Nearly two years of campaigning, debating and divisive punditry wraps Tuesday — and not a damned day too soon. Reporters in The Penguin newsroom are tired of monitoring the Twitter ticker. The mailroom guys are fed up with kids stealing the “Ron Paul for president” lawn sign from in front of Penguin corporate headquarters. And if I have to watch CNN’s John King make Michigan bounce one more night, I’m gonna lose it.
All this meshugas blows Tuesday night in a bender I’m calling “ElectionWatch 2008″. The Penguin tech crews have already set up our Election Night operations at the Quarry House, so hit the frosty beverages and Freedom Tots after you’ve cast your ballot.
And barring any technological disasters, the revolution will be televised — on the Internet, anyway. Catch The Penguin’s live coverage of Election Night results on UStream.tv if you’ve got other party plans.
If our nation pulls through this election, we’ll have the rest of the week to look forward to:
Tuesday
7:00 a.m. Polls open for the 2008 general election. This one’s for all the marbles, so make sure your voter-registration status is kosher, and that you’re kicking it at the right polling place. You have until 8:00 p.m. to cast your ballot.
7:00 p.m. The Penguin newsroom sets up shop inside the Quarry House Tavern (8401 Georgia Ave) to broadcast “ElectionWatch 2008″, with live election-night results and Penguin punditry. The show rolls as real-time streaming video on UStream.tv.
Thursday
7:00 p.m. The county’s libraries department gives Joe the Bookworm another shot to review development plans for Silver Spring’s new library. This public meeting drops at the existing library (8901 Colesville Rd), so be there.
Saturday
10:00 a.m. The county hosts a foreclosure-prevention workshop for homeowners. (Not a fun way to spend a Saturday morning, but you gotta do what you gotta do.) This free gig hits the Sligo Middle School (1401 Dennis Ave). To register, holler at (240) 777-8129 or visit this website.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Emerym42.
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Boxed wines and rosés are back in vogue. Just ask The Penguin's sommeliers.
mmmm….Freedom Tots.
anyone know have any insight or experience into what the voting line/wait will be like in the early evening at the downtown Silver Spring voting site (near metro/noaa)?
The Penguin will have updates throughout the day from various voting centers. Look for the Twitter ticker on The Penguin homepage (to be activated tomorrow), or hit The Penguin directly on Twitter (@sspenguin, or ass-penguin).
If anyone’s got delays, problems or whatever to report, holler at The Penguin (preferably via Twitter), and I’ll get the news out ASAP.
Joe,
The best time to vote is either after 9:00 a.m. or late in the afternoon. The lines at ALL Silver Spring area polling stations will be loooooong between 7:00-9:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning. I plan on voting close to 10:00 a.m.
We must also consider the potential for polling station screw-ups: things like not enough voting cards for the machines; the voting machines are malfunctioning; poll workers have an incorrect/out-dated voter roster; poll workers might have not enough proper instruction with voting procedures; an aggressive challenger at the poll station against possible voter fraud etc.
In case you come across a long line, make sure you have reading material.
ElectionWatch 2008 hits you early with these updates:
– Free cup of coffee @ Starbucks to all voters.
– Free scoop of ice cream @ Ben & Jerry’s to all voters.
– Free red/white/blue donut @ Krispy Kreme to all voters. There’s one on Connecticut Ave in Dupont Circle.