Biggest Voter Turnout In 90 Years, Since Women Won The Right

Americans turned out at the polls in record numbers today.

According to MSNBC:

Americans were voting in numbers unprecedented since women were given the franchise in 1920. Secretaries of state predicted turnouts approaching 90 percent in Virginia and Colorado and 80 percent or more in big states like Ohio, California, Texas, Missouri and Maryland.

Though the exact numbers won't be determined until all the votes are counted in the next few days and weeks, a history-making high percentage of Americans voted, according to CNN and the Wall Street Journal:

More than 30 million voters had already cast ballots before Tuesday in early voting. Nearly 100 million more were expected on election day. Hundreds of thousands of voters waited from long before daybreak or for hours on end to make their choices known.

Michael McDonald, a politics professor at Virginia's George Mason University, predicted nearly 65% of the electorate would have voted by the time all polls closed -- matching or eclipsing the turnout in the presidential election of 1960 featuring candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Not since 1908, when the U.S. was convulsing through a shift from the machine party politics of the 19th century to the free-for-all of modern campaigns, has so large a proportion of Americans participated in a presidential election.

Comments

[johnnygoodwud]

i met 'O' nearly 20 months ago at a small rally in wisc. my buddie and i drove up from illinois. i thought, this guy is the real deal, but there's no way he'll ever get elected. i donated when i could, volunteered, and spread the word. when i met him i said, 'we want our country back', and he delivered. we're not there yet, but we're on our way. USA. USA. USA.

[OutsiderSA]

Thank you America - welcome back to the global village.

Much work to do to sustain this change.

Change is inevitable - resistance is futile

Blessings to all of you.

[DannyEastVillage]

thank you, thank you , THANK YOU, Outsider. We are so proud--and proud to be back WITH YOU instead of wherever-the-heck it is we've been in this 8 year nightmare.

[uheardme]

For some this was an election about Obama. I think this was a massive repudiation of GW Bush and the Republican Party. The overwhelming defeat of Repubs in Congress, I think, bears this out.

[bob8788]

I watched history made before my eyes, great

http://www.barackobamacans.blogspot.com/

[afgail]

I am so proud of the progress this country made this election cycle. But I have one question. How long will our country continue to tolerate the racism in the states of the old confederacy? The civil war has been over for 133 years ago. How much longer will we as a nation look the other way? God bless Virginia and North Carolina for throwing off the shakles of racism.

[DannyEastVillage]

In Tennessee and Montana, tho he didn't win, his showing was impressive. The other states of the deep South are still--the deep South. Look what he did in NC!! And Florida--Rednecksville, USA. Well, he did the work and it paid. When the analysis comes out it's going to be interesting to see comparative analysis of the size of his loss in some states compared to Kerry's.

[BlueZoo]

Patience, afgail! The Confederacy is still part of the America we love and it is important to note how much of the vote for President-Elect Obama came from these states. The old are moving on and their children are more broad-minded. In my own family, a mother is a die-hard Republican but her children voted Obama. Only time will change the South but it's coming! God bless America!

[Icantbelieveher]

Did we vote loud enough?

I hope the republicans are listening -- they need to hear our vote and hear it well! America is tired of being left behind while the wealth is distributed to 5% of the population. We are tired of being ignored until the republicans need our vote! They walked all over us and stole from us and did whatever they wanted with our $$$, our sons and daughters in Iraq, our lives!!!!

Don't make us vote louder next time!!! Cuz we will!!!

Yes we will!

[Fishingmom4obama]

I'm happy that, in who knows how many years, the American PEOPLE have spoken for their President. The American PEOPLE funded, canvassed, and voted.

President-elect Barack Obama is one of US.

[Formeralaskangal]

I only had to drive 5 1/2 hours to vote. I got to sit on my butt most of that time, and then I walked into our tiny polling place and cast my vote. No waiting. No lines. Nothing!

Quite honestly my body wouldn't have had the stamina, but I'd have hung tough out of spite.

Anyway, to those of you who stood in long lines for hours and hours, I have to say thank you so much! You rock! I appreciate you taking the time to hang in there and make your voice known. Ain't America Grand?! Now if we could get this voting thing figured out so it's not so hard every time that would be great too.

[GrainOSand]

I envision the day when we will be able to vote from home. That is probably a ways off though and the biggest hurdle more than likely concerns security.

[radnip]

When I read about the voting fraud possible with the electronic machines, I'm not so hot on them. I'm glad California went to paper ballots with an electronic box but totally confirmable. So I'm not that hot on computer voting from home. Perhaps something like Oregon's vote by ballot, though I wonder about anonymity.

[terentz]

Yeah, well, we'd had enough...

[Patricky]

Thank you USA, you did it. USA will once again rise from the ruins of the Bush-Cheney years

[tallguy3434]

Bush p*ssed off a lot people. Fox News is pond scum. The people have spoken finally. It took a dumb, narrow minded, incompetent like Bush to get people invested in their country again. People hate Bush that much.

[akryan]

Remember what he said tonight, "the change hasn't come yet, only the opportunity to change this country" (I'm paraphrasing). We need to keep our inspiration. Obama has called on us to be better than we are. He is not the Messiah, but only a man. From now on when we see a problem in our community WE need to try to solve it. We can all do little things. Plant flowers in your park. Volunteer with your churches. "Parents need to parent, and turn off the video game, and erase the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. We know these things." Don't let this feeling die.

[radnip]

People do follow the example of their leaders.

When a leader is a selfish, egotistical, self-delusional, greedy and aggressively ignorant, many followers will consider those virtues.

When a leader urges everyone to be invested in their community and to work for a better world, many followers will become better people.

Leaders do matter and it's good to see a leader of hope once again.

[Probert2]

Thank you America! A thank you from Europe on behalf of all those who live at the receiving end of American foreign policy, and who've seen their best friend turn into an arrogant, selfish and ignorant giant. Welcome back! Now please live up to the promise and make it work. The Bush Cheney years are over at last.

[Deluded]

I am so impressed people in line for hours to vote here in the UK we get pissed off if we cannot just walk in and out of a polling station in 3 minutes flat.

[neurologymatters]

Thank you to everyone who voted. We are fortunate to have the right to vote and I am glad people do not think their votes don't matter.

[hana21]

I am so happy to be an American once again. After 8 long years of sighing and being embarrassed whenever my president speaks... I feel we deserve this!

How amazing it must be for people who have lived through segregation to witness a moment like this. What a wonderful day for America and for mankind. Thank you, everyone who voted!