Where to best experience Election Day?

April 28, 2008 12:47 PM

I'd like to travel to the US in october and november. Where can I best experience election day?

I'm planning a trip from October 25th until november 15th. Last year I did the west coast (San Francisco, L.A., Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Yosemite et al.). This year I'd like to go back. Where doesn't really matter. I'd like to go back to San Francisco, but New York City, Boston, Florida, .. all seem nice as well.

One thing I'd really like to witness first hand is election day. I'm guessing the rally where the new mister/ms. president elect is going to give his/her victory speech, surrounded by Ben Affleck et al. is a bit hard to get into for non-party members, but what's the next best thing? What city/state do I need to be in? How do I find out where the action is? How do I get in?

Thanks in advance for the help!
Sorry for "crossposting", but with two posts so far this year (including mine) travelfilter seems a bit in a coma and unlikely to get some answers.

posted by lodev to travel & transportation (16 comments total)

My suggestion would be to research (then attend) the politico bars in DC.
posted by Netzapper at 12:55 PM on April 28

With a little luck, Chicago. :)
posted by j-dawg at 12:57 PM on April 28 [6 favorites]

I spent election day 2004 in a gay bar. It was exquisitely depressing.

I spend election day 2006 in a gay bar. It was a total blast. Since bars close at 4AM we could see almost all elections resolve themselves. I had a hangover the next day, but pictures of Rick Santorum's children crying made it all better.

So, the way things are stacking up I know where I will be this year.
posted by munchingzombie at 12:58 PM on April 28

Well, there's always Washington D.C. But...

I'm not sure if there's really going to be that much to experience. There will probably be rallies/protests in every major US city. A lot of people will probably be watching the coverage on TV. I think you should just visit the place(s) you want to see and then take it from there. For example, if you go to New York, try to find a bar where they are showing the election results stream in.
posted by degoao at 12:59 PM on April 28

Interesting question. West coast is on a later time zone so it's earlier here when real results start to roll in, making staying awake and finding a party going on should be easier. But of course, DC is politics central so you'll probably find more people willing to stay up till 5 AM. You might also want to factor in bar closing times. In San Francisco, bars close up at 2 AM or at least stop serving then.

Since election day is a Tuesday, most working stiffs don't consider it much of a party.
posted by chairface at 1:14 PM on April 28

I imagine each of the candidates would be headquartered in their home state, but where? If you write the various campaigns asking if there will be any public events you may be pleasantly surprised.
posted by Gungho at 1:24 PM on April 28

Every state will have party events of some kind, as the election is not just the presidency, but all the senate, house, state, initiatives, etc, elections, too. Contact the party headquarters in the state of your choice to get the rundown.

If you want out-of-the-way, head up to Dixville Notch, which traditionally is the first place to declare presidential election results in both its state primary and the general election.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:59 PM on April 28

Given your itinerary, you might consider Sedona, Arizona. I'm hoping that's where McCain will be giving his concession speech (although I'm not very hopeful).

Otherwise it doesn't really matter. Most people just watch the returns on television.
posted by thomas144 at 2:02 PM on April 28

Do you just want a fun place to watch election results or do you want to watch some of the campaign action, like a phone bank, canvass, rally?

If you're going to be in New York City, then check out Act Now, Drinking Liberally or Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century. All those organization will be involved both in volunteer activities and host a mighty fine party.

Drinking Liberally has chapters around the country, so if you end up elsewhere you should be able to go to a party.

The Obama campaign website lists all kinds of events, both social and volunteer opportunities and I'm sure the other candidates do as well. You would do well to check them out once you're here to see what is going on.

I actually think DC won't be as exciting as some swing states like Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio. DC would be the place to be for the inauguration in January, 2009.
posted by brookeb at 2:03 PM on April 28

It isn't really that big a deal. I've lived here my whole life, and I've never seen anything in person happen that day -- except voting, of course.
posted by Class Goat at 2:18 PM on April 28

You should volunteer with the biggest center for the party of your choice that you can find. The state parties should all be having big blowouts at fancy hotels in their state's capital. I don't know how you can get in, but try that.
posted by gauchodaspampas at 2:27 PM on April 28

Presidential victory (or concession) speeches are not necessarily reserved for party members only. In 2004 John Kerry through his event outside on Copley Plaza in Boston.

But I agree with previous posters that you'll want to be in the candidate's home city. Let's hope Chicago is nice the first Tuesday in November.
posted by jk252b at 4:40 PM on April 28

DC on election night is probably a really bad choice: the politicians and their campaign teams will be in their home states and districts, while most of the wonks and media will be on duty. Chicago's worthy of a visit, regardless of the outcome.

It's not like a British election, in which candidates are forced to share a stage when the results are read out, and the removal van can shows up at Number 10 in the morning. It's a big, distributed event, unified by live television.

On the other hand, I think Inauguration Day in DC (aka Running Bush Out Of Town Day) will be fun.
posted by holgate at 6:34 PM on April 28

When you're in town, a few days before, contact the local party office (the Democrats will likely have a livelier gathering, win or lose) and find out where the victory rally is going to be.
posted by azpenguin at 8:22 PM on April 28

If you want to do more than just watch returns, and actually experience the election, I would suggest camping out in a swing state, where the real campaigns will be happening up into the election. Somewhere in Ohio is likely your best bet, though I'm not sure how much stuff there you'd find to do in Cleveland or Cincinnati (compared to NYC, for example).

You mentioned being interested in Florida, which might be a close race also. If you'd like to be on the West Coast, Oregon could be tight (I actually just wrote a paper for class about that!). If Pennsylvania draws some attention from McCain, then somewhere like Philadelphia (Liberty Bell, Independence Hall) would be a ... well, a very American-seeming place to spend the day. So all of those places would be fun if you wanted to see politicians of both parties really scrambling for last-minute Presidential votes... and you can still get the cable channels with the national news (and even watch returns coming in at one of the watering holes for local politicos that it seems every city has).
posted by SuperNova at 11:15 PM on April 28

Sorry I haven't been able to get back to you guys sooner. Thanks for the great answers so far! I'll check how the swing states or the home towns of Hillarack fit in a nice travel schedule tonight when I get home.
posted by lodev at 3:24 AM on April 30