I have four children.  All are eligible to vote and all will be away from home on election day.  So everyone of them filled out an absentee ballot.  I’ve been on them to get it in the mail asap so their vote counts.  One after another calls and asks, “Mom, how much postage do you think it needs?”  I checked with the post office.  It’s 59-cents for all ballots, no matter where they are in the country. 

I vote where my kids attended elementary school.  I used to pull them out of class and take them into the voting booth with me so they could see how it’s done.  I always made them promise not to tell anyone how Mom voted.  A part of me is disappointed my children won’t be back in that booth come Tuesday. 

Being there, casting my vote on the real day is the real thing for me.  There’s something about election day.  I really look forward to it.  I like going to my voting precinct, seeing the regulars (the election workers), chatting them up about turnout, running into my neighbors, checking the rolls to make sure my husband beat me to the polls (he’s an early riser), going into the booth and filling in the bubbles (we don’t have levers at my polling place), and then feeding my ballot into the counting machine to see what number voter I am.

 I know some states have several days of voting (wouldn’t that be convenient?).  But it’ll take something away from the process for me.  I want to vote on election day and then be in the newsroom that night as the results all start coming in.  Nothing compares to the real thing or that big night of coverage.  I’ll be seeing you then.