Chicago seeks to reelect Obama

CHICAGO — Elyse Remenapp, 19, left the polling place at the Spertus Institute along Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. She voted absentee in Michigan’s elections days ago but never got her own keepsake from her first time voting — that small red, white and blue sticker.

“I just wanted a sticker because I’m proud to have voted,” she says, small square of white paper in hand.

“Ballot Receipt. Nov. 6, 2012. General Election. Thank you for voting.”

She tried to score a sticker from Spertus, telling officials she already voted, but walked away with the slip of paper after learning the precinct wasn’t handing them out.

But she’s not that upset, she says. She’s more concerned about her health care coverage in the coming years, given her future career.

Remenapp, golden hair flowing from her knit cap in the cool Chicago morning, has a preexisting medical condition that could put her insurance coverage in jeopardy.

“I’m majoring in something that doesn’t guarantee me excellent medical coverage,” she says. “So, I might be relying on my parents for insurance if I’m denied health care because of my preexisting condition.”

She’s putting her trust in President Barack Obama.

“I’m nervous,” she says. “I hope it goes the way I want. It’s important. It’s my health care.”

The college student joined a host of other Obama backers casting their ballots Tuesday morning in Chicago. Busy mom. College student. Dedicated volunteer. Some are first-time supporters. Others are long-time Democrats.

All are voters.

***

Boaz Smith, 42, is a barber just finishing a trim on a customer. It’s just after 11 a.m. at the Headrest Barbershop, a few blocks away from the Spertus precinct.

One of Smith’s cousins is a staunch Republican. That doesn’t sit well with Smith. It’s a rarity in his family, and among customers in the shop.

"I love him, but we're never going to agree on that shit," Smith said.

People’s mamas and girlfriends are on the table for discussion at Headrest. So is politics, but customers supporting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney might just find an Obama logo shaved in the back of their heads.

The youngest barber in the room, Josh Kruel, 23, is joking when he says this, but it reflects the consensus of the room: Obama, especially with his policies on extending health care coverage, is moving along the right track.

“I think Romney is full of shit,” Smith says. “He blew me with that 47 percent. He wouldn’t say it if he didn’t mean it.”

Herb Hunter, 56, nods his head as Smith slowly trims the salt-and-pepper hair on the side of his head.

“A lot of the things he wanted to do was blocked by the Republicans,” Hunter says.

He’s doing the best he can with the mess he had to clean up, Smith says. But he’s doing right by the American people, securing more health care coverage for his seven children.

On Tuesday night, when he leaves the shop, he’ll go home to watch the elections results pour in with three of his children and his grandfather.

***

The voices of 100 volunteers mix indistinguishably, with only bits and pieces of sentences escaping clearly audible.

They’re calling Wisconsin voters and plan to reach out to Iowans later in the day, all with a simple message of reelecting President Obama.

It’s nearly noon at the Obama for America Chicago Field Office. It’s a wonderland for any Obama supporter.

Cardboard cutouts of first lady Michelle Obama and her husband greet every visitor.
Clippings are taped around the room, as is an American flag, a pop-art photo of Obama and countless campaign posters.

Big Bird says, “Thank you, Mr. President” from above the printer. Michelle reminds volunteers to keep their phone volume low. A list of office rules starts off with “#1. Win the election.”

Debbie Mesloh, a media volunteer at OFA, says the field office could support nearly 125 volunteers at a time. In the last four days, these volunteers have generated about 20,000 each day.

“The Obama campaign since 2008 has been about personal contact,” Mesloh said.
Posters reading “African Americans for Obama,” “Young Americans for Obama” and “LGBT for Obama” reflect that idea.

One sleepless volunteer, Emily Carson, has just taken a break from the phones. She plans on attending the election-night watch party at McCormick Place, Obama Headquarters, later Tuesday evening. But for now, it’s full steam ahead on calls.

“The mood here is pure excitement,” Carson says, smiling. Obama, too, smiles from her black T-shirt.

She’s confident of an Obama win, she says. His policies and track record will pull him through.

But nothing is certain.

“I feel like there’s been so much progress that’s happened,” Carson says. “A loss would be heartbreaking.”