Watching the Election Returns

I'm watching the election returns on PBS, with Jim Lehrer hosting. Perhaps this choice of news channel reflects some stodginess on my part, but I just don't like the hype of most of the other news channels. I'm not interested in the fancy graphics; I just want the story and some interesting chit-chat in the meantime.

Since we've lived here in the metro-Atlanta area for just a little over a year, we don't have close friends nearby with whom to share this experience. And I wasn't really up to gathering with strangers. I called my son in Austin, Texas, a few minutes ago; he participated in a couple of the Democratic caucuses earlier. He's busy studying on campus now, but when the final announcement is made, I'll be sure to call him up. I hope, of course, that we will be celebrating the historic event of the nation's first black president. If the country goes for McCain, I'll have to save the champagne for some future event--or put it on a shelf as a memento to dashed hopes.

I tutor on a campus where the student population (as well as faculty and staff) is majority African-American. I've talked to enough of my colleagues to know that some of their votes in the past have not always been what many think would be the expected "African-American" vote; people vote for many reasons, and in the South, particularly, votes are often tied to what they think is the "character" vote or "values" vote. Now, I would disagree with those who think voting for a Democratic candidate is not a "values" vote, but that's an argument for another post. What has struck me so much this time is the enthusiasm that people have for this election. One student came into our lab today with two American flags stuck in her hair and a Barack Obama pin and "I'm a Georgia Voter" sticker on her blouse. Another student was almost giddy with excitement. The young woman sitting next to her kept describing to me how enthusiastic her friend was about this election, about how her friend has been telling everyone to vote. A young man who has been in the past so proud of the rap CD he created with his own home recording system was proudly sporting a "I'm a Georgia Voter" on his jacket today. His smile was contagious.

My daughter and I walked downtown to enjoy the unusually balmy sunshine this afternoon, and we passed a man on a sidewalk also sporting the ubiquitous "I'm a Georgia Voter" sticker. He was a handsome man, a little on the heavy side, wearing a brown driving cap and leaning a little on a cane. We stopped to talk to him.

"Was the line long at the polls?" I asked, remembering having seen a long line downtown last week of people voting early.

"Oh, no," he said with a smile. "I was a little worried before I left the house, thinking I would have to stand in line and wondering if I would need my cane." He motioned to his cane. "But I didn't really need it; I voted right away."

There were long lines in some places, but it seems that the early voting did indeed diminish the wait tremendously in some precincts. I suspected that our precinct would not have a long line on Election Day, but I voted early because I was just too anxious to wait and also because I actually wanted to participate in what became a more community experience in the long lines here in Dekalb County. That may sound silly, especially in light of all of those pundits complaining that early voting takes away from the community experience. I didn't feel short-changed, however, as I stood for an hour-and-a-half in line; seeing all those other people just as anxious as I to vote was inspiring.