barack the vote!

november 4th is election day in the united states. this is considered a historic presidential election because of a reported huge voter turnout especially amongst younger people, and also because the winning candidate will either be the first african-american president, or the oldest president and the first female vice-president.

when you choose one president, you automatically choose his vice-president. they are voted in pairs, not individually.

above is a sample ballot that voters get in the mail to acquaint themselves with the candidates' names. america uses voting machines where you only need to press a button next to the name of your desired candidate. no writing required. the process is quick and easy...you're done in less than 5 minutes.

aside from the president and vice-president, voters from each state get to choose one senator, one member of the house of representatives, one county clerk, and unique to new jersey: one member of the "board of chosen freeholders."

here is the closest voting venue to our place: the dennis o'brien elementary school in dover, new jersey. it was quiet in there when we went this morning. also, no campaign paraphernalia in the school premises can be seen unlike in the philippines.