I rocked the vote.

So my first experience voting in a presidential election turned out to be a bit different than I had expected.
I found out Thursday night that The State News had gotten a credential to go see Obama speak in Chicago's Grant Park, and I was the one who would be going to cover it. I was uber excited to get to go witness history. Then I realized I wouldn't be in EL to vote.
So, after a long night of Halloween festivities, I trekked down to the Secretary of State's office to find out how to vote early. The place was packed and there were several small, loud children dressed as bumblebees and witches wandering the room. Not exactly the environment you want to be in when you're already feeling a bit under the weather.
After waiting for an hour and a half, I was told that all I had to do was go to the City Clerk's office and cast an early ballot. After kicking myself for waiting so long only to be told there was a much simpler option, I headed over to City Hall.
Voting early definitely doesn't have the same allure as voting on election day. I cast the same ballot and still got an "I Voted" sticker, but it lacked the feeling of solidarity that comes with standing in a line of tens of other voters who have made the effort to participate in democracy.
Also, Michigan was such a blowout that I'm pretty sure the poll workers didn't bother to process the absentee ballots.
But then again, I did get to witness history. I guess I can deal with a less-than-amazing first voting experience.