Hi, this is Chris Hobbs.

I don’t know why you’re listening to this, but since you are, let’s talk about voting.

Today’s Election Day in the United States, and polling place is open at 7 o’clock here in Iowa.

And I was over to my local public library, which is my polling place, to cast my vote about 7:45.

My wife and I went over, and I didn’t have to wait in line at all.

There were probably four or five people working the polling place, and they quickly checked me in and got me to sign my little voter declaration and handed me a ballot, and that was that, and filled it in, put it in the machine, oh, just in and out quickly.

I looked at a sample ballot yesterday and made sure I knew who I wanted to vote for, and so got that done.

And now I’d say mostly I’m just glad that we’re going to be past Election Day.

To be fair, I’ll be glad-er depending on the outcome of the election.

I’m trying not to be political here, but at the same point, I think it’s safe to say I’d be happy to see some changes in the direction things are going.

And so I’m hoping for that, for an outcome I think would be better for our state and our country.

But oh goodness, just to have the political advertising and all of the emails and texts and stuff done with too, at least for another year and a half, that’ll be really nice.

So yeah, got my ballot cast, got my little I Voted sticker, was in and out quickly.

As I’ve talked about before, I have real appreciation for the work that goes into running our elections here and the way the different counties and municipalities run those.

What I saw today was quick and efficient, and people that were wanting to help out and make sure that people were able to cast their ballot, and that was great.

I worked as a poll worker back, let me see, just two years ago.

That would have been the 2024 election.

And I’ll say that was a rough day.

Partly it was very long.

Partly I had hopes for a different outcome from the election.

And about the time I’m just winding up a long day working the poll, recognizing that things were not going to turn out nationally as I had hoped was just completely disheartening.

I had really, I think, been putting too much hope, too much stake in the outcome of elections.

And maybe this is easier for me to say today on election day when the polling places are still open and we don’t know the outcome.

Ask me tomorrow when I know the results and see if I’m feeling better or worse about it.

But two years ago, it seemed so obvious to me that one candidate was just going to head us for trouble again.

And I was so very much hoping that the rest of the country saw that too.

And then to find out that that was not the case in that way, and we were going to get him for four more years.

And I came about as close as I have been just personally to sort of a personal meltdown that night, just sort of wrung out and in more despair than I should have been over the results of that.

And I have tried to learn from that, both to recognize that maybe not to put too much stake in my emotions in a time when I’m also so just kind of exhausted and tired and all that.

But then also to recognize that I should not put so much hope or stock in elections.

Don’t get me wrong.

I think voting is important.

I think expressing our desires as to who we want to govern us is important.

And I have distinct opinions about how I think that governance ought to happen and what I think would be wise.

But I also recognize that We can only put so much stock in that, and that where we get our confidence and hope and ability to just live day to day in peace has to be disconnected from that sum.

We can’t let all of our hope hinge on the results of the election today or any year, regardless of the outcome.

So I will do my best not to have hours of election coverage on my TV tonight.

I’ll find something else to do.

I’ll read a book.

I’ll watch a movie with family, something like that.

I’m sure my phone will ding with results as they come in.

I’m sure tonight will not be the final end of it.

There will be counting and arguing about it for days to come yet.

But for this cycle, I will say I’m glad I was able to get out and vote, and I’m glad to be done with it today.

We’ll talk later.