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After loading my daughters (almost 5 years old and 17 months) into the car, I exclaimed, “We’re going to go vote! This is better than Christmas!” My older daughter begged to differ. She asked me again why I was voting for Barack Obama, so I told her in the most kid-friendly terms that I wanted someone who would be a good leader of the country and the world, someone who would strive to leave a better world for her and her sister when they were my age and, most of all, someone who would always use their words to resolve conflicts instead of resorting to fighting (don’t we all learn that one in preschool?!). When we arrived at the parking lot of the polling place, my eyes welled up with tears because I’ve never seen it so packed on an election day. It made me feel as though we were part of something huge. I felt so connected with the millions of people in this country that are hungry for change. After voting, my older daughter was allowed to “vote.” She grabbed a ballot and I read off the names of all the candidates. She paused and said, “What do I do?” I told her to circle the person she wanted to be “boss” of the country. She picked up her pencil and circled Barack Obama’s photo. She was beaming when she placed her “ballot” in the envelope. It was a proud moment for me, especially when the precint worker winked at me and said, “Ya did good, mom.”

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It was nice. My daughter was asking lots of questions in and out of the booth. The more information we give the new generation, the more likely they will carry on. Vote and change the world.

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Today I voted while my 8 year old son was in school. It was the first time I voted without him since he was born. A couple of months ago he said ” Mama, I don’t want to die in the war in Iraq. Make sure “we” vote for the president who won’t make me go to a war!’

I told him if Obama wins and even if it is midnight, I will wake him up and we will bang post and pans like it was NEw Year’s Eve… A new beginning!

I thought there would be long lines but i got in and out in 10 minutes.

No matter who you voted for let us come together tomorrow in Unity for Peace, prosperity,Equality and Justice for All!

And so it is!

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It was fun to take my son with me today to cast my vote. He is very excited and interested in the election this year and it has fueled lots of great conversations in our family.

What’s even better is that they had their own election day at school yesterday. His class voted for Obama and, interestingly, the school overall voted for Obama.

Oh, and my 3-year old got to vote today at her preschool – they voted for what color milk they would have a lunch. I think it’s great that we teach our kids about the importance of voting at a young age.

Happy Election Day!

Cheers!

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I waited in line for an hour and a half to early vote on the very first day! It was so worth it and I am so happy to be a part of this election. The turnout in Florida has been amazing and I hope it keeps up all day today and no one backs down or gets frustrated. This is too important to say it doesn’t matter, it does! I cannot wait until I have children to take to the polls with me. What a day!

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I was excited to vote today. After I signed in at my precinct table I waited for a booth to become available. It was 8:45 am and I waited in line to get into the room for about 10 minutes. As I waited for a voting booth I became overwelmed with emotion. So many people making their voice heard. I hoped no one saw me well up; I was a little embarassed. Finally it was my turn. I was thrilled to vote for Barak Obama and the great potential for healing that his presidency will bring. I hope I will be able to tell my grandchildren someday about my part in this historic event.

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I took my 9 yr old son to vote today – and got him to school 2 hours late, and I will not apologize. Some things are more important and I would hope his school knows it. Besides, when I suggested a few weeks ago that I would vote early, he got indignant because he wanted to be with me “to make history,” he said, and he wanted the excitement of doing it on Election Day. He had all kinds of great questions about coalition building and when it was a good idea to vote Democrat instead of Green, etc. We just got back from Ghana, which is also preparing for an election, and he’s been hearing all about minor party Parlimentary seats and parties working together.

As I expected, we were the only white people at our polling place because we live in an almost-all Black ward in South Chicago (fifteen blocks from Obama). A few heads turned when we walked in and joined the line, and more than one person asked me if I had voted here before (meaning “Are you sure you’re in the right place lady?” ) But we always vote there. – it’s a block from our house, and of course there were also those of our neighbors who knew us and greeted us.
I was really gratified to see heads turning because, like the length of the line, it meant that there were folks there who don’t normally get out to vote. Many of the older folks in our neighborhood came up from the South over the past 60 years, so they remember Jim Crow and they are very politically active so long as they can get there. But the younger generation grew up here, struggling for jobs and quitting school and being beaten down. Those were the ones I was hoping to see – and I did. I talked to the leader of our neighborhood thugs yesterday, to make sure he was voting. “Absolutely Ms Megg, I’ll be there.” he told me. “And I’m makin all of my buddies go too. We’re not going to miss it.” I know these guys are armed and dangerous, but they’re also doing what they can to help make a country where they don’t have to sell drugs to feed their kids and pay for their grandmothers’ medicine (and yes, that is what many of these guys spend the money on). And today at least, they weren’t feeling disenfranchised. They were part of the system and proud of it.

So yeah, I took my son, and I’m glad I did. He needed to be part of it his own future. In fact he asked me if he could get some stilts so he could pass for a grown-up and vote too. Tonight I’ll take him to the Obama rally downtown so he can be part of that too. I know many folks are worried about violence there, but again, it’s important to see and feel, however it turns out.

My dad reminded me this morning of the day Mandela was released. I was in South Africa at the time, and I remember that day in such detail. He’s right – today does feel like that — years of fear giving way to excitement, hope, joy. My dad started crying talking about it, and I have tears in my eyes now. Just like then, this isn’t just one man being set free tp make history – it’s all of us. I’m not about to let my son miss any of that.

Happy Day everyone!

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In our county we have all mail in voting, so we voted 2 weeks ago. Easy peasy. However, what has surprised me the most is the amount of time my four kid’s schools have devoted to the election process this year. They have made campaign posters for their candidate, written letters to the principal for why they chose who they did, went through a school wide election and are having election day parties to celebrate this historic vote. It is so refreshing to see the process being taught and encouraged. I only wish they would spend a little time expaining that it’s important to vote in EVERY election, not just the presidental ones.

Waiting for the change… Go Obama!

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My son has always accompanied me to the voting booth, and today he noticed the difference… Although he is only 5 1/2, he remarked that the lines sure were longer than usual, and I explained to him why that was a great thing! He told one of the poll workers that they voted at his school yesterday, and that he sure hoped the grown-ups vote turned out differently (his candidate apparently did not win at school!). He also said he was excited that he would know how to vote when he could do so on his own in just 13 more years. Makes my heart sing! When I was his age I had no idea about voting, yet he knows the names of the presidential candidates and even has formed his own opinion on who he wants to win.

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My 3 year old (in the great Chicago tradition) voted for a second time today. I brought him with me to vote early – and enthusiastically – for Barack Obama last week and he had such a great time that he asked to go again today to make sure daddy voted for Obama. In the car on the way we made GOTV calls to Nana and Boppa to make sure they’d voted. I don’t know if Ben will remember any of this (although there will be photos) but I will never forget the feeling of watching his little finger touching the screen and casting a vote for Obama – and for his own future.

When I dropped him off at child care, I arranged to come back later in the afternoon to fill in so the teachers could make it to the polls as well.

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