Americans Vote in Record Numbers

People in this picturesque Democratic county in the traditionally Republican state of Virginia got a boost from Mother Nature and started lining up from 6:00 a.m. till 7:00 p.m. keen on exercising their right to vote, no matter who would emerge victorious.

Election officials have predicted record turnout in the first wartime election in a generation.

Frank Garvey has not cast his ballot since 1964 when he gave his vote to then president Lyndon Johnson.

"I vote twice in my entire lifetime one for Johnson and this time for Kerry," 70-year-old Garvey told IOL.

Audrey Lodey took few hours off from work to exercise her right and cast the ballot.

"I took few hours off my work. You know it is important to vote no matter who you would vote for."

Emmy Thomas knows that Virginia is settled for the Republicans; nevertheless, she is keen on exercising her right.

"I won’t make difference this time but who knows it might make difference next election," she said, while reading Gardens in the Dunes novel by Leslie Marmon to kill time.

Wind of Change

Chresey was keen on taking her toddler Easten with her to the ballots.

"We have been working together for the last two months for Kerry election….I used to take him to the work and now it is high time he helped me cast the ballot," said smiling Chresey, who works for the anti-abortion National Right to Life organization.

Jim McDonald has been voting in every election since 1960 on non-partisan basis.

"I’m neither democratic nor Republican," he told IOL. "I choose the best candidate which is now Kerry."

Quizzed why not Bush, McDonald said: "I don’t trust somebody who lies so openly. This president lied to the entire Americans about Iraq ’s weapons of mass destruction.

"You now I have voted Republican and Democrats before but this election year definitely I voted Democrat."

Interestingly, the knife-edge elections divided some loving couples who came hand in hand to do the exact opposite.

"I opted for Kerry as a wind of change and I really admire his stance on the environment and minority rights," said Mrs. Adams.

Her husband, however, admires "Bush’s resolve in fighting the terrorists in the four corners of the world."

“Lesser of two Evils”

Marian Williams was reading The Panda’s Thumb by Stephen Jay Could to kill time as she waited for her turn.

She contemplated boycotting the vote because both candidates do not appeal to her, but she is going to choose the "lesser of two evils."

"You know, I’m worried because I think most of the politicians who are leading our country right now really don’t care about other countries all over the world….They don’t care about the sufferings of other peoples. It really upsets me," she said.

"I’m a native born US citizen and I’m embarrassed and ashamed of being a US citizen…I don’t believe that we have the right to override the people worldwide. But I feel a sense of responsibility to the rest of the world…We are not alone on this planet."

Neither

Chris Birton rowed against the current as he neither chose Kerry nor Bush.

"I voted for the Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik as president, who is a businessman from Virginia . I just decided to give a protest vote that is it."

In Arlington , the sample ballot includes Bush, Kerry, Badnarik and Constitution Party candidate Michael A. Peroutka.

Four candidates are also running for the House of the Representatives: James P Moran (D), Lisa Marie Cheney (R) AND James T. Hurysz, independent.

Meg McNaulty, who studies law in George Washington University , was one of several volunteers for the Kerry campaign.

"We provide sample ballots for voters to tell them how to use the touch screen ballots and so on. We have also attorney volunteers, who make sure that voters know their voting rights," she said.

"This is the most emotional election we have ever had since 1968," added her volunteer colleague Johnney Miligan.

"The race is so close and the most surprising ending would be knowing the results before the wee hours of Wednesday. There is no guarantee that will be over even when it is over."

The final pre-election polls turned up tied — 49-49 in one CNN-USA Today-Gallup survey, with Ralph Nader at 1 percent.