Hi Eli,

I live in London currently, having moved up from Sydney last year and am a Tacoma voter (oh yes.) … My friends are either rushing to my side for moral support (some from as far as Dublin), or a bit afraid of what will happen as I have guaranteed them that I will be sobbing no matter what. Everyone here is, of course, holding their breath and hoping for Obama (there are “Obama Watch” parties all over London in pubs tonight) and getting ready to stay up all night. People are extremely emotionally invested in this all over Europe (and Aus as well) and it is basically all anyone has spoken to me about for a month. I just hope there will be good news for them later and that we can all celebrate Guy Fawkes night tomorrow knowing that come January the world may be back on track.

- Eleanor

Send me a letter about your voting experience here.

Hi Eli,

My husband and I got up early today to hit the polls as soon as they opened at 6am (Kentucky doesn’t have early voting). This was the first time my husband ever voted for president, and he’s been so worked up over the whole thing that he threw up this morning for the first time in ten years. We had to wait in line for an hour at our tiny precinct, which only had two voting booths. People were in a pretty good mood overall, and everyone remarked on how these were the longest lines they’d ever seen for voting in our town. I know Kentucky isn’t in play, and in another hour I’ll be driving up into Cincinnati to help get out the vote for Obama there, but I feel good knowing I’ll be able to say I was there, and that I voted.

Cori

Eli,

I’m living in Israel for the year as part of my studies to become a rabbi. I voted two weeks ago by absentee ballot—I had the visiting parents of a fellow student take my ballot home with them and mail it for me from the US, since I’m never sure how reliable the Israeli postal system is.

The most frequent conversations I have with Israelis about the US election are with cab drivers. As soon as a cab driver finds out I am American, they want to know what I think of the elections. Most are surprised that I’m proudly voting for Obama, and they want to know more. The traditional Israeli view is that Bush and the Republicans are “good for Israel” and that Barack Obama is somehow dangerous. I’ve done more than my share of explaining and convincing people that in my opinion, the exact opposite is true.

I grew up in Chicago—in Hyde Park, the neighborhood where the Obamas live. I’ve been impressed with Barack Obama ever since I inadvertently heard him speak on the floor of the Illinois Senate almost 10 years ago. I am beyond thrilled to be able to vote for him for president. An extra thrill is that Barack Obama’s polling place is my old elementary school, and I got to see it on MSNBC when they covered him voting this morning. I’ll be watching the returns at an all-night election party in Jerusalem.

Ellie