Election Tuesday started out early for me, headed to Stark County, Ohio, designated by various pundits and pollsters to be a “bell weather” county that would presumably forecast the outcome of the presidential race. On a last-minute assignment for a Chilean sunday magazine, the writer and I faced a minor logistical set-back: By the time we arrived around lunch time, most people had already voted and were at work. Downtown Canton resembled the set of a zombie movie, devoid of any surviving human extras.

Refreshingly, ducking into the AmVets lounge in the otherwise deserted downtown, the only two patrons turned out to be not some stock character octogenarian Republicans, but rather a couple of co-workers on lunch break, one of whom told us that as a gay man he could not possibly vote for Romney, while the other identified as his key election issue social service cut-backs a GOP administration would surely put in effect, threatening the child care subsidies he relied on as a single dad. Bell weather county?

For those speaking Spanish, the article can be found here, beginning on page 14.

The one hub of activity was the Stark County Board of Elections, where voters requiring provisional ballots were waiting to cast their votes. By the time polling stations in the area closed, I was racing back to the airport, and election results were announced by fellow passengers the moment we landed at La Guardia and everyone frantically checked their smart phones. Only at the local corner bar did my late night turn into a moment of connecting with what was actually going on in the country – thank you, Tip Top Bar and Grill!