First of all, I'd like to thank whoever decided to make my county mail-in-only, because I do not enjoy waiting in lines.

Sadly, however, in plenty of places in this country, people are stuck in very, very long lines, waiting patiently to do their civic duty. If that's about to be you, and you're wondering what to bring with you, here's a few suggestions:

A) A BIG bottle of water, hand sanitizer, and (if the lines are really long in your area) your leftover Halloween candy to bribe the people around you to hold your spot in case you need to go to the bathroom.

B) Something to read, of course. I know I usually knock the Twilight series, but if that's the kind of thing that floats your boat, now is the day to drag it out. This is no time to be worried about looking cool--take whatever trashy, entertaining literature you've got to distract you from both your aching feet and the fact that you're probably looking at a naked attempt at voter disfranchisement....

C) ...unless, of course, you WANT to know more about naked attempts at voter disfranchisement. In that case, take Andrew Gumbel's excellent Steal This Vote.

We're taking the rest of the day off, and intend to spend it obsessively watching the polls. Tomorrow will be election-news-free, we promise!

Labels: Holiday