10:00am Pacific Standard Time: Reno Nevada
The polls opened today in the swing state of Nevada at 10:00am sharp for the first day of early voting in the Silver State. I got to my polling station; a local grocery store; at around 10:03am. I couldn't wait another day to cast my vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. There was a joyful group of about 15 Barack Obama volunteers standing in the parking lot. There were a number of large Obama-Biden signs out front.
Conversely, there were only a few tiny McCain-Palin signs and McCain's staff was really small. About 3 or 4 people.
Explicit signs near the grocery store warned campaign workers to stay behind, so as not to harass voters coming in.
I got on the line about 10:10am, and it was 45 minutes long. Remember, this is early voting in one of a number of polling stations, and not November 4th! People are pretty excited to vote. About 40% of Nevada voters are expected to have voted before November 4th. Obama currently leads in Nevada polls by about 3 or 4 points on average. So, if McCain has an October surprise, he better hurry it up. By the time McCain shows up on TV with Osama Bin Laden by a headlock in front of his cave, he may already have lost!
I chatted with a nice group of people on line with me. None of us dared tell each other who we were voting for. I had a piece of paper with all the local races I was voting for. I looked over the ballot initiatives.
There were about 7 or 8 voting kiosks. I put in my voter card and started the process I have been waiting for since 2004! The first two selections were of course the most important.
Number 1 - President: Barack Obama/Joe Biden
Number 2 - U.S. House of Representatives: Jill Derby
More below the flip
Democrat Jill Derby ran in 2006 in an open seat race against Republican Dean Heller. Dean Heller won 51-45, by about 12,600 votes. This year for the first time, Washoe County, the most populated in Northern Nevada (and the 2nd Congressional district) has more registered Democrats than Republicans. This new figure is a huge blow to Republican chances in the State. In 2004, Registered Republicans here outnumbered Registered Democrats by nearly 20,000. However, growth in this area has changed its politics. In Clark County, which includes all of Las Vegas, Democrats have a huge registration advantage over Republicans. Only the rural areas in Nevada are still strongly Republican. However, Barack Obama has been in rural Elko, Nevada's 3rd largest population center (combined population with nearby Spring Creek: 30,000) at least a couple times, and received enormous crowds.
Anyway, back to my vote. The machine prints out a piece of paper behind glass that is used in case of a recount. It clearly said Barack Obama/Joe Biden at the top, followed by Jill Derby. I was pumped!
I walked out and greeted the Obama volunteers. I let out an exuberant "that felt GOOD!" and everybody smiled. In 2004, I liked John Kerry, but I was mostly voting against George W. Bush. In 2008, I voted for Barack Obama because I am excited about him, and really want him to be my President. So do his volunteers.
Voter turnout in Nevada is expected to be tremendous. The field team for Barack Obama is very strong here in Northern Nevada. Obama spoke at the University of Nevada-Reno (the main campus) a few weeks ago, and I was told the crowd was immense, causing parking issues not experienced for major college sporting events or rock concerts. Students had trouble getting to class.
Overall, there is a great deal of volunteers and enthusiasm for Barack Obama in Nevada. This will probably the difference maker in this State.
The only ads I have seen for McCain in recent days have been very negative "he lied" ads; or Bill Ayers ads. At least half of the Obama ads I see show him talking about his plans for the economy and energy and health care.
I am so glad I have finally voted. What a day!