On Friday morning, I went down to the Durham County Board of Elections office in downtown Durham to vote early. I got there right at 9 when the polls opened. There was already a line wrapping around the building! I was bombarded by people passing out information on candidates. I did not see a single person passing out information for Republicans. I got my "blue card" and spoke with a few candidates for judge and then I waited.
While waiting in line, I overheard conversations. These voters were all progressives. There was talk about how Thom Tillis and the NC GOP was trying to suppress the vote by cutting early voting days. A couple of people said they took off work that morning just to vote. There was talk about how the GOP in NC have gutted the education system. People mentioned how Thom Tillis was STILL fighting marriage equality.
I took a friend with me to vote and we were quietly chatting about the conversations we heard. The lady in front of me turned around and said that thanks to Obamacare, her mother who did not have insurance was now getting treatment for a health condition. She had tears in her eyes. This electorate is fired up.
After about 50 minutes, I had voted and was leaving the area. The line was still wrapped around the building. Yesterday, I had friends on Facebook who waited over 2 hours to vote in Durham County. They describe the scene much like I did above. Lots of progressives. Lots of people angry at what the NC GOP has done.
Yesterday, I canvassed in Durham. The precinct I canvassed voted over 80% for Obama in 2012. So far, only about 15% have early voted. Many of the doors I knocked on were not answered, so we left some campaign literature. The doors that were answered promised me that they would go vote on Tuesday. These individuals will most likely get another follow up call or visit on Tuesday. A couple of people were signed up with rides to the polls on Tuesday because they were disabled and could not drive. All in all, I got a good response from everyone I met.
While early voting numbers look great, we must remember that the vast majority of votes will probably be cast on election day. We haven't won anything yet. That's why I am about to put on my tennis shoes and canvass the heck out of another Durham neighborhood. It's windy here in NC today and cold. In my opinion it is perfect weather to canvass! If you are in NC, please get out on the streets if you can and canvass with a local Democratic group. If you aren't able, please help GOTV by calling voters! Use this link for calling voters in NC and other states who are counting on YOU to help GOTV! pol.moveon.org/2014calls/home_shift_signup?source=kos (Sorry if this doesn't work! I have tried to use the Link function, but to no avail!)