Once upon a time, a relative of mine ran for election. (I am actually related to a few people who have now or in the past chosen political service. None of them share my last name, which amuses me because well, my last name makes people assume I am related to politicians.) In a show of support, I took time off work and drove several states away to be there for whatever happened that election night.
I caught up with family, we grabbed dinner, and then headed to the place designated for the campaign staff and volunteers to gather for the results. I was basically there due sheer nepotism, having done nothing to support the campaign other than show up once everything was done.
The race was close. But around ten pm or so, to my best recollection, the local stations were willing to predict that at the current rate of returns, my relative was going to win. Relative's opponent was less sure. So, after about another hour, my relative spoke to those assembled to say that while there had been no official concession on the part of opponent, it looked like the campaign had been successful thanks to the work of those gathered and those who had voted.
Shortly after that, once I had gotten close enough to give relative a hug, I decided I had a long car trip back and I was going to go to bed.
Savvy readers might already suspect that the year I refer to is 2000. That I had gone to bed while the presidential election was also undecided and assumed I would have the news when I woke up in the morning. As it turns out I breakfasted and waved goodbye to family and returned myself to the DC area and still didn't know.
I could show you charts of how many votes are normally counted on election day (not many, really, not even with electronic voting in the picture) but all of this is really to say the following. There are many, many things about this year and this election that are very different. Not knowing the real, true, full, elections results - if that is what happens, because I don't have a crystal ball - will not be.
So my advice is this: vote, if you haven't already, and you can. Rest. Engage in self-care. And remember that your brain sometimes tells you that watching results is good for you, but sometimes the sleep, the time watching a movie, and so on is just as useful, if not more. You can set up someone who will text you when something actually happens. Or await the news alerts.
