^{Jewel Samad/AFP/GettyImages}

While waiting for the first results, I saw a couple of election day items at Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish that  I want to reprint. A quote from Lincoln and a story from a voter.

This is essentially a People’s contest. On the side of the Union, it is a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form, and substance of government, whose leading object is, to elevate the condition of men – to lift artificial weights from all shoulders – to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all – to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life. Yielding to partial, and temporary departures, from necessity, this is the leading object of the government for whose existence we contend,” – Abraham Lincoln, Special Message to the People of the United States, July 4, 1861.

At my precinct polling place by 7:30 a.m. Fairly long line. It turned out that all the voting machines were broken. So we all had to vote by provisional ballot. Ridiculous. The lady just behind me in line brought along her daughter, I’d say she was about 8-10, certainly an elementary school student. Mom starts to fill out the ballot and the child shrieks, “No, not him! Nooooo!” Then she takes up a chant “Ba-rack O-bam-a, Ba-rack O-bam-a, Ba-rack O-bam-a!” Mom is perplexed, hushing her, and then finally “Alright, alright.” “Ma’am can I have another ballot?” She hands back the one she started, fills out a new one, and the kid starts applauding “yeah!”

A voting booth conversion? A juvenile act of extortion? Pretty bizarre incident. In any event, I’d say it was the kid who effectively cast that ballot. But why not? It’s about her future.