US Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, Clause 3: "The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States."3 USC Sec. 1: "The electors of President and Vice President shall be appointed, in each State, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, in every fourth year succeeding every election of a President and Vice President."
Welcome to Election Day 2012.
Elections are complex things - forcing us to boil down all of our hopes and desires and needs into one mark (sometimes a virtual mark) on one page. Hundreds of factors, conscious and unconscious, go into that choice.
And once in office, we hope that the person sitting at that desk in the Oval Office similarly weighs those factors. Decisions have consequences... sometimes well understood, sometimes poorly understood, and sometimes completely unknown. We are trusting the President, and their advisors, (and all our elected officials, for that matter) to consider all of these things and navigate a path... not only for the next four years, but for many years into the future.
Some people say "it doesn't matter who you vote for, as long as you vote". That isn't true - it does matter who you vote for. Even if you're in a state that is "locked up" by someone you wouldn't vote for, your vote still counts. (And you probably have lots of local electors and issues to vote on as well.)
For the next four years, and probably for many many more, people will be looking at the numbers... comparing how many people turned out... how many people voted for the various sides... seeing if parties besides the two major ones have garnered more support... looking for trends that may span decades...
Today you are part of that.
Today you make your mark.
If you haven't voted already - go vote. Go make history.
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