My Best Friend Was In Grant Park, I Think I Deserve The Prize for Second Most Interesting Place to be on Election Night

On Tuesday I was reminded why I came to DC in the first place.  I felt much more involved in the election than I ever had in the past.  From 2pm until closing on election day I worked as a poll technician.  The precinct I worked at was in Northeast DC, it was within a poorer part of the city where the majority of the voters there were black.  Here, I saw first hand just how many people were voting either for the first time or the first time in a long time.  One woman was literally shaking with excitement telling me she was 27 and this was her first time voting.  A friend of mine working at another precinct said one man told her he had not voted since Kennedy.  While I was happy that these people where getting out to vote, I also felt many people still do not fully understand the election process.  DC uses touch screen voting machines and paper ballots so voters can ask poll workers a question while they vote.  A lot of voters said they did not want to vote for anyone other than Obama-- meaning they did not care about any local elected officials.  It seemed to me that many people either voted only for president or voted for local officials based on party affiliation.  Since so many people were voting for the first time I think that if Obama did not win the majority of first time voters would lose faith in the political system and never vote again.

As we all saw when Obama’s victory was announced the city went crazy.  About an hour after the announcement I reminded myself that despite my next day 8:30 am class, I came to AU rather than a small town school for a reason, so I went to the White House with some of my friends.  As we walked through the city there were people everywhere, all on their way to the White House.  Car horns were honking, people were screaming and giving ‘high-fives’ to anyone that passed.  

By the time we reached the White House it was insanely crowded.  I think for many Americans this is the first time in eight years that people have had pride in the US.  People were not just chanting “Obama” and carrying Obama/Biden paraphernalia, but singing songs like the “Star Spangled Banner,” carrying American flags, and expressing pride in the US.  I did notice there were a lot of Secret Service and police around, but for the most part things seemed peaceful.

What struck me most about both my election day and night was that people felt that the day was historic.  Most of the people I was around embraced the day with the idea they would always remember it.  I on the other hand value its importance, but do not think we should get ahead of ourselves, I hope people are not naive and expect change overnight.  Our nation needs a lot of help right now, and its going to take a lot of work, only time will tell.