Hitting the polls
TG Branfalt Jr.
Issue date: 11/10/08 Section: Election night
The polling place at 400 Central Ave had seen its chaos come early and now the poll workers were anxious to go home following their fifteen hour day.
Voters began to show up before the polling place officially opened at 6:00am, before the supervisor Johnnie Sie had a chance to unlock the doors.
Jonnie Sie is a black woman, who by her own account is old enough to be my grandma. She smokes Marlboro light one hundreds and had been "doing polling since before Jennings ran." She had been an Albany High School math teacher from 1972-2002 and she had recruited her former students and their relatives to work the polls of the fifth ward with her this year. Johnnie's students had kept in touch with her long after they had graduated.
"She's a mother to me," said Sharese, a twenty-six year old mother of two, about Johnnie.
There were very few people voting last minute and the poll workers started to finish off their snacks for the day, Cheetos, Coca-Cola and sandwich bags of cereal.
Johnny and her fellow poll workers started to dance as they started their five minute countdown. Their fatigue was showing itself in the form of smiles and delirious elation. Each was very careful to not mention Obama or McCain, but Johnnie was eager to tell the story of an old black couple that walked in and out of the booth in tears.
"You know, they couldn't believe that they had the chance to vote for a black man. These people lived through Jim Crowe and through segregation. My mother never thought she'd see the day and bless her heart she did," Johnnie's eyes filled with tears, but not one fell from her eyes.
At 9:01pm the poll workers assigned to each booth started relaying the numbers. Obama 110, McCain 15. Obama 125, McCain 10. Obama 127, McCain 4. The numbers were staggering.
As it turned out the numbers for the fifth ward were very much like the numbers nationally. A landslide victory for Barack Obama.
Voters began to show up before the polling place officially opened at 6:00am, before the supervisor Johnnie Sie had a chance to unlock the doors.
Jonnie Sie is a black woman, who by her own account is old enough to be my grandma. She smokes Marlboro light one hundreds and had been "doing polling since before Jennings ran." She had been an Albany High School math teacher from 1972-2002 and she had recruited her former students and their relatives to work the polls of the fifth ward with her this year. Johnnie's students had kept in touch with her long after they had graduated.
"She's a mother to me," said Sharese, a twenty-six year old mother of two, about Johnnie.
There were very few people voting last minute and the poll workers started to finish off their snacks for the day, Cheetos, Coca-Cola and sandwich bags of cereal.
Johnny and her fellow poll workers started to dance as they started their five minute countdown. Their fatigue was showing itself in the form of smiles and delirious elation. Each was very careful to not mention Obama or McCain, but Johnnie was eager to tell the story of an old black couple that walked in and out of the booth in tears.
"You know, they couldn't believe that they had the chance to vote for a black man. These people lived through Jim Crowe and through segregation. My mother never thought she'd see the day and bless her heart she did," Johnnie's eyes filled with tears, but not one fell from her eyes.
At 9:01pm the poll workers assigned to each booth started relaying the numbers. Obama 110, McCain 15. Obama 125, McCain 10. Obama 127, McCain 4. The numbers were staggering.
As it turned out the numbers for the fifth ward were very much like the numbers nationally. A landslide victory for Barack Obama.
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