First elections you can recall

[Lexii, harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy]

Argentina: 2007
US: 2008

[tmthforu94]

2000.

We had a mock election in my first grade class and only one person voted for Gore because "he was cute." We made fun of her for the rest of the week.

[OSR stands with Israel]

USA : 2004(Wanted Bush to win because he seemed cool)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

UK 1997/US 1998 midterms, but only vaguely.

[RaphaelDLG]

My fifth grade teacher, Ms. Smith.  She was really young and hot and wore a really pretty dress to school one day.  I was sitting the the class in the back of the room one afternoon, bored, when she leaned over and put her hand on my arm and whispered to me to see if I needed help and then walked back to her desk.

[Crumpets]

My fifth grade teacher, Ms. Smith.  She was really young and hot and wore a really pretty dress to school one day.  I was sitting the the class in the back of the room one afternoon, bored, when she leaned over and put her hand on my arm and whispered to me to see if I needed help and then walked back to her desk.

...

[Grand Wizard Lizard of the Klan]

I have some flashbacks from 2001 parliamentary elections in Poland but first election I fully remember and had some options which I supported was in 2004, Europarliamentary.


I also remember US 2004 election as I was then strongly anti-Bushist and supported Kerry (as much as 11 year old kiddo can support politician)

France: 2007

Germany: 2005, end of Schro:der era

Ukraine: 2004, Orange revolution etc.

[DC Al Fine]

Canada, 2000. I mostly remember my Dad oscillating between being mad at the media for being biased against Stockwell Day to being mad at Stockwell Day for giving them so many openings

[Bojack Horseman]

The 2000 Presidential election. I was in kindergarten and my school held a mock election. I'm pretty sure I voted for Al Gore.

[dead0man]

I remember seeing a Reagan/Bush sign on our way to church in 1980 and asking my dad if the owner of the Cardinals/Budweiser was running for President.  He laughed.

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

2008, kept repeating Palins "hockey mom" joke, which my parents saw as cute.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

Technically 1988. 1992 is the first one that I could be described as "following" in any sense.

^ old

The first election I remember was 2000. My fifth-grade class colored in maps red and blue for Bush and Gore. I got in trouble for using blue for Bush and red for Gore because I liked blue better.

[Kingpoleon]

Technically 1988. 1992 is the first one that I could be described as "following" in any sense.

^ old

The first election I remember was 2000. My fifth-grade class colored in maps red and blue for Bush and Gore. I got in trouble for using blue for Bush and red for Gore because I liked blue better.

You deserve Atlas.

[Free Bird]

Technically 1988. 1992 is the first one that I could be described as "following" in any sense.

^ old

The first election I remember was 2000. My fifth-grade class colored in maps red and blue for Bush and Gore. I got in trouble for using blue for Bush and red for Gore because I liked blue better.

You were coloring electoral maps and used opposite colors? You really are an Atlas user!

[Cranberry]

I vaguely remember the 2004 (Austrian) Presidential election, and that my parents prefered Benita Ferrero-Wallner over Heinz Fischer, the eventual winner. I also have very vague memories of the 2006 Parliamentary elections, and clearer ones of the 2008 elections, where I remember that I already liked the Greens best, because Mum did so, and that the FPÖ's wins were a bad thing.

As for foreign countries, I remember "rooting" in 2008 for Barack Obama against Clinton, who my mum and sister prefered (I don't know exactly why, but I assume it was because he was a man? I was horrible when I was nine, I know). Also, I found it obviously very nice that he won both the primary and the general election.

[Phony Moderate]

UK: First electoral-type event I remember is the 2003 Tory Party confidence vote on IDS. Felt sorry for him tbh. Remember the 2005 election quite well; I rooted for the Lib Dems. Stayed up for the first result (Sunderland South) on ITV's election night coverage. Remember seeing celebrities on a boat drinking champagne that was coloured to match their party preference (red, blue, yellow etc). Thatcher turned up IIRC.

USA: 2004. Became interested in it in the final days of the campaign. Wanted Bush out obviously, even though I knew little about Kerry. On the day we did an activity at school in which were wrote a mock newspaper piece. I wrote one with the headline "Bush Wins Election" and the teacher said "well, I don't think we know yet do we?". Funny thing is that others in the class (we were only 10 to 11 years old and were not American) took an interest. Remember waking up the next day and the electoral scoreboard was Bush 249, Kerry 242. Then Bush went up to 254. Probably with Nevada or something. Then I got to class and one girl said "Bush was on 249, Kerry was on 242 when I left home" and so I broke the news that he was up to 254. Then at th end of the day my dad collected me from school and informed me that Kerry had conceded. Then we went to my mum's cousin's house and she (the cousin) was moaning about Bush being still in.

France: Maybe vague memories of the Sarkozy-Royal result. Blair had things to say about it I think.

Germany: Merkel being re-elected in 2009 was talked about a lot, plus I was a member of this place by then so yeah.

Australia: Just prior to the 2008 American party conventiins I looked up stuff on the 2007 election. First memory of any Aussie politician was John Howard paying tribute to Steve Irwin in 2005/2006.

Canada: Maybe slightly followed the 2008 federal election, can't quite recall. But then it was a pretty dull election.

[afleitch]

1992 UK General Election. By that age, I was sort of able to work out what was going on. I remember being able to cover my bike in stickers.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

President: 2000
MI Governor: 2002
Senate: 2000, but I didn't understand the workings of Senate elections as much at the time.

[morgieb]

In Australia, I think I have vague memories of seeing a snippet of the 2001 election coverage. First campaign I have actual memories of though was 2004. Wasn't until 2010 that I pretty much ate election coverage up to the extent I do now though. I guess I supported Labor in 04 and I kinda liked Kevin 07. Shows that I was fairly naive.

US, 2008. My depth of knowledge of American politics back then was shown by me kinda supporting Clinton in the primaries because I found the idea of Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton cool. Think I supported Obama in the general though.

UK, 2010. Only started to pay attention later in the campaign (i.e. around the debates). Unfortunately, I was on the Clegg train.

Most others (e.g. Canada, Greece, Ireland) is 2015/16 IIRC.

[ElectionsGuy]

I remember voting for the 2004 election in my school (first grade), why they even had us do it I don't know. The first one I remember in any detail was 2008.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

As of the elections I actually followed:

Polish presidential, 2000
Polish parliamentary, 2001

U.S. presidential, 2000 (I hated Dubya back then and never stopped)
U.S. midterm, 2002

French presidential, 2002 (that was a huge shock)

German parliamentary, 2002

UK parliamentary, 2001

Russian presidential, 1996

Brazilian presidential, 2002

Spanish parliamentary, 2004

Argentine presidential, 2002