*valiantly resists the urge to type "There's an election?"*

*fails*

Meanwhile, here's an excellent yard sign:
http://betnoir.livejournal.com/1333584.html

I hope there will be tasty fruit drinks.

Now I'm just wondering if there will be any late-night bars full of ideologically sound Americans here in London. I think I want to see what is going on amongst some committed people!

I am an electoral nerd. I love the business of elections the way some people love football. Its compulsive watching even when my team loses. I'm British and an old lefty (of the voices we've been hearing over the past few months I'm probably emotionally most in tune with Jeremiah Wright, with a little bit of Joe Biden thrown in). So I don't have a team in this game. But I know which team I want to see lose.

And I have realised that I do very much want to see Obama win. Not so much because I think he will change anything important in the USA as because it will be evidence that some important things about the USA have already changed. An Obama win might not make America a better place - but it will show that America already is a better place than some of us thought it was.

But the fat lady isn't singing yet. Though maybe she's started humming.

I think she's humming "People get ready..." Or "I was born by the river..." I hope she is.

So, you post here just to say that Making Light isn't good enough for you? (not serious)

What time do the results actually start to come in? Approximate is fine and I can do the conversion to GMT, but I need to work out whether to stay up all night or get a few hours sleep before joining in the fun.

(This is the first time I've ever even contemplated staying/getting up for an American election. There are going to be huge numbers of people tuning into this worldwide...)

I expect there will be a few trolls dropping by to provide piñata candy. With luck, Jim Macdonald's three Moderators will be in attendance.

The first polls close at 6 PM Eastern time. The avalanche starts at 7 PM. In either case, results should start appearing shortly thereafter. A handy guide to poll-closing times can be found here.

I wish this day would fast forward. I wish it was Tuesday now. I am obsessive, stressed, hopeful, excited.

Where's a Time Lord when you really need one?

Some resources for political obsessives:

The Committee for a Livable Future has put together a nice scorecard. They flag their interest on the scorecard, but they do it tastefully.
The state outline map(pdf) from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Education Place will be fun to color and list the Electoral Votes on. Remember to put your name at the top before you pass it to the front of the classroom.
If you've misplaced your crayons, Google has interactive election maps to play with, and the bandwidth to support them.
I'm also downloading a bunch of inspirational YouTube videos for tomorrow. But today I'm watching "Les Misbarak" for inspiration.

sharon @5, I'm not sure wether it was posted here or wether I've seen it on some other blog, but this page shows the closing times for polling stations everywhere. It's all in EST, so you'll have to add five hours to get GMT. There'll be exit polls shortly after the polling stations close, but those have been wrong in the past. My own estimate is that for each state, it will take something between one and four hours from the official closing time on to get results- "four hours" is for cases where there are long lines at the polling stations when polling closes and the authorities decide to let everyone in the lines vote. (BTW, am I right to assume that on that page, "Alaska (W)" means basically the Aleut Islands?)

Sigh, some day I'll have to learn to type faster, so that my posts aren't outdated by the time I post them.

This week's City Paper cover in Philly does a really good job at capturing the mood right now for me and many other folks.

Will Bruce Schneier put up an announcement on his own blog? Or is he worried that this would draw too many trolls here?

#11, Raphael -

The trick is to check when you're in the preview screen. Right after your last edit on your comment, scroll down to the bottom to see the newest posts. Very handy, but not an obvious solution.

Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers) #6: piñata candy [...] three Moderators

Free association football came up with ¡Three Amigos!, featuring the exploits of Dusty Bottoms, Lucky Day, and Ned Nederlander. (Although ML has five moderators, right?)

Jefe: I have put many beautiful pinatas in the storeroom, each of them filled with little suprises.
El Guapo: Many pinatas?
Jefe: Oh yes, many!
El Guapo: Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?
Jefe: A what?
El Guapo: A *plethora*.
Jefe: Oh yes, you have a plethora.
El Guapo: Jefe, what is a plethora?
Jefe: Why, El Guapo?
El Guapo: Well, you told me I have a plethora. And I just would like to know if you know what a plethora is. I would not like to think that a person would tell someone he has a plethora, and then find out that that person has *no idea* what it means to have a plethora.
Jefe: Forgive me, El Guapo. I know that I, Jefe, do not have your superior intellect and education. But could it be that once again, you are angry at something else, and are looking to take it out on me?

For the first time my excitement outpaces my fear.

Thanks for the link. Raphael, the extra info made it all worthwhile!

Perhaps I'll have to try mainlining coffee and alcohol tomorrow night...

I'm with LauraJMixon on the excitement vs fear - have you *seen* the polling data on RCP and fivethirtyeight? - but it's still a bit nervewracking until it's all over.

I'm wearing a campaign T-shirt today; it says Obama-Biden Vote Nov 4th. I'll wear it tomorrow, too.

Ken at 3, in my head, the fat lady is singing The Staple Singers. I can see clearly now, the rain is gone....Gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day! (Though it's raining here in CA, which is GOOD, because we need rain, and if it rains today, perhaps it will be clear tomorrow. There are websites where you can check the weather reports for the battleground states, though CA, of course, is not on them because we are BLUE.)

I am looking forward to never hearing another word about or from Joe the Plumber. And I am waiting for a rebirth of wonder.

Ken Brown @ #3, Don't forget Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come."

Linkmeister: "Don't forget Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come.""

That's the one that starts "I was born by the river..." :)

(IIRC)

LizzieL@18 -- Just a note in case your state doesn't have early voting. (I voted 4 weeks ago.) They are warning people not to wear campaign T-shirts, buttons etc when they actually try to vote. It is against the law the have campaign materials within 100 feet of a polling place and visible T-shirts count.

Buttons can be removed easily. A shirt might be a problem unless you have a jacket you can cover it with.

Ken @ #20: Grins. You may be right. I plead hearing only the song's chorus as American Routes ended its second hour last night.

That should give me time to hit 15,000 words for NaNoWriMo.

(Fourteen dead Nazis, and counting.)

One more day me Johnny,
One more day!
You're going down tomorrow,
One more day!

Th' same with your pal Palin,
One more day,
She's going down tomorrow,
One more day.

No more "Joe the Plumber",
One more day,
His fame is o'er tomorrow,
One more day.

Can you hear that awful howling,
one more day,
Hear them loudly bawling,
One more day.

Get your ballot ready,
One more day,
Vote for Barack tomorrow,
One more day!

It's time for Barack Obama,
One more day,
Victory we'll see tomorrow,
One more day!

"He says he's a Christian. But his name is just way too close to a Moslem for a President of the United States." -- idiot just interviewed on the CBC Radio national news.

*sigh* I'll be glad when it's over.

I'm doing my bit tomorrow. I'm working as a Democratic pollwatcher. (It's a long story.)

Ken @3: I would assume so, given that I know of at least 4 results-watching parties here in Taiwan. (Presumably there are some from the McCainites too, but I haven't been informed of those. Unfortunately I won't be attending any of them, since it's the middle of a workday.

I suspect I'll be right here, in fact.

Elyse at 21, I had heard that, and will bring a shirt to cover my Obama-Biden T-shirt. But in fact, I mailed my ballot last Tuesday.

Ken Brown #3: If you find out, do post it -- my American roommates and I want to go out for drinks somewhere with live coverage. Off the top of my head, the Maple Leaf in Covent Garden might have it on, but I'm sure there must be tons of other places.

The pubs will close long before the polls, though, so I'll be up late in the election thread.

Aaaand Time Out has a list of official parties.

Lizzy L, the Staple Singers? When I hear that in my head, it's Johnny Nash.