First-time voters brave obstacles

As the campus community closed the doors to the polling places at 6 p.m. Tuesday, America's democratic right to vote had cost some IU students time in lines lasting throughout the day. \nWithin Monroe County's 96 precincts, many Bloomington residents experienced poll booth scenes similar to a day trip to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Richard Hackman, a Monroe County resident who was acting as election inspector for the Teter Quad voting scene, said about 60 students waited to vote after the polling site closed.\n"I don't know how many voted, whether there have been 250 or 300 students," Hackman said while scurrying to-and-fro between lines of students. "Voting turnout in the past, here on campus, has been extremely low in all the buildings -- one or two students, maybe."\nSince most of the campus precincts were unprepared for a significant student voter turnout, election officials did not plan for the need for more voting machines, poll workers said. Although the individual voting choice resides in the voter's brain, the voting machine's brain flips between the ballot pages and saves each individual's cast vote on a memory card to be tallied after the polls close. \nSophomore Brian Vlnicka, who registered as a first-time voter in Indiana, said he was looking forward to getting a chance to have a voice after waiting in line for about three hours.\n"I'm hoping the person I vote for wins; hopefully it's a sure thing because we are in Indiana," Vlnicka said while standing in line at the Read Center polling place. "I feel a little nervous because this is my first time voting. I don't know who to vote for other than the president; I'm thinking straight ticket, which kind of stinks. I'm not from Indiana. I don't know these people or know how they think."\nTo prepare for Election Day, poll workers and election officials prepared a plan to efficiently move voters through the voting process. Bibiana Pipher, who was acting as an election judge at the Teter polling place, said Election Day begins Monday for many election volunteers.\n"I've been tired ever since this line started to get real long," Pipher said while blocking the door at closing time from further wishful voters. "I've been on my feet since 5 a.m. making sure everyone gets the chance to vote so there is no voter fraud. I like the activity of voting. I really like to see (voters) come out and be real enthusiastic about it."\nBecause of University and other academic commitments, some students discovered many problematic Election Day scenarios. Junior Cody Bell, a first-time voter, said he could not have arrived on the Read Center polling place sooner.\n"For some reason, a professor scheduled a test on Election Day," Bell said. "I'm trying to beat the clock. I'm happy just to be able to have my voice heard; right now, I don't know who I'm going to vote for. I'll decide when I get there. We'll see; it's a game-time decision."\nMegan Trusnik, a poll booth worker at Read Center and president of the Ivy Tech College Democrats, said hundreds of student voters still waited in line at 8 p.m. Tuesday.\n"We have had far more voters come in than we expected, but that is a good thing," Trusnik said. "The most common question has been: 'Am I allowed to go the bathroom?' This election is absolutely crucial. People don't understand they are voting for the opportunity to feed their family for the next four years -- for the opportunity of four years of education."\nExhausted from Election Day activity within the wooden cubicles of the Monroe County Clerk's Office, Jessica White, the Monroe County election deputy, said her day had been "very, very, very busy." \n"The precinct inspectors and judges bring the machine back to this office," White said while dodging the path of several stretched phone cords. "There is no phone game. The results from each precincts' memory card are fed into the computer, and the computer spits out the reports. It does the whole 9 yards."\nRegardless of the brain guiding the voter to the voting machine, Hackman said voting is always important.\n"I don't care if it's for the local dog catcher," Hackman said, "every election is important. Trying to convince everyone of that is another story. I got no favorite candidate today; yesterday I did and tomorrow I will." \nDespite the length of the wait or the perceived hassle of waiting in line, freshman Shane Whittington, a first-time voter, said his voting experience was worth the weight off his mind.\n"I feel a lot better after standing for three and a half hours," Whittington said. "I'm glad, though, I got to vote. People have died for me to get the right to vote, so it feels good to alleviate that. (The poll workers) treated us well, all around very nice. It was a good time."\n-- Contact staff writer David A. Nosko at dnosko@indiana.edu.