Cool Election things...

My brain is fried and my back is sore, but I saw a lot of cool things today:

• 80% of the district I was in came out and voted. 80%!
  
• We registered 380-ish people. Some of them were just updating info, but a LOT of them were first time voters. Some of them were young, but there were a lot of them who were well past 18 who were voting for the first time.
  
• One woman was a grandmother in her late 60s/early 70s. Had never voted before. Ever. We asked her why and she said, "I never felt like my vote mattered before." I was so glad she was there and voting, but so sad that it was her first time.
  
• A woman who's house had burned down came in to vote. She didn't have the right documentation because she lost a lot of it in the fire. She still had her naturalization papers and it was all charred around the edges. She had bills, but not with the new address. We tried all kinds of combinations to try to get her documentation right- but she just didn't have the right combo, and really it was all she had. Her son and daughter weren't old enough to vouch for her. Just by coincidence, one of her new neighbors came in while she was there. She got to vote. Yay! :)
• We had two high school girls who were helping- one of whom spoke Hmong and served as our translator. She was only 16 and was such a cool girl, so helpful and caring and tireless. She was an amazing help and really made a difference.
  
• We only had a huge line right at the begining (until about an hour after the polls opened) but even so, the longest anyone had to wait in line was 30-40 min.
  
• One of the election judges I met today specializes in making pound cakes. He takes orders and has 24 flavors! I've got one of the recipes. Yes, I will share. :)