post-election hoo-haw

I voted. And I'm glad to see that so many others exercised their right as well. But I'm equally as glad that I did not have to stand in a two-hour-long line to do so. When I swung by the Lutheran church where my precinct's polling booth was set up, I had absolutely no line to wait in. I was in and out in three minutes.

Having been registered to vote in three different states, I have also voted three different ways (or four, if you count the absentee ballot I sent in while I was in school in Idaho). In Utah we used the punch-hole system. In Indiana it was all electronic (which, while cool, came with its own set of problems). In New York we use huge, ancient lever machines. You walk into the booth, push the lever all the way to the opposite side, flip switches next to your chosen candidates names to mark an "x" by them, then push the lever back to the side it originated on to lock in your vote. I find it interesting that a state (and city) as progressive as this one is still using this old-timey method (seriously, these machines look like they haven't been updated since the '50s), while states like Indiana, which are more rural than anything, have moved on up to electronic voting.

Anyhow, this election is over, and I'm thrilled that it is. I'm not incredibly thrilled at the results, but then I'm not sure I'd be thrilled if things turned out differently either. This electoral map, which I saw on another blog, pretty much sums up how I feel after two long years of campaigning. (It's pretty hilarious, don't you think?) We spent last night with our friends, Emily, Adam, and Baby Elizabeth, glued to election coverage. Did anyone else watch it with Brian Williams on NBC, and, if so, did you also get a kick out of how they displayed each state's electoral votes on a big map on the floor of the Rockefeller Center skating rink? I don't know, but I thought that was pretty cool. Despite the fact that things weren't looking good for the republicans, we still had a most enjoyable evening with our friends.

So we have a new president who, by simply being elected, has made history. His socialistic ideas make me nervous, but perhaps he'll prove me wrong with a good next four years. I'm curious, too, to see how Proposition 8 is doing in California. Apparently right now it's still too early to tell. I'm crossing my fingers, though, that if I can't have a president I can (as of yet) fully stand behind, at least let Prop 8 pass. [Update: Proposition 8 passed! Hooray!!]