Hypno Toad

I hope the admins find this acceptable. If not, I'll delete... I'd just like to see people out voting.

WizardOfBoz

I read where its 39° and rainy in MPLS. Good for you for braving the elements. A spiffy ride looking ride, too.

Hypno Toad

Thanks! Truth in posting, my polling location is less than a 1/2 mile from home ... I biked for the photo op

gevad 

autonomy

I walked but saw two people on bikes coming in, somehow it was cool. Of course, being the Boston Metro, there was already some honking going on on the street... at 7 am at a polling place - calm down, people.

NiGoCo

I voted early. I stopped in my way home from work since I pass within a block from there anyway. I would have taken a picture of the bike in front of the vote early sign but that felt really goofy.

clengman

No pic, but yes, of course I voted. We had around 70 show up so far in my ward in the first hour. I think the turnout is going to be big in my district

It's 50F and rainy here. Had a choice to ride to a nearby T station after I left my polling place, but I was so uplifted after doing my civic duty I decided to put up with the rain and get in my 9 mile morning ride. It felt good.

pdlamb

As I came out of the polling place, a lady asked me, "How far did you ride to get here?" Answer, about 4 blocks, but now it's 10 miles to work.

It seems sad that voter turnout will be considered high if 60% of registered voters bother to vote. It should be low if 10% of possible voters don't.

fietsbob

Oregon , votes by mail , dropped off ballot @ election office long ago.. ..

52telecaster

Voted 3 weeks ago. Thanks for exercising your vote!

tagaproject6

How did you secure your bike while inside?

79pmooney

I miss the ritual of going to the polls. 40 years ago, I took it a step further. I helped count the votes. A bunch of us would show up at 8pm. We would each get issued a pile of ballots, enter the votes into a (real life, hard paper) spreadsheet. Tally those votes both across and down, making sure the totals matched, then get another pike and repeat until all were counted. 11pm on an easy mid-term. Wee hours of the morning for the big elections.

Now, here in Oregon it is like fietsbob said. We just drop our ballet in the mailbox. Or take it to the library and drop it in a box. By contrast, in 1972, the first 18 yo vote, I was a student and went to the student union to vote. Too few voting machines (and the old, retired ones at that) were provided at this new polling place. I got there after dinner at 7pm. Several machines had broken down and the line to vote extended through the union and into the adjoining dormitory then up to the third floor. At the poll closing, a police officer came to the back of the line to keep anyone else from joining. (He was as disgusted as any of us at having to be the gatekeeper for the next three hours and had no issues with students slipping out to bring back pizzas and the like.) By the time I voted, McGovern had already conceded. The name of the town official in charge of the voting machines got passed down the line. He did not get re-elected.

In contrast to some recent elections - all the students who stuck out the very long wait got to vote and their votes were counted.

Ben

woodcraft

Also a Felt, eggbeaters.

Doctor Morbius

I'm getting ready to go vote for the first time in 18 years.

Hypno Toad

indyfabz

My polling place is a scant 2 blocks from my house. I walked there in the pouring rain.

TimothyH

@Hypno Toad, I vote for helmets.

I should go vote and will probably ride down later. It's about 0.7 miles to the library, almost all downhill. The choices in Georgia are pretty dismal on either side but some of the ballot initiatives are interesting.

My daughter turned 18 last week and is really excited.

Fuji and Speedplay, for the record.




-Tim-

Hypno Toad

CAREFUL! This thread could become a dumpster fire with talk about bikes and pedal preference!

TimothyH

My chain lube can beat up your chain lube.


-Tim-

mkblackwell

Foggy morning in Milton, MA (suburb south of Boston), with rain on the way... Polling place is conveniently on my normal commuting route. One other bike commuter was here at the same time!

Oh, 30-year-old Giant Iguana, platform pedals with toe clips. So there!

Hypno Toad

"You know they's lots o' words that's called fightin' words. Some o' them starts a brawl, no matter who they're spoken to." Gullible's Travels.

Ironfish653

Hey! They said no political stuff! You want to get us locked??

ollo_ollo

Me too! When I took ours by the library, first of the 2 boxes was so full, I couldn't force the envelopes in. Never happened before as they empty daily.

I have good memories of our late 60's-early 70's West Seattle neighborhood where we voted in a neighbor's basement and would chat with friends while we saw on a big map, where the homeowners Marine son was in Vietnam.(he came thru OK) I worked nights, attended U of W afternoons. (Mens room graffiti I remember: STOP THE WAR...before they draft me!...Wallace for Dictator!) Wonder if anyone ever did a long term study of graffiti in historical context? Our working class neighborhood was majority Dem but followed the national pattern, voting for Nixon by a large majority. Don

BobbyG

Does 2014 count?

indyfabz

I have a beef: Expensive bikes coming without pedals. Think I should start a thread about that?