Friendly reminder that these local elections are important, too.
We actually have no ballot here but most decently large cities and Virginia and New Jersey do.
It is a big day in Virginia and the weather is miserable. Cold rain doesn’t bode well for a strong turnout. I don’t care who you vote for (well, of course I have a preference) but please, get out there and vote!
Going right after I’m finished st PT. Town election and a NYS Constitutional Convention vote - which must be put up for a vote every 20 years. Both D’s and R’s are against it so it should go down.
I voted absentee a couple weeks ago in Virginia since I’m out of town for several days. Will be keeping a close eye on the results.
We all vote by mail here in WA, so did it last week. I miss the communal gathering of going with my neighbors to vote, though.
D2 asked for help last night to find her polling place and ballot. It was frustrating in her reddish state to find the right info. The blue state next door to it where we used to live made it incredibly easy. This felt clumsy, and required a lot of Google persistence to determine where she votes and which sample ballot is hers. Poor internet tools by the SOS and counties are another form of voter suppression, I think. Even ballotpedia wasn’t able to figure it out.
Already done, some important local elections in my area today.
I voted before work today in Virginia. As I was walking in to work wearing my sticker a car pulled up and a man asked me for directions to the nearby polling place. I was happy to give them and hope the fact that he didn’t know where it is means he is a first time voter energized to vote in this important election.
Our S voted absentee in VA on Friday as he’s out of state today. I’m glad he voted and takes an active interest in current events and his community. I signed up for absentee voting but for some reason it didn’t register and I still have to go to my polling place. We only have elections every two years in our state.
Sadly, our state has one of the worst/lowest turnouts for elections in the nation. It’s very troubling.
I don’t get why cold rain should prevent anyone from going out to vote. It’s not like a blizzard or hurricane where travel is inadvisable. Are people that lazy that rain is a reason to not vote?
My polling place was quite busy this morning. Good to see!
Here’s an article from last year that attempts to explain the relationship between turnout and weather:
I spent this election morning taking my currently Russian soon to be American friend to the immigration office in Detroit.
Easy to say if you normally drive places. How attractive is it to stand in the cold rain waiting for a bus, or put on your rain gear and hop on the bike in the soaking rain, or walk 20 blocks in the pouring rain? Not that attractive. Take it from someone who doesn’t drive.
(But I always vote. And I ride my bike in the rain when it rains.)
Or if you have a line that extends outside into the cold and wet.
That I think is the bigger problem. States reducing the number of polling places so people have to stand on line for hours waiting to vote. And those who are the poorest and cannot take the time off of work needed to wait hours on line - even in nice weather. The reduced # of polling places is an overt move intended to reduce voter participation in specific terms segments of the population.
I will say my red state makes it pretty easy to find your voter info. And I’ve never had to wait very long.
We also usually vote on Saturday, so it isn’t Election Day here. Early voting has started, though, so I might vote today. I will definitely vote at some point.
I live in a now-red state. The blue area I grew up in made it hard to vote. Not enough polling stations, poor transportation, etc. The red area I live in now never has lines.
(And yes- this is absolutely by design.)
I voted. They are estimating turn-out of 40+ in my very blue county
One year, DH and I didn’t vote in the local election and the candidate we didn’t like won by less than 100 votes. Since then, we’ve made it a point to be there for every single election.
So had you voted he/she would have won by less than 98 votes. Still sufficient to gain the office. 
I always vote. Polling place is on my way to/from work and at the times I go, lines have never existed. With absentee ballots available for everyone, there is not much of a reason not to vote. Local elections are the ones from what I have seen where a handful of votes can make a difference.
I moved last week to a different state. We immediately registered to vote but you have to register 30+ days ahead of an election to be eligible to vote. Felt strange not participating.