Election Day 2012

It’s Election Day 2012!  It all comes down to today.  After months of commercials and campaigning, and weekends full of canvassing for my Environmental Justice class, today is the day!  By tonight the next president will be decided, along with various other positions and, for those of us Californians at least, a multitude of propositions.  Throughout this whole process, though, I’ve felt pretty disconnected from the political climate.  I missed all of the debates (I had rehearsal) and the subsequent mock-ups on SNL (though without Tina Fey as Sarah Palin this go-round, maybe I wasn’t missing very much).  At least I’ve heard about binders full of women many, many times.  I definitely haven’t paid as much attention as I should have to the campaigns and major political platforms.  But by this evening none of that will matter—and we won’t have to see political ads all over for another while.

In the meantime, my facebook feed is full of people urging their friends to go vote, which I did, but again feels disconnected: I voted a week or so ago by absentee ballot, and I don’t even have the sticker to show for it.  Many of us probably did the same, so we’re all voting on different Congressional and State representatives and ballot initiatives.  At least we’re all connected with the presidential election!  Though we must respect the conservative minority, even in a very liberal liberal arts college.  Today is pretty exciting, no matter the outcome—especially because for most of us, myself included, this is the first time we’re old enough to vote in a presidential election!  I’m not sure how much difference I will make in California, but I feel empowered all the same.  And it will definitely be exciting to be on a college campus when the Presidential winner is announced.

Now excuse me while I glue myself to a computer and wait for the results to come in.