps anywhere, and the three sets of double doors were all propped open. The disabled access door had a sign on it saying that anyone needing assistance with voting could ask an election official for it.

There were two people standing outside the building who were poll watchers, I think, since I didn't see an "election official" badge on either of them. I didn't know them but chances are good they were Republican poll watchers as there have often been some in the past despite this rural area being a conservative stronghold.

I got to the poll at about 9:30 am. Just inside the gym is the first line, for those registering today as they vote. Once I got around these newbs and found my precinct table to sign in (no line there), I had to wait in another line for a couple minutes to get my ballot. A guy next to me said loudly to his friend that I shouldn't have to wait in line and someone should be there to "take care of that." He wasn't listening when I replied that there was no reason I couldn't wait in line like everyone else -- I didn't need to rest: already sitting. I didn't need special help to hand in my slip and get my ballot. It was a quick line anyway.

Then the line to vote was perhaps 15 minutes long, and that was simply a line to use a booth or table stall. People who had black ink pens and didn't mind filling out their ballots while standing finished before they came to the front of the line. People everywhere chatted, but mostly not about politics. I heard a conversation between a couple people pondering how to vote for the school bond. I heard someone laughingly say this was a lot of lines to stand in just to get a sticker. The mood was busy and spirited.

An election official told me they'd been running about 200 people through per hour since 7 am. He also said there were no electronic machines to use. They'd had some the last time I went to vote, but according to this guy, all machines in Minnesota were taken away. So it was a low tech procedure all the way, with just the machine that accepts and approves your ballot at the end being the one automated moment.

No one offered me special assistance, but I didn't need any and came with my own nurse anyway. If I'd needed help there were plenty of poll workers there who would have provided it.

My precinct had about ten standing voting stalls and 16 seated table stalls and the line moved smoothly with another line that also moved well to give your ballot up to the machine. The other two precincts have their own similar set-ups on the other side of the gymnasium. And then there's the happy guy at the end handing out "I Voted Today" stickers.

I voted: for Barack Obama, for Al Franken (the least unappealing candidate for U.S. Senate -- I hope he's more inspiring in office), for Rep. Collin Peterson, against a local state incumbent named Ron Shumanski who exists principally to say no to all good ideas for the community (he'll surely be re-elected in this very conservative district), yes on the Minnesota amendment for conservation and the arts (I was torn on this one), and yes on a couple of badly needed school bonds that will surely fail as they always do. And I voted on some of the local stuff: school board, county commissioner, an unbelievable number of judges on the ballot, mostly running unopposed.

I was done by 10 am (a half hour total) and went out to breakfast with my parents. Coffee, one egg over-easy and hash browns. I'm working with a brand new nurse this afternoon so it feels especially good to have my part in the election done.

Is it too early to be really excited about this?

Whoooooo.