I kicked my boyfriend out of bed this morning at 7:15 a.m. Cruel, I know, but I wanted to vote before I went to work, figuring the line would probably be shorter than in the evening. In return for dragging his ass out of his warm bed, I promised to drive him to school instead of taking the bus.

We walked down the street to the James A. Garfield Elementary School on Beechcroft St. in Brighton. The line was probably about 30 people deep at that point. They were having a little bake sale with coffee going on, so we had some decent coffee for 50 cents each. Really warms you up when you’re standing outside in the cold.

The polling place was open for people in precincts 10 and 11. There were tons more people from precinct 10, but lucky me, I was in precinct 11 and didn’t have to wait in line as long. They found me on the rolls quite easily (although I think the poll worker was sleepy — I pointed out my name, and he asked, “Which one?” and I said, “The one by my finger.” “Which one?” he asked again. I had to put my finger over my name because he almost checked my roommate’s name).

It took me about 30 seconds to vote. I filled in the little bubble, although for most of the races it seemed pretty pointless — I think only two were contested. Everyone else was running unopposed.

Having done our patriotic duty, my boyfriend and I walked back to our respective houses, breathing in the clear air of democracy and enjoying the early morning sun against the brilliant colors of the changing leaves.