Early Voting Numbers Climb In N.C., Mostly the Work of Obama Volunteers

DURHAM, N.C. -- On a drizzly Saturday outside Durham, almost 1300 residents waited for ten to forty-five minutes outside Southwest Elementary School to cast their ballots. Voters came and went leisurely, many making a stop at the polls part of their weekend errands. One woman had jogged over and bounced on the toes of her sneakers while she waited. A number of people brought their kids, either as a civics lesson or simply because school was out.

In a state where residents have been going to the polls since mid-October, the most obvious advantage to early voting is time. Bad weather, the stomach flu, a glitch in the machine--with two weeks to cast ballots, none of these become sufficient reasons to limit votes on election day. In Durham County alone, more than 50,000 people have already voted--a whopping one-third of registered voters. Because North Carolina allows residents who are voting early to register and vote on the same day, the eventual number of voters will likely exceed even projected totals.

Of course, early voting alone doesn't explain the record numbers of ballots cast in Durham County this year. Like many other factors in this election, Barack Obama seems to be the reason for the turnout--both the candidate and the campaign.

"This is one of the most popular presidential elections ever," said Chuck, who had voted two days before but was waiting for wife. He was wearing an Obama hat and grinning at voters as they left the polls. "You can feel the electricity."

Carol Rist, an Obama volunteer passing out a Democratic slate, said many people stopped to chat on their way out. "Most people seem happy, and African-Americans seem downright giddy," she said. "One woman told me she'd gone to her family's ancestral home, collected soil from the ground where her grandparents had walked, and rubbed a little bit of it on her ballot. She wanted them to share in this experience with her."

It's no secret that Durham is a blue county, and that the overwhelming majority of African-American voters are supporting Obama. But the Obama campaign is also making a concentrated effort to translate that enthusiasm into early ballots.

Canvassers for Obama have been instructed to drive voters immediately to the polls if they are available and show an interest. This weekend and last, at least one campaign office held a neighborhood barbecue and encouraged voters to walk en masse from the grill to the polls. The campaign has flooded TV and radio with public service announcements, reminding the audience that polls are open and they can already vote. A paid "Vote for Change" link with information about early voting pops up first in almost any election-related Google search.

"Early voting has hugely increased the time we can be productively engaging voters," said Ted Benson, who helps run the Obama office near Southwest Elementary School. Despite the rain, his office was passing out walk lists and granola bars to volunteers. Another half-dozen were on the telephone.

In theory, early voting raises all vote totals, giving people of all political leanings more opportunity to make their voices heard. But two weeks instead of one day to get out the vote, it would seem that the campaign with the ground game--and the cash--to mobilize supporters has the advantage.

Comments

[jdwoman]

Carolineans. Go to the polls and vote Obama/Biden. Then do what you want with the rest of the ballot -- individuals or straight ticket. The key is to vote for Barack and Joe. We MUST TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK. We cannot survive another four years of GOP rule.

[mavector]

Four years of GOP rule? Please don't forget that the Democrats have ruled the house for two years now.

[melloweb]

The Obama Straight Flip: Durham Democrats created an entertaining video
to educate voters about this tricky ballot issue!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wctU0rgrVOo

pass it around in NC.

[musselmanm]

I go out each day here in the Greensboro area to hand bill at early polling places.
All of us point out to each voter that they must vote seperately for president. We tell each voter, no matter whom they may be voting for. People are also told this at the voting booth from what I have seen and experienced.
I am sitting here tonight starting to feel the happiness of the many voters showing up each day to cast a vote. These are the people who have a right to bitch after the election or be happy as the case may be.
Thank you to all Americans I meet at these polls each day.
I am so proud and have not felt such pride for 40 years.
Keep working and keep voting everyone.
Obama/Biden '08

[Squigibo]

I was surprise the other day to get a call from the "The Obama campaign".­... (I'm still a registered republican after all these years, I never changed affiliation but did last Sunday while voting) anyway, I've never received a phone call from the republican party EVER. This year, I got a call from the Raleigh Obama campaign office and it was like this....

"This is (name withheld) from the Obama campaign office, wondered if you would be available to volunteer in the offices this weekend or next weekend." - I was blown away, it wasn't pushy or anything, but a matter of fact type of statement. My wife and I donated money to the campaign and they got my phone number from that and just called and basically told me where to go work.

I was like... "of course."..­.. So we are scheduled to go door to door and make sure registered democrats are going out to vote next Tuesday.

At the end of the conversation, he added, "did you vote yet?" I said "this weekend we are voting." he said, "good, that's one more we don't have to check up on."....

this is TEXT BOOK on how to run a campaign..­...

[sonnysj76]

Thanks Squigibo! Thank you for signing up to volunteer. If you ever come to Hawaii... I owe you dinner!

[nellie]

Thank you Obama volunteers!

And thank you for making sure voters understand the NC ballot!

[schicklett3]

I walk the streets of Charlotte every day talking to people and asking them to vote for Senator Obama....I also walk to the early voting near my home and talk to people.
This election will be close - get to the polls and vote early this week!!

[jlgcox]

It is exciting. I am from TX and I voted early. My niece voted for the first time ever. My niece wanted to make sure she cast her vote correctly and asked if I could instruct her on the use of the voting machine. The county clerk barked at first until I told him her rights as a voter allows her to ask "anyone" she chooses to explain how the voting machine worked. I also had a copy of the Voter Rights page as proof I was right.
They let us through and I explained how the machine worked and what she needed to do to cast a vote for her candidate.

After she cast her vote, she had tears in her eyes and said she felt like she made a difference! She is 19 years old!

The bottom line: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AS A VOTER!!!! KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

[frankcaprafan]

Good for you. Same thing happened to me here in NC, and to friend of mine who shares your profile...­a tad younger :-)

[frankcaprafan]

By the way, my comment above was in response to CarteretChris below :-O

[CarteretChris]

I voted this afternoon out on the coast .. and I still have tears in my eyes from the emotion of marking that ballot.. 60 years old, white, and never has an election mattered so much to me and to our country. Go Obama-Biden! Get out the vote!

[Jibba-Jabba]

The Bull City is Obama Country !!! w00t !!!

OBAMA/BIDEN

HAGEN

PERDUE

NC+2008

[MsMike]

NC is the only state in the US where straight ticket voting does not count for President. Straight ticket voting only includes down ticket partican races. If you vote straight ticket in NC, you have to vote for the President separately
Best advice: do not vote a “straight ticket”. Vote for each candidate individually.
Check your Ballot: Whether or not you choose to vote “straight ticket”, plan ahead to check your ballot very carefully before you finish voting to be sure that you actually have selected the desired candidates.
If you are a registered voter, don't let anyone or anything stop you from voting or stop your vote from counting! Call the hotline number 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) for advice before you go to vote or for help if you are turned away at your election location. When you go to vote, take good ID, your cell phone, note paper & pencil. And carry the hotline # with you. For more information on protecting your vote, check out this story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/myra-armstrong/easy-steps-to-ensure-your_b_136904.html

[mommamia526]

The form lists the vote for President first. Then straight ticket. Plus there is a warning that straight ticket does NOT include a vote for President. Straight ticket also does not include a vote for election of local officials, such as judges.

[Cil]

Yes folks, THIS IS HISTORY IN THE MAKING....­...BUT IT WON'T HAPPEN WITHOUT YOUR VOTE!
==========­==========­====== ==========­==========­==========­=========

Pleeeeeeee­eeeeeeeeee­ease, GET OUT THERE AND VOTE, and when you are finished..­........

START HELPING YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND EVEN "STRANGERS FOR BARACK" TO GET TO
THE POLLS. Come on folks BARACK IS DEPENDING ON YOU!......­and I KNOW THAT YOU CAN DO IT!

YES YOU CAN, YES YOU CAN, YES YOU CAN!

YES YOU WILL, YES YOU WILL, YES YOU WILL!

[LiberTLover]

That lady who put the soil on her ballot made me weep. I love how this election is so personal to so many of us.

[oldugly]

This comment is pending approval and won't be displayed until it is approved.

I am in cobb county georgia...­Newt country, red as red gets, ya know, the south...

early voting satellites opened today, in camparison to the main polling offices that opened last week, and as of 9:30 this morning the crowds numbered at least 300, maybe 400? in line to vote.
While mostly white, reflecting the county as a whole, but not all white certainly, I just do not belive that this is a McCain crowd voting early, in the thousands, in cobb county georgia.

I can't prove it but something is going on and that is for sure.
I know if cobb goes obama then the republican party is getting killed in georgia, that is a fact.
I THINK that what i am seeing, these crowds, chatting nicely, waiting, are not Mccain people.

This could be something.­.. this could really be something.­..Vote people, vote and pay attention!

[honestpolitician]

PEOPLE!!! Go out and Vote!! We need an Obama landslide as reports show that McCain is trying to rig/scam this election!! Please get your family and friends out and vote for this historical moment! You are contributing to history!

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