Tuesday, November 8, Virginia. Where to chase novels, go fast, and go fast

"Don't be too anxious, it's still early, I'll bring you food at noon."

"I'm probably busy today, don't worry, there won't be anything, just a big party."

Kirk? Stone stood on his porch, kissed his wife, Erin, affectionately, and then tightened his jacket with a steaming cup of coffee and stepped into the darkness.

At this time, it was still more than five o'clock in the morning, and the sky was still completely dark, which was the coldest time in the morning. Along the way, you can see that the windows and roofs of the cars on the side of the road are crawling with frost everywhere, and even the dim light of the street lamps seems to be a little dim because of the cold.

Fortunately, I had the foresight to add a thick sweater to the close-fitting cotton shirt, and the effect was not bad. Kirk? Stone tightened his neck and rubbed his hands slightly, trying to draw heat from the hot coffee he was holding, finally warming up a little as he walked.

It was only a ten-minute walk from his home to the polling station at his destination, and he was too lazy to drive.

When I arrived at the polling station, it was exactly six o'clock, and the sky was a little brighter, and I could already vaguely see the people who had come to vote in a long queue at the door, around the boxy Brunsley Church for most of the circle, and the number of people was quite large.

Hey! It's early enough!

"Morning, Kirk."

"Hello, Muffis, are you in a hurry to get to work?"

"Yes, it's cold enough! It's enough to come out of the bed so early! ”

"Who's to say it's not, the hell weather, it's just below zero in November."

"Let's Jean! Excuse me! Let me in, thanks. ”

Kirk took a sip of hot coffee, warmth flowing from his throat to his heart, and as he greeted his acquaintances, he squeezed sideways from the outside of the crowd into the polling station. It's really a big party, and similar scenes must be happening all over the country at the same time. He thought to himself.

Every four years, on the first Tuesday of November in a presidential election year, more than 100 million American voters go to their designated locations to cast their ballots and choose between the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. This day is known as National Voter Turnout Day, which is commonly known as General Election Day or General Election Day.

Kirk? Stone is the head of the Republican team at the Bentsley Church polling station, and he is the precinct captain for the precinct. It sounds a bit imposing, but it's his immediate boss, the areachair, Grigor who is actually in charge. He and most of the volunteers came earlier. It's all already waiting inside.

"Hurry up, Kirk, you're late. Hey! Hey! ”

Grigor glanced at Kirk, tilted his head to signal him to come over, then slapped his face to get the volunteers' attention and began to arrange the duty schedule for the polling station at Brunsley Church. Voting on popular election day starts at 6 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m. They have to guarantee that basically there are at least 3 people at the polling station every hour, and then change shifts after one or two hours.

"We've definitely won this year!"

Kirk's old buddy Pickle? Oliver leaned over and bumped him on the shoulder, then squeezed his eyes, looking very excited. Pickle is the same as Kirk. They are all old Republicans, who voted in the first 2008 election, but unfortunately since then it was the Democratic Party Obama who was elected. According to news from within the party this year, Jeff? Booth's approval rating is slightly higher than Sheila's, and although it's not yet stable, Republican supporters are already preparing to celebrate in advance, so it's no wonder Picker? Oliver was so excited.

Kirk wasn't as active as he was, though, and just smiled kindly. Truth be told, he doesn't care as much as anyone else does. Of course, it's impossible to say that you're not excited at all. But more often than not, it's just the excitement of being part of this election. However, deep down, Kirk always thinks that the result of this election has nothing to do with him, and who is elected can change much, and life is still the same.

Albeit from his father's generation. The Stoners were supporters of the Republican Party.

What Kirk is looking forward to most is that at the end of this long day, they will have a big, real party where these long-time collaborators can raise their glasses and celebrate – no matter what the outcome.

After the tight and trivial arrangement, they each carried a large handful of sample ballots in their hands. Drill out of the polling station. As a team to help the election, the main task of Kirk and Pickle and others is to publicize and canvass votes, and it is impossible to hide in the polling station to blow the heater after coming.

The so-called sample vote is not a copy of the actual ballot, but is actually a propaganda material. In Kirk's Republican sample vote, for example, the names of all the candidates in the election were printed on the front - including the candidates of the five parties running in the presidential election, the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and even the Constitutional, Liberal and Green parties. Of course, the candidates of the latter three parties basically belong to the role of escort, even Sheila? Clint and Jeff? Booth's opponents can't even be talked about. Also below are the state's candidates for Congress, as well as the county's legislative and education committees. But all Republican candidates have been ticked behind, that is, everyone is advised to vote for these people.

This is America'electoral_college s unique "electoral" system, under which more than 100 million voters cast their ballots on popular election day, not to directly elect the president, but to elect electors who represent their state. Before they vote, they know exactly which presidential candidate their elected Electoral College members will vote for.

The actual presidential election is held on the third Monday of December (this time on December 12). At that time, the "Electoral College" members selected by the states and Washington, D.C., will travel to the state capitals to vote. The candidate who receives more than half of the votes cast by the members of the Electoral College will be elected president and will be sworn in on January 20 of the following year.

The Electoral College has 538 members, representing 100 senators, 435 representatives, and 3 representatives from Washington, D.C., representing each state. Because the largest number of House seats are distributed by population, there are as many as 55 electoral seats in large states like California and only three seats in smaller populous areas like Alaska and Washington, D.C.

In other words, today's votes are only for the new members of Congress who meet their wishes, but at the same time it is enough to decide who will be the new president, because there are basically no members of Congress who change their support for the presidential candidate after they are elected. (To be continued.) )