Primaries bring out voters in record numbers

No supporters of presidential or local candidates campaigned outside precincts Tuesday, but there were plenty of signs nearby with arrows telling people to “vote here.”\nBefore the polls closed at 6 p.m. Tuesday, some voters weighed in on which candidate they thought would win in Indiana. Most thought Barack Obama would win, but Hillary Clinton won by a small margin – 51 percent to 49 percent. A large number of voters turned out for the election Tuesday, with 1.3 million voting in Indiana on just the Democratic presidential ballot. In the 2004 general election, a total of 2.5 million in Indiana cast their vote. \nBloomington resident Sallie Moore, who walked through campus to vote for Obama at Read Center, said the flowers and warm weather provided an uplifting atmosphere for casting a vote. Moore then explained her reasoning for supporting Obama.\n“As much as we need to see a woman president, there is an energy for hope,” she said. “I think that’s what the kids want.”\nSome voters said they experienced the frustration of going to the wrong precinct. Moore was one of those people, but said she had a good experience nonetheless.\n“There were some precinct changes, but other than that everything went fast,” she said.\nLindsay Bruick, a Bloomington resident who also voted at Read Center, declined to say who she voted for, but said she thought the process went smoothly.\n“It was definitely easy and very well-organized, compared to the last time I voted,” she said. “It was a quarter of the time I spent last time.”\nThe national election was the main focus of the day, but some people voted in local elections. Deara Ball, a graduate student at IU, voted for Obama at Teter Center. She said she voted for some local candidates, but it was difficult to find information about them online. Bruick, who only voted for national candidates, was in a similar situation with local candidates.\n“I don’t vote unless I do research on them, and I didn’t this year,” she said.\nLike most voters interviewed, Bruick said although the race was close, she thought Obama would win Indiana. But for a few voters, as one man walking into the Read Center precinct put it, Clinton was the only way to go.\nBloomington resident Alice Dobie-Galuska voted for Obama at Bloomington High School South and said she would be fine if Obama or Clinton were president.\n“The thing that threw me off with Hillary was her support of the Iraq war,” she said. “I’m happy with either, but I like Obama better.”