Election Day

We got up early this morning because the spousal unit had to vote before work since he wouldn't be back in town until after the polls closed.
We drove to the building being used for our district and arrived about 15 minutes after the doors opened. The parking lot was packed. Both sides of the street were lined with parked cars as far as we could see in the dark. We figured we'd have a solid two hours to wait, but the long lines moved a little faster than we thought.
It took just under an hour and the time passed quickly because we pretty much chatted it up with people we knew (it's a really small community).
There was a guy checking photo I.D.s in line making sure people weren't waiting the whole time just to be turned away for being in the wrong district or forgetting their I.D.. I enjoyed (very much) flipping my wallet open sharply in his face and announcing "FBI". No, I'm not FBI...
When I got as far as the table where you have to sign in, they were talking about the fact that the school used to be the polling place for our district and I recounted my first time voting there...there was a security camera RIGHT OVER THE VOTING MACHINE!! I was ticked. Apparently, the school officials said there was no way to turn off the cameras. That really peeved me. I was interviewed on the news about it and the whole nine yards. I wanted to say "Secret ballot, my butt", but I didn't. :p
So anyway...this year, I had completely made up my mind to NOT vote McCain or Obama. As far as my understanding, McCain is a socialist disguised as a republican and Obama is a Marxist disguised as a democrat. I could not in good conscience vote for either of them. I was, in fact, a Ron Paul supporter. But he's not on the ballot and I'm just not keen on Barr.
I came to the realization that voting for a third party or abstaining from voting would really not be in my best interests as far as my Second (and now First) Amendment rights are concerned. One candidate is vehemently opposed to my freedom and his running mate is even more rabid about it. The other candidate has voted on both sides of the fence, but his running mate is a staunch believer in individual rights and freedoms and that's about as close as I can get to someone on any ticket who represents my ideals. My vote was cast not so much in support of one...but more in opposition of the other. I am happy with how I've chosen to vote. It was a hard won decision and I hope in the end it matters. It mattered to me.
My voting place isn't at a school any longer, so I was within my legal right to carry while I voted. Which I did. Principle of the matter and symbolic of my personal stance and all that jazz.
Mz.Kimber1911 votes to stay on my hip!
I pushed the big red "Cast Ballot" button in favor of that.