Crowds gathering for early voting in Cleveland, Ohio today.

After a night of extended “wine tasting,” groggy and a little hung-over, I decided to take advantage of the extended early voting hours at the Board of Elections in Cleveland, Ohio.  I did not go willingly.

My sister was anxious about the Republicans stealing her vote from our usual voting precinct by throwing it out back (with the others).  So, not only did she force me to get up, she had the nerve to ask me to drive, “tired” as I was.

You see, I was not excited about early voting because we always vote. No matter what.

But I’m so glad that my sister motivated me to early vote.  Did I say motivated?  It was more like she aggravated me into early voting.  So I drank a few ounces of carrot juice and wrapped a scarf around my neck.  Then I dragged myself outdoors and dropped down into the driver’s seat.

The blur of long lines and early voters in Cleveland, Ohio.

So glad that I did.  While listening to gospel music, we argued bitterly about where to park.  After driving past the Cleveland Board of Elections and the long and winding line of excited voters, we finally made a (legal) U-turn on Euclid. Doubled back.  Then we made a left and drove north on 40th street, made another left and drove west on Chester, and finally made another left turn to head south on 30th street to circle back.  After all that, guess what?  We found that we could park in the lot right behind the Board of Elections.  “Thank you, Jesus!” I said.  And so did my sister.

The judges dressed down for early voting, some in jeans and sweatshirts.

Considering that the line of early voters wrapped around one corner and stretched down the block, surprisingly the line moved quickly.  The cool 40-degree weather under cloudy and gray skies nearly went unnoticed.  A volunteer said that coffee and hot dogs were being served across the street.  But I smelled neither.

As the line moved forward, we met some of the judges and got to shake their begging hands. Without their robes, Cassandra Collier-Williams, Michael John Ryan, and Cullen Sweeney from the Court of Common Pleas look remarkably ordinary.  Michael Jackson was even there.  (Not the singer.  The judge.) Witnessing such a large turnout, the Democratic judges were all smiles even as we walked on their faces on campaign fliers littering the ground.

Stevie Wonder rocks the vote for President Barack Obama at Cleveland State University.

I had read somewhere that Stevie Wonder was in town to perform for a “Rock the Vote” rally for President Barack Obama.  But I doubted it until we made our way to the corner of 30th and Euclid.

Stevie Wonder makes a second stop in Cleveland near the Board of Elections.

From our view, just behind a tall black speaker across the street on the church steps, there he was—just a head—receding hairline and all.

Some Black lady yelled, “Oh my God!  It’s Stevie Wonder!”

To which, I grumbled: “It’s Stevie, not Jesus.”

Early voters at the Cleveland Board of Elections distracted by Stevie Wonder across the street.

“Look, yall, it’s Stevie!  That’s my baby daddy,” the lady yelled.  “Find me one of these judges, so I can get my child support.”

The crowd roared with laughter.  And the movement to support President Barack Obama (and as a consequence the movement to prevent Willard Mitt Romney from causing World War III) was again underway.

But I must say, as long, thick, and forbidding as the line was, it was strangely energizing and satisfying to stand in the midst of it.  Especially since, by this time, around noon, Barack Obama was speaking to a large and enthusiastic crowd in Mentor, Ohio.

One of the best moments of the day (and my early voting experience) was when the Romney/Ryan RV kept circling the Cleveland Board of Election block.  It was a pitiful attempt to give the Republican ticket a presence before the cameras and, likely, the only handful of Romney/Ryan supporters in the area.  As soon as the huge beige trailer-on-wheels was spotted, from various points along the ever-growing line the early voters chanted, “Four more years!”  “Obama! Obama!”  Or loud boos assaulted the air.  At times, it was like a wave.  When my sister began yelling “liar, liar, liar!” at the RV, I wondered whether to laugh or slap a hand over her big mouth.  It was both embarrassing and hilarious.

At the Cleveland Board of Elections, white, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American came together in the great state of Ohio to do our civic duty!  Though unspoken, deep down inside, I had a feeling we were all thinking: “Wow, what a scary, but exciting time is this!”

In Cleveland, early voting continues on Sunday, November 4, 2012.  Hours are 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Did you early vote?  What was the mood like where you rocked the voted?