Mitch Sneed at Large

Note to my readers, both of you: I will be updating this blog with street scenes on election day. Let me know what you think.

Today is an important day—Election Day.
We get to vote.
Voting is the ultimate expression of freedom.
There are places in the world where voting is only a dream, but thankfully here in our country a lot of brave souls died so that we can live that dream every time the polls open.
Even though we have the right to express our political views and cast our ballot for the leaders we feel will best represent our interests.
Still many choose not to register to vote. Reasons vary from not wanting to serve on a jury to just plain old apathy. But no excuse is a good one when it comes to voting.
The way I look at it, if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to whine when things aren’t going your way.
There will be long lines. We have time
It may be a bit chilly, but we have jackets.
We all have to work, but the polls open early and stay open late.
We may not think that our vote matters, but look what happened to Al Gore.
Vote. It matters. Go to the polls. Our country is depending on you. 

CULPEPER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 6:10 a.m. to 7:20 a.m.
At Culpeper United Methodist Church the crowd was constant.
At 6:10 a.m. The line waiting for the polls to open snaked all the way across the parking lot and doubled back again.
Unlike the municipal elections where the candidates campaigning outside outnumbered the voters, a lot of people wanted to be sure they had their say.
Without taking off my shoes to make sure my math was right, I hand-counted 247 people in line when I lined up.
There we old folks with canes waiting patiently. There were couples sipping coffee and mothers in sweats with their children in tow.
“I just wanted them to see how important this is and how it works,“ Angela Ruiz said. “They’ve been asking me every day, ‘do we vote today?‘ They were excited that is finally here.“
People even brought lawn chairs to ease the wait that even at this hour was almost an hour.
One thing that struck me about this crowd—these aren’t the typical people you see at the polls. This is all the people of Culpeper. It wasn’t just the people who are involved or those with a dog in the hunt. It appears that everyone has decide that voting to day is their duty not something as optional as a deluxe floormats in your new car.
The wait was long, but it wasn’t too cold. There was coffee waiting at 7-Eleven. I got it done and got my sticker. Free Chick-fil-A and Starbucks are up next.