Election Night 2008

Hundreds of people were gathered outside of Seventh Day Adventist Church in Northridge, California on election night to perform their civic duty and cast their vote for the next president of the United States. The church saw many voters of different backgrounds, creeds and ideals and interestingly enough, from two completely different precincts. This year, the church was home to two precincts, to compensate for lack of space at another location. To keep mistakes to a minimum, each precinct had its own separate entrances, and its own separate lines. At other precincts, the average wait time was closer to an hour and a half. According to polling staff members at the church, the longest wait was about 40 minutes.

Nick Franchino, a poll volunteer, started his shift at the church at 6 a.m., and said the morning had started rough because of the large crowds, and though the staff got tired early, they remained in high spirits. “The staff got tired early on, but they were all happy to do their part,” said Franchino. “No one [voters] talked about the issues, but they were all happy to be here.” Franchino was excited about the election himself, checking his iPhone for most of the evening, to see how his propositions were doing. “I’m very happy about the initiatives,” he said.

Franchino was most excited for his sister about this election, because it was the first she had ever actually voted her opinions for herself. “In the beginning, she let her husband tell her who to vote for,” said Franchino. “Now she’s actually voting for herself this year.” Franchino, also a county employee, received a small stipend for his work at the polls.

As the night went on, the long lines became less of an issue, and the polling place became almost empty, however, there were a few late voters who beat the 8:00 deadline. Tiffany Rogers, a 19-year-old college student, was among the few people who just barely missed their chance to vote for the next leader of the free world. Rogers, a first time voter, was on her way from school, when she arrived at the church precinct. She made it a point to vote in this election because of the controversial same-sex marriage proposition, otherwise known as Proposition 8. “I felt I needed to vote no on Prop. 8 because I have gays in my family and I wanted to show my support for their cause,” said Rogers. When asked about the candidate she favored, Rogers hesitated and then responded, “I believe they both ran decent campaigns, but Obama seems to be the better candidate for this election.”

Tami Samaniego, a 40-year-old mother of one, said that this election was the most important election that she has seen in her lifetime. Samaniego had just come from work when she cast her vote. “I have to say it’s definitely interesting to see someone of color and a woman involved,” Samaniego said. “I’m excited to see how it all turns out.”

As the polls close and the church parking lot empties, the votes will be counted and when the sun rises on November 5, a new president will be announced in what is considered to be the election of a lifetime.