i’m watching the election coverage on KARE 11 and all the reporters are making wagers on what time they call it a night, when the election will be called. the wagers keep creeping later and later in the night/morning.
why?
because voter turnout here in minnesota has been astounding– mind-blowingly high. there were still lines when the polls closed at 8. they let everyone in line vote even if it was after eight. there was fear that they would run out of the supplemental ballots with mondale’s name on them.
one precinct in st. paul is reporting 85% voter turnout– EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT! that’s amazing. the lines are amazing, people everywhere turning out is amazing.
and when i think about it all tears roll down my cheeks and i get all choked up. it’s been a real emotional time here in minnesota with the death of paul wellstone almost two weeks ago. seeing his name on the ballot was hard.
but then i hear about an 85% turnout my heart swells. really, regardless of the outcome, i believe paul wellstone is in his heaven and feeling pretty proud of his legacy.
WOW! congratulations!
canada hasn’t topped %65 in over a decade.
85% is absolutely amazing when you consider that the national average is well below 50% (I’m a little fuzzy on the exact number, but it’s depressing). I went to the polls here in VA at 6:15 last night and the room was full. I was so happy to have to wait for my turn. The past couple years, it’s been a ghosttown when I voted. The outcome wasn’t what I wanted, but I’m happy people came out and made their mark.
Here in Australia it’s compulsory to vote in all government elections. A compulsory democracy. It’s probably a good thing, because the majority of politicians here from either major party couldn’t motivate voters to save themselves.
It floors me that you can get 85% voter turnout in a non-compulsory election. I think it says amazing things about your political leadership.