UMD students cast their first votes
By ASHLEE HARTWIG
DCN Correspondent
November 4, election day. The long wait is finally over. The moment to take part in changing our country’s future is now here.
“What’s going on here?� asked freshman Robert Geisenhof, searching for the back of the voting line on the staircase outside the on-campus polling place. “Where does this thing end?�
Spotting it, Geisenhof headed over to take his place and waited his turn.
“It may be even longer in a few hours,� said another freshman Elizabeth Campbell, fingers playing with her long pearl necklace. “He’s lucky he got here now.�
Hundreds of students have already passed through the UMD Kirby Ballroom, each putting their pens to the ballot and letting their voices be heard. More are expected to come with the polls only open for one more hour.
Voting has been an exhilerating new experience for freshman Megan Potter. While waiting in line, she saw everybody holding different forms of identification and it upped her anxiety.
“I just wanted to look like I knew what I was doing. I had everything out…my U-Card, my driver’s license, my blue slip, absolutely everything,� said Potter.
Scott Dahl, hands in his pocket, is another first-time voter, but as a sophomore. Standing in line with a backpack on his shoulders, Dahl said he felt calm. He was excited to be taking part in this event, but he saw no reason to be nervous.
“I knew who I was voting for,� said Dahl. “And yes, this is an important event, but it almost seemed routine.�
Not all students were as nonchalant about this as Dahl. Determined to get their vote in, many of them worked with their surroundings in order to make their voices heard.
“It felt like I was back in high school because I was sitting on this hardwood floor while filling out my ballot,� said Campbell. “It really surprised me there were no actual voting booths.�
Potter had a similar experience.
“I sat on the window sill, but hey, if that’s what I had to do, so be it,� said Potter.
Everyone took to the process pretty seriously, but it was a light, laid-back atmosphere. That only made the uncertainty of first time voting grow.
Dahl took special care to fill in the bubbles next to the appropriate names so there was no confusion. When the time arrived for his choice for president--the most important vote of the night --he went outside the lines.
“I got scared for a minute because I didn’t know if they were going to count it,� said Dahl.
Finished with her ballot, Potter gathered her belongings when her cell phone rang.
“I thought they were going to come rip my ballot up,� said Potter.
One of the highlights of turning in a ballot, for many voters, is the satisfaction of wearing the bright red sticker proclaiming ‘I Voted’ on their shirts.
“It felt so good to get that sticker,� Potter said, showing off her own on her black sweater.
With the ballots in the tallying machine, all anybody can do now is wait for the results.
“Election Day is like New Years to me,� said Potter. “Waiting for those final results to roll in is the ball dropping on the new year.�
Everyone is waiting with anticipation and, in a matter of hours, the new President of the United States will be announced.
“All we can do is wait now. It’s out of my hands, but at least I can say I did my part,� said Campbell.