Many of my generation, I’m 59, can remember where we were for the first moon landing. The fall of the Soviets, the 1994 GOP Revolution, 9-11, Katrina, and other events are fresh to us. Before us people remember the JFK, MLK, and RFK murders. Before that, Pearl Harbor and maybe Sputnik. Today will go down as one of those days.

The Germans have a term for it, a “historischer augenblick,” a historical moment. They’ve had a lot of those. So has the world. But America has had relatively few in presidential elections. I’d say the elections of 1800, 1860, 1912, 1932, 1968, 1980, and 2016 qualify. In 58 elections only those were historically transformational. Not a lot. This one will be as well.

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That’s why it is so important you vote if you haven’t already. I did an hour ago in Annapolis, Maryland. It was quick, easy, and efficient. I’m hearing the exact opposite from some other places.

From New York, “Creepers… just voted. Odd hiccup. The new computerized system showed both of us as having voted this morning. We showed ID, and the earlier votes were invalidated. We then filled out ballots and voted. Bad stuff is afoot…The have new way to check signatures too. It’s a digital one, you use a stylus. Just like ones at supermarket they don’t transcibe well at all. It took 3 attempts to read my signature.”

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From North Carolina, “Interesting that on our local news 12 noon all the polling places they showed were with no people and major emphasis on ‘not the lines we were expecting to happen after all the campaign stops’. They did say it may be due to early voting that took place. But yesterday Trump was in Fayetteville and they just reported from one of the Fayetteville polling stations and it showed nobody in line. Almost like they’re downplaying Trump’s supporters coming out…These are R areas..are they trying to steal NC?”

They are not alone. Ohio has a system that is offline and spreading chaos. Black Trump voters in St. Louis and West Philadelphia are reporting harassment at the polls. Voter ID laws are being ignored in many places. This is going to be a muddle, a dog’s breakfast, a demolition derby. The smoke won’t clear until January.