Election Day! The polls opened at 6:00 a.m. EST, and would open in the western time zones as citizens in those regions awoke to a 6:00 a.m. start to their day. Thousands of polling places were opened, many in the same sites where the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. daily television transmissions had been received. O.U.T.R.A.G.E. members, and thousands of others who had volunteered, manned the polls and registered people to vote. All you needed was a Social Security card, a valid photo I.D. or driver's license, and a lime-green card which was provided when you registered. You were asked to sign the card, which stated that the information you had presented was legal and accurate. In a matter of seconds, it was verified by a complex computer program that had been developed specifically for this event. The program contained the names and addresses of virtually every U.S. citizen who had a valid Social Security card. All this information had been gathered from various computer resources, then had been compiled into on giant database. The only purpose for this database was to verify that voters were who they claimed to be, and to ensure that there would be no voting duplications. A record was established to prove that the voter had, indeed, voted - and a receipt was printed out and handed to the voter as (s)he entered the voting booth. The receipt could be turned into the voter's employer so that the voter could be paid for the day (hopefully, since this was still a voluntary program, most employers would honor the receipt even though no law, yet, required them to do so).

Inside the private voting booth was a hand-held computer device very similar to the portable devices viewers had been using to vote on each resolution that was introduced. A large computer monitor was mounted on the front wall of each voting booth, allowing voters to scroll through all the resolutions and then punch in a "Yea" or "Nay" on their hand-held devices. Each vote was recorded by computer, confirming only how the vote had been cast. A paper copy of the ballot was printed out and automatically sent to an O.U.T.R.A.G.E. auditor's desk, where it would be counted as a 'Yea' or 'Nay' vote while being videotaped. Manual counts would then be tallied and matched to the computer counts to ensure there were no discrepancies in either the manual or computer totals. It also provided an immediate, up-to-the-minute count of how many people had voted. It was a streamlined, easy voting process that avoided past memories of nightmare "hanging chads" and other complicated, cumbersome procedures which only confused some voters and made it difficult to accurately record a clean tally of votes cast. If a manual count didn't agree with the computer count, an immediate audit was conducted - again, all on videotape so that there could be no question of collusion or manipulation.

Telecasts were ongoing, urging people to go to the polls. Some televised segments visually explained the voting process, and offered instructions on how to use the hand-held voting devices. All day long there were televised segments from Colin Powell, John McCain, and numerous O.U.T.R.A.G.E. members. The only thing TV viewers didn't see was the typical media hype "projecting" winners or in any way tainting the outcome of the vote. Not until all polls closed, and all votes were tabulated, would any such projections or media pronouncements be made. From cameras mounted outside many of the voting sites, it did appear to be a strong assembly of early-morning voters across the country. As polls opened in restaurants, schools, libraries, gymnasiums, community centers, and public buildings, voters seemed to be showing up in droves.

Because votes were being counted within minutes of being cast, keeping a running tally was easy. Computers kept track of votes on each resolution, recording the total number of hand-counted votes and comparing it to the total number of computer-counted votes. The computer screen resembled a simple ledger:


ARTICLE I. RESOLUTION: TAKE THE 'CON' OUT OF CONGRESS "YEA" VOTES "NAY" VOTES TOTAL VOTES %

The percentage of "YEA" votes were then recorded. A green % figure indicated the "yea" votes were in the majority; a red % figure indicated the "yea" votes were in the minority. The total number of votes cast was posted only after both the hand-counted votes and the computer-counted votes matched precisely. Rarely was there a mismatch; when there was, auditors went to work to try and resolve the problem. More often than not, it resulted in an incorrect manual count.

Voting continued to be strong throughout the morning. The process was surprisngly well-organized, orderly, and peaceful - a situation for which O.U.T.R.A.G.E. members were pleased, even though they had made preparations just in case any kinds of civil disorder had tried to disrupt the day.

At 12:00 Noon EST, John McCain appeared on the TV cameras to make a brief statement: "First of all, Colin Powell and I want to express our gratitude for what appears to be an apparently large voter turn-out so far. Secondly, it speaks well of the organizers of this interim election that, under the most bizarre of circumstances, this event has been conducted with professionalism and decorum. You, the people of the United States of America, have been through a traumatic experience over these past several weeks; you, the people, have responded with dignity and valor. We applaud you all, and pledge our public service to the dauntless survivors of this 'Rebellion of '08' and to the memory of all those who fell victim to this revolution's assailment. There is no doubt that our great nation was in deterioration. Now let us, together, go forward and make the best of what has certainly been an unpalatable circumstance. Thank you and God bless the great United States of America!"

Powell joined McCain for an added statement: "History has seen the rise and fall of many countries and civilizations. Many, like the great Greek and Roman empires of the past, fell after centuries of decandance, decay, and dalliance. Others, like the great state of Germany, rose from the ashes of Nazism and has become one of the world's great republics, as well as an economic and industrial giant among our contemporary societies. This is our opportunity to return America to its luster; to bring America back to being a world leader and global peacekeeper. Whether you, the people, choose to elect me and Senator McCain as your interim President and Vice-President is irrelevant. I can pledge to you that we will both do everything in our power, calling on our own leadership experiences, to help us all return this country into one of lasting greatness, moral unity, and political straight-forwardness. With God's help, and with everyone working together, we can implement the necessary reforms that will prove the genuine spirit and intent of our actions to future generations of Americans."

The telecasts continued with various O.U.T.R.A.G.E. members speaking on different subjects. The voting continued all over the country. By 9:00 P.M. EST most polls were closing, although many on the west coast remained opened to accommodate large crowds of last-minute voters. All through the night, O.U.T.R.A.G.E. members would count votes, recount when necessary, videotape the entire process, and - God willing - have final tallies ready for formal declarations Wednesday morning. If all went as expected, the nation would have a new interim President and Vice-President, and a number of important resolutions would be voted into the law of the land. The telecasts continued....24/7.