It’s election day, and across the nation, polling stations have been filling up, as well as mailboxes with absentee ballots.
It was no different Tuesday afternoon at Kent Commons, where polling workers assisted a steady stream of voters, checking them in and handing them ballots.
The mood was upbeat, and while there was a small group of people waiting to cast their votes, Depot Judge Suzette Van Aiken said the pace was considerably brisker in the morning. And it should be getting busier, later today, she said.
“This morning we had a line that was going around the corner,” she said. “And we’re expecting to get hit with a big line this afternoon.”
The polling stations close at 8 p.m.
With the nation in the throes of one of its most exciting elections, voter turnout across the nation is expected to be extremely high. And in Washington state, officials are anticipating an 83 percent turnout – one of the highest on record.
Sandra Schierman of Kent was one of those 83 percent. She chatted for an interview after casting her vote in the Kent Commons office.
While she’s voted before, Schierman noted this election was especially important.
“I’d say it’s a big deal because of the candidates,” she said.
Schierman noted who’d gotten her vote in the presidential race – and why.
Her family knows John McCain, she said.
“My dad was a POW,” Schierman explained, noting that her father, Wesley Schierman of Everett, was imprisoned in Vietnam, the same war in which McCain was a POW, and that he corresponded with the presidential candidate, in addition to seeing him at POW reunions.
Sandra Schierman said she also liked McCain’s veep candidate, Sarah Palin.
“His vice president was important to me,” Schierman said, adding of her reasons, “mainly, she’s a woman.
“But it’ll be a long time before there’s a woman president, unfortunately.”
Back in the elections precinct at Kent Commons, Garren Moss was helping voters with their provisional ballots – paperwork enabling registered voters to cast their ballot, even though they weren’t in their home precinct.
At 16, the Kent-Meridian High School isn’t old enough to vote – but he and his friends opted to be part of the process for a class project.
When the elections are over, Moss will have put in a total of 20 hours of work, including training.
It was complex and tiring but enjoyable, he said.
“It’s a learning process,” Moss explained. “It’s a little new, but kind of fun.”
Visit the Kent Reporter Web site later tonight, to see early elections results.
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