Depending on your calculation, some people have waited four years or eight "pandemic decades" (months) for this day: Tuesday, November 3, 2020. We paused in class today to jot down reactions. Here’s a snapshot of Election Day reflections. – A. Paprika

“It's a very important day in the history of the United States. It's voting day. I must say that I was not that excited like other people around me were. I tend to be an apolitical person at times, and US domestic politics does not interest me at all. It was still fun and amusing to see people who were campaigning on social media platforms and elsewhere. It's as if their voice is strong enough to persuade people that are not considering to vote or unsure about their choice.” – Can

“Today is election day and that is kind of terrifying. The even scarier part is not knowing who will win the election by the early hours of the morning like in 2016 and most elections before. I try to keep my mind off of the election but it is always there in the back of my head. I know that I can’t do anything about it. I delivered my mail in ballot two weeks ago and whatever happens now is out of my hands. I also have plenty of other stuff to worry about to keep my mind off the election.” – Steph 

“I’ve cast my ballot, exercised what limited authority I have as a citizen. It is now up to the Sisters of Fate and the electoral college, mostly the electoral college, to decide the country’s future. What else is there to say, pretty sure Trump is going to win no matter what the polling data says, a vocal minority does not make an election.  Seriously, I’ll be surprised if he loses, pleasantly, but still surprised. What will be will be, no point stressing over something when you’ve done what you can to influence the result.” – Nemo

“Election Day. It started off like any other, with one of my kids crawling on me in bed, except that I found it a little more difficult than usual to throw back the covers and meet the day. OK, a lot more difficult. For me, the stress of this election has been intense. I’m not sure I even realized how much it has been shaping my recent life until today.” – AT  

I’ve seen a lot of support for Trump around where I live, and it’s a pretty liberal area, which tells me that the polls probably aren’t accurate. And even if they are the electoral college could still give it to him, people forget we're not a democracy, we’re a republic. Our power as the people is intrinsically limited, we only get so much say.”  – Nemo

“I keep seeing tweets of, in New York in particular, buildings boarding their windows in the event of civil unrest after the election results are announced. We live in a country where windows need to be boarded up, because it’s citizens feel that we are doomed. I think this says a lot. The divide in the country is insane right now, and all Trump does is further this divide.” – NA 

NPR: A Sign Of The Times: Across U.S., City Storefronts Boarded Up Ahead Of Election

“The aftermath of today will be tough, but I can’t imagine it being any tougher than the run up.  I believe people will die today.  I believe armed supporters of Trump (The Proud Boys, The Oath Keepers, any of the Militia Groups) will run into armed protesters be it BLM, loose vestiges of Antifa, whatever left movement which will also be carrying guns, and shots will be fired.  Police will be involved.  There is no good outcome from tonight.  A reasonable leader would use rhetoric to calm these fires (think FDR in his fireside chats, or LBJ saying We shall overcome on TV, or RFK’s remarks in Indianapolis on 4/4/1968).  We do not have that leader right now.” – David

‘I am nervous for sure, and I may question my decision to vote Green considering the somewhat close nature of the narratives right now. I have no faith in the system - it isn’t some teenage developing limbic system critique of the world, but rather a realization of the superficial nature of elections and a real questioning of the future difference that either president would make. No matter who gets elected, Black lives will still not matter to the majority of the populace, the border politics will be abhorrent along with international politics, etc. The only thing that may perhaps in some ideal pragmatic world that could happen is a piecemeal environmental push, but even that I don’t believe in. And so I am left questioning the point of voting in this election despite the huge effort of people who I consider woke to urge it on, but I do hate Trump, so there is that. Talking to my Black friends, they are scared for their life however this election goes - convinced that there is going to be a war if Biden wins where white supremacists will conduct a witch hunt on black folk (this i believe). And on the other hand, with Trump’s win… well there is not much else to say in that case. Instead I have turned my focus to KJ, the beautiful powerful admirable black woman who roasted the entire police precinct in her area and is not under constant surveillance and threat by the police force, and protected by the NFAC. I am both inspired and fearful for her and think everyone should watch her rant. It is exactly the kind of narratives that can incite revolution and fight the domineering structure of whiteness.” – A.W. 

BuzzFeed: A Woman Delivered Some Incredible Burns At A Police Town Hall, And Now She's Gone Viral

“Today is Election Day, which means people are gonna go out and vote. Thankfully, this is something that I do not have to worry about, since I mailed in my vote a few weeks ago. This year was especially important; pretty much everyone in my family voted. The only person who didn’t vote was my mom, and that was due to her not being a U.S. citizen. I’ve seen on TV a huge campaign to get more Latinos to vote, but who knows if it has any effect.” – Christopher Perez

“The election should not be decided until every vote is counted. I am very scared about what may happen to the country today. In my mind this could be the start of mass protests that could lead to riots from the left if Trump seems to override the votes by using the Supreme Court. It could also be the start of the right’s call to arms if the president seemingly wins in-person voting tonight but flips tomorrow for Biden when the mail-in votes are counted. The absolute best way for this process to end smoothly is if Biden absolutely overwhelms Trump electorally so there is no contest on today itself. It is unlikely but it could happen today. I believe Biden will win as long as the votes are counted.” – Varoon Phondge 

“Right now, I have to say that I am pretty confident that Joe Biden will come out on top of this election. The polls have looked really well for Biden’s chances pretty much for the entire election cycle. Biden is favored to win swing states such as Michigan, Wisconsin (In these two states Biden has a particularly large lead), Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina. He also has a decent chance of winning Ohio, Iowa, and Texas. In order for Trump to win he would have to win most, if not all, of these swing states. Whereas Biden only needs a few of them (Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin) to go his way in order to reach the 270 electoral college votes necessary to become president. It is of course possible that Trump wins, I still have negative flashbacks from 2016.  But assuming both candidates have a coin flips chance of winning each one of these states (which is probably unfair to Biden, since he is leading in most of these states), and the odds that Trump wins is extremely unlikely. Overall, I am extremely excited and a little bit nervous for later tonight.” – Kenneth

“Seth Meyers, last night. His video... the final few minutes, a wicked fast summary of 4 years... highly recommended... I can't believe this election... but then again, I can... I feel like living abroad for so long did help me sort of take a more objective view (and Chinese-ish view, as well), to my home country... so am I surprised? Not too much...” – Dominic Putko

“I started the morning by turning on the news. Mistake. So, then I picked something random to watch on Netflix. Something I wouldn’t ordinarily watch, but would still be entertaining, and I wouldn’t be overly invested in the outcome.” – A. Paprika