Election Day 2008 Open Thread
Your friendly neighborhood open thread. Gimme a report from your polling place! How’s turnout in Lowell?
I’m in Lunenburg’s only polling place with Jen Benson visibility. There’s been 6-10 people here holding signs for Jen and Obama, as opposed to 0-3 people for Kurt Hayes, if that’s any indication.
More encouraging, though, is the turnout…locals say that the very (and still, now) steady stream of voters has been incredible even for this politically active town.
Update: here, as of a little while ago, fully 20% of Lunenburg voters had already shown up to vote.
Update II: Don’t forget, if you want to join me at the Brewery Exchange on Cabot St, I’ll be there after the polls close, by 8:30pm. If someone brings a laptop with cell modem access, even better, because there’s no wifi as far as I know. There’s some interactive maps on dkos that I’d love to keep track of while returns are coming in. 
Update III: Holy smokin’ voters! By 11am, Acton had seen 30% of its voters turnout, and get this!!! Lunenburg, by noon, was just under 50% turnout!!!!! I am at a loss for words!
Update IV: Word on the street says that people in the SecState office is reporting they expect a 76-77% turnout statewide. Whoa.
We might even have a real democracy around here! GoBAMA!
November 4th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Precinct 2 - Ward 3
Arrived at about 9:30am at the Masonic Temple. Waited in line about 10 to 15 minutes. Place was about 3 to 4 times more active than it usually is on an election day. Got my ballot, filled in my dots, checked out, brought ballot to optical scanner. Scanner was not working so they had me slide my ballot into a side slot. They said someone was coming to fix the machine and the ballots would be scanned once it was fixed. Not worried, but thought it should be noted. I have a photo of my ballot too : ). Out of polling location by 9:50am. All in all very uneventful.
November 4th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
7:10 AM waited in line for the first time ever for any election on any level. Although I’ve never voted in the morning before. I was #62 in the scantron at the Robinson School. I saw my Mum told her I canceled out her vote. She hit me in the arm in front of a cop who was looking the other way of course. Also had the priviledge(sp) of being behind what looked to be a homeless man who “never voted before… I need to vote for MY guy…” turns out he was in the wrong place. I felt kinda bad for him. I saw a lot of younger people and alot of minorities as well. More so then I see around 530-6PM when I usually go and vote and am in and out in under 5 minutes. Today car door to car door- 12 minutes.
November 4th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
At the 10.1 (VFW/Plain St.) voting was crowded but there was no line.
The busiest I have ever seen.
November 4th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Voted at the J.G Pyne school at 1pm and no lines but they said very busy earlier. Heard quite a few people coming to the table asking for directions on how to vote and that it was their first time. They were all well adults well over 18!
November 4th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Just realized something! There were no signs at the JG Pyne School. Is there a reason for that? (Are they no longer allowed near schools or something?) Just seemed strange.
November 4th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
I just came from the VFW on Plain St (where there also were no signs at all either!). Precinct 10-1 had approximately 750 votes cast out of 1129 total and Precinct 4-2 had approximately 470 out of 800+ total. Precinct 4-2’s ballot box had broken after 415 votes cast so there will have to be a manual count of that precinct later tonight. I have never seen the VFW so busy at an election in over 20 yrs voting there — it was almost chaos with people trying to find the correct line to sign in and then sign out, especially witrh two separate precincts!
November 4th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
I’m same district and ward as Felicia so I have the same to report. As for the signage, I guess this is new?
http://www.lowellma.gov/depts/electioncensus/faq
“Prohibited Activities
State law prohibits the display of political paraphenalia within one hundred and fifty (150) feet of the entrance to the polling location. Signs, stickers and even lapel buttons are not permitted within this restricted zone.”
November 4th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Leaving now (7:50pm) for The Exchange, that’s where the good tvs are, however, we might decide to stop off first to get that burger/food. I’m friggin starved from working the polls and phones all day!
See a lot of you there!!!
November 4th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
am downstairs lowell beer works getting food in dining rm, fyi
November 4th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
No line 830 this morning at the PAV in Centralville.
November 4th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
How’s The Brew? I figured they’d be watching the Celtics.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
now up at brewery exchange (second floor) it’s 9pm and I am obsessively refreshing boston.com for local race info!
November 4th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Wish I was there. Hubby is sick in bed and kids are sleeping. I however will be up very late tonight and cheering along!
November 4th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
ok you people all pooped out on me, so we hiked to blue shamrock on market st.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
I was at Mickey’s (formerly San Grias). Light crowd despite signs advertising election coverage on big screens.
November 5th, 2008 at 12:17 am
Obama just brought tears to my eyes and that happens extremely rarely!
November 5th, 2008 at 12:34 am
Yeah, sorry, we totally bailed! The results gotta make up for it though.
November 5th, 2008 at 12:38 am
Flaked out. Stayed home.
November 5th, 2008 at 12:58 am
S’ok, if you guys all promise to come to some future local gathering of my choosing. I think we need to start some version of the Drinking Liberally chapter we once had, only…not once a week! That was too hard to organize.
What a freakin’ night, eh? I’m so happily exhausted. I feel like I “left it all out on the road.”
November 5th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Very gracious concession speech by McCain, I thought.
November 5th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I have more than that to say about McCain’s speech, but I won’t belabor it too much. But at the part where his people booed, and he asked them not to, where was that when Obama was being called terrorist and other horrible things? He barely came out even weakly then to stop it. He fostered the hate, he gets to live with what he created.
McCain was merely worried about his legacy. As well he should be. The nicest thing for the Arizona to do for this country to vote for that popular former Dem governor if she challenges him in 2010 and crush him, and let him retire to his 10 homes in quiet historical obscurity.
November 5th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Congrats to the Democrats on their overwhelming victory.
I usually lean to the right, so it was a tough night for me. The way the Republicans acted while they had full control was disgraceful, so this day was a long time coming.
I remain hopeful that Obama surrounds himself with the same group of people that Clinton had when it comes to economic policy, and that the Democrats don’t jump on the same runaway train of spending that the Republican’s were on.
November 5th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
I think we can safely say that today’s modern progressive is, ahem, more fiscally conservative than conservatives. We’ll probably spend more than a typical conservative would like on social safety nets and leveling the playing field, but I also expect some nice fiscal sanity on the federal level again, like we have seen with Governor Patrick.
All in all, except for Prop 8 in CA (
), a good night for the progressive movement!
I respect that you can see the errors in the movement of which you consider yourself a part, -b. Come to the dark side!
November 5th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Do we have a precinct breakdown for Lowell yet? I’m curious….
November 5th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Hmm, that’s usually Dick Howe’s province ’round these parts…I’ll keep an eye out.