Photos: Remembering Election Day 2008
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - It’s the first anniversary of Pres. Barack Obama’s historic election. BET.com remembers the anxiety, the anticipation, the small profound moments, the joyous celebration and big announcement that made Election Day 2008 one of the most memorable days in American history. Let’s go back.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - Long, snaking lines formed in the dark before the first polls opened at 6am. It was a long day that didn't wrap up until the last voters casted their ballots in Alaska at 1am ET.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - After almost two years of intense campaigning that have seen the candidates spend $1 billion, Americans hit the polling centers early to vote for a new president.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - Rainy weather in some states wasn't enough to dampen the spirits of voters, who crowded polling stations. More than 100 million people casted ballots.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, voted side by side at Shoesmith Elementary School in Chicago that morning, as their daughters Sasha and Malia looked on.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - As the Obamas departed their polling station, Sen. Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, arrived at theirs – Tatnall School in Wilmington, Del., – to cast their ballots.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - Meanwhile, John McCain voted at Albright United Methodist Church in Arizona. His running mate, Sarah Palin, voted in Wasilla, Alaska.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain casts his ballot in his home state of Arizona alongside his wife, Cindy.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - An estimated 30 million people casted ballots in early voting – fueled by the historical possibility each campaign represents.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - Voting problems, ranging from computer glitches to long lines, were reported in a few states. The Election Protection Coalition, a nonpartisan group, says it has received over 100,000 voter calls at the Election Protection Command Center.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - As more people voted the excitement of the day swelled with special significance to African-Americans. It would be the first time in history a Black candidate was poised to become President of the United States.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - Obama maintained a lead in most nationwide opinion polls and haf the advantage in most of the battleground states, which are expected to decide the election. However, McCain, however, dismissed the opinion polls and promised an upset.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - McCain pushed through seven states in a punishing 20-hour journey Monday. At each stop, he accused Obama of taking victory for granted, saying his opponent is already "measuring the drapes in the White House."
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - Obama made a final sprint up the east coast, addressing crowds in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, all states won by President George Bush in 2004.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - At the close of an exhausting campaign that rippled with drama and surprise developments, the last hours brought one more unexpected, tragic twist – Obama's maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died in Hawaii – a little more than a week after he interrupted his White House run to say goodbye to her.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - On Election night, the presidential candidate and his Veep-to-be headed to Chicago to await the results in a hotel room with their families.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - Obama, who aides remember being very calm at the most tense moments, pose with staffers Robert Gibbs, David Plouffe and David Axelrod.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - The President, Vice President, their families and staffers watch the results as they come in from a hotel room in downtown Chicago.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - Sasha Obama watches intently as polls close around the country and the winners in states begin to be called.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - At the very last moment, the President holds hands with his Mother-in-Law Marian Robinson before he is declared the winner.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - The families and staffers celebrate after Barack Obama is declared President-elect of the United States.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - The Obamas make their way to the stage in Grant Park where tens of thousands awaited his victory speech.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - Supporters run to secure their spots to hear Barack Obama's first speech as President-Elect.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - From Harlem to D.C.'s U Street, from Times Square to Chicago's Grant Park, and all across the country, supporters took to the streets in celebration.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - The Obamas arrive on stage to a screaming Grant Park crowd in Chicago.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - The Chicago skyline lights up in celebration of its son newly elected to the U.S. presidency.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - Celebrities in the Grant Park crowd included Oprah Winfrey, Jesse Jackson and others.
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Remembering Election Day 2008 - In his victory speech, the newly-elected President Obama said, "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.".