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Both} ®ar Hfpl Obama win prompts Franklin St. rush BY NATE HEWITT FEATURES EDITOR Unsuspecting traffic slammed on brakes Tuesday night, includ ing a screeching P2P bus, halting to thousands of students flock ing to the corner of Franklin and Columbia streets. But instead of being annoyed, many vehicles honked their horns in approval. “This is a moment that we are going to remember for the rest of our lives, and we got to be a part of it,” senior Chloe Bacon said while jumping up and down on Franklin. Blue-lit police cars sped up to part the mounds of enthusiasts to the street sides, but the crowds soon resumed bumping chests and high flying in front of eager vehicles. Students screamed and cheered and hugged each other, but at the sound of Barack Obama’s voice, the crowd fell silent A man holding up a boom box allowed the revelers to hear Obama’s victory speech. “I can’t even say anything,” said Patrick Turner, a 2008 gradu ate. “In first grade they told us we wouldn’t see a black president in our lifetime.” Junior psychology major Heather Hall said she had never rushed Franklin Street. But she had her first chance to rush when she joined others chant ing “USA,” “Yes We Can” and “Yes We Did.” “It’s not like I’m not a basket ball fan I just haven’t had the chance,” she said. Hall started her Tuesday eve ning eating pizza and sipping beer while glued to CNN’s coverage of the 2008 presidential election. “I’m here to see the polls come in and hopefully see Obama win,” Hall said. “If Obama wins I’m definitely rushing Franklin, but if McCain North Carolina Election Day Results [■ Democrat H Republican I I OtheTj as of 12:30a.m. Results less thanl%^\ Gubernatorial Results Senate Results 3% —x SOURCE: WWW.CNN.COM/ELECTION DTH/ASHLEY HORTON, DALIA RAZO AND RYAN KURTZMAN BiR * Florida a ' ln d- was In almost every presedential No Republican has ever Fla. has the reputation of points in the BR a Republican stronghold election, Mo. has voted for won the presidency without sfe: being the ultimate swing >n largely In until student organizations the winner. In the past three Ohio. Ohio was also the state because of the | northern suburbs of ttjj| because Democrats had H|j| mobilized for President-elect elections, it has mirrored the decisive state that granted diversity of its population Washington, D.C., have 500,000 more registered SR Barack Obama and the '% margin of victory more victory to Bush in the 2004 and the legal controversy in I shifted Va. toward Obama. jH voters than Republicans. |||f Democratic Party. exactly than any other state. election. the 2000 election. 2000 Election Results H 2000 Election Results |Sj 2000 Ejection Results 2000 Election Results 2000 Election Results 2000 Election Results Bush (52%)| H Bush (47%)jBBBB Bush (57%)j55888 Bush (51%)fiflBBBRI Bush (50%)[SHSSS Bush (49%)BBIBBB I Gore (45%)|BBBB H Gore (51%)|BBBBI Gore (41%)jBBBI , ■ Gore (47%)WBBBI Gore (46%) [SMBS Gore (49%) SBBSBH I 2004 Election Results H 2004 Election Results (jJ 2004 Election Results ® 2004 Election Results 2004 Election Results 2004 Election Results Kerry M Kerry * Kerry j|| Kerry (46%)5j1L. ? Kerry (48%) Kerry (47%) BBSS 9 2008 Election Results |fi 2008 Election Results J| 2008 Election Results s?„■ 2008 Election Results 2008 Election Results | 2008 Election Results McCain (49%)jBHRH S McCain (43%)jH88i 1$ McCain (49%) [BRBBBI tg' McCain (51%)[BBBBB McCain (48%)|BHBBHI * McCain (49%) BBBH Oharr.d(sl%)|Bßßß Obama (56%)R88M8 ( ib.imj (SQs>)[HBBBB f Obama (48%)PWiBB Obama (50%)[BRBRBB Obama (51%) BRRRBRj jgl wins I’m flying to Canada.” While Tuesday was the first time most undergraduates had the oppor tunity to vote for president, it was a point of redemption for others. First-year medical student Lindsay Foley said she was excited about this election because it was the first time she may have had an impact on the victor. Foley, who earned her under graduate degree from UNC last spring, voted for Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 election. It was the first year she was eligible to vote. Just after the results from Vermont and Kentucky were pro jected at about 7 p.m., Foley said she had high hopes for Obama but was not getting her hopes up just yet “In the bubble of Chapel Hill, of course we think he’s going to win,” she said. “But you never know. There’s still a chance.” Although people of all ages were eating dinner and enjoying drinks along Franklin, most sported Obama buttons, T-shirts and stickers. McCain supporters were scarce. “I’ve seen a lot more people parading around with McCain stickers today,” Hall said. “I don’t know where they are. I felt like a lot of people would be out even if they are voting for McCain.” The UNC School of Law chap ter of the American Civil Liberties Union hosted a nonpartisan schol arship fundraiser at Mansion 462. “Of course there are plenty Republicans in the law school,” said Michael Gordon, a first-year law student. “I tried to get them to come out, but some either said they lived too far away to come or didn’t want to be around a bunch of liberals.” Contact the Features Editor atfeatures@unc.edu. ELECTION 2008 • h JhbhbhS - 'M HI % W.J&B f*’’" '\ ~ j® ’W ■ j| DTH/JESSEY DEARING Students celebrate right after Sen. Barack Obama wins the presidential election. “This is the only riot I've been in on Franklin Street where people are chanting 'USA' and singing 'The Star-Spangled Banner,"' said Frank Sturges, a senior philosophy and political science major. "It's just beautiful." Election Day turnout slim Early voting eclipses Tuesday numbers BY KATY MCCOY STAFF WRITER The biggest problem Orange County polling places faced on Election Day was boredom. That was the general consen sus at the Orange County Board of Elections headquarters on East King Street in Hillsborough. Volunteer Melvin Beasley, of Cedar Grove, acted as a rover, visiting various polling places as needed. “There were no long waits,” Beasley said, adding that unim pressive turnout on Election Day was probably due to a high number of early-voting ballots. In Orange County, 74,920 total ballots were cast in the general election 7l percent of registered voters. About 55,000 of those came from one-stop early voting and absentee ballots. For many polling sites in Orange County, excitement for poll work ers was pretty limited. The Westwood polling place saw only 195 ballots cast from 1,701 registered voters. Polling sites at Union Grove Methodist Church, Smith Middle School, Mary Scroggs Elementary WEDNESPAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008 1 • ,r~.: School and others reported hav ing little to no lines to vote at times. Battle Park polling place had no one show up to vote before noon, said Tracy Reams, director of the Orange County Board of Elections. Billie Cox, the board’s chair woman, said because of a change, in the law regarding mail-in bal lots since 2004, county workers could begin the 20-hour process of counting and checking mail-in and absentee ballots early. This meant the turnout num bers were available by the time the polls closed Tuesday. She suggested the county include miniature games in the packets for polling place officials to keep them occupied. The county did not implement her suggestion. “One of our poll workers asked if we could bring a poker deck by,” said John Felton, an elections board member and retired chemist. “We had about three hours this afternoon of good hard detail work: counting, tabulating and cross checking to make sure the counts were right.” But low turnout doesn’t mean voting numbers were low this year. Although Aldersgate Methodist Church in Chapel Hill wasn’t packed Tuesday afternoon, Kings Mill precinct members still voted in record numbers. Only 45 voters shy of the 80 per cent voter turnout mark at 3:30 p.m., this year will be a record showing for the precinct, said Roberta Black, chief judge for the precinct. Cindy Brantley, who works for Durham County but has filled in for the Orange County elections board the past three years, said Hiesday’s process went smoothly because offi cials were very well prepared. “They have a good manual for precinct officials and were staffed well,” she said. Brantley spoke with voters and precinct officials all day. While she didn’t hear many complaints from voters, she said some residents attempted to vote only to discover that they weren’t registered. Staff Writers Leah Hughes and Hillary Rose Owens contributed reporting. Contact the State and National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu. 3
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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