My Day in Woodstock

On election day my partner and I ventured to Woodstock. The memories of the legendary concert, which put the small town on the map were apparent, but on November 4th the one thing on everyones mind was the presidential election. On the drive over Obama signs on the side of the road filled my view and amongst the many endorsements for the now president-elect we only counted one for Senator McCain. However the most interesting sign we encountered was the one posted on the intersection of Woodstock's main road, a handwritten sign that read, "No Bama write in Hilliary." After reading that sign I knew we were in for an interesting day. When we stepped into the polling station, which was located in town hall, we were graced by two lever machines that looked to be as old as the senior citizens who were working the polls. First we spoke to Eleanor Steffen a 72 year retired art teacher, who had voted in every election since she turned 18. Steffen told us that this year's election was the most emotional one she had ever participated in and that she almost lost faith after the results of the last two. When asked if voting had become more difficult over the years the Woodstock native told us that the physical progress of pulling the lever and casting your vote has not changed at all, but as you grow more conscious of what is happening in the your country voting becomes more difficult. Next we talked to John Holt a 40 year old Woodstocker who stated that voting in town is pretty easy. Ruth Lawson, 42, shared the views of Holt telling us that voting was very easy and she had no problems. After being asked to leave the polling station by one of the volunteers we stepped outside where we talked to Mr. and Mrs. Eric Bear, a couple in their 50's. The two were strong supporters of the lever machines and said that they were not confident in the electronic machines, especially after what happened in the last two elections. Mr. Bear called this election, "The last of the lever machines" and went on to state that he prefers lever machines due to the paper trail. Lastly we spoke with Robin Fre, 55. Fre, who is handicap, said that last election she wasn't able to vote because she wasn't able to reach the lever, but this year she prepared and brought a friend along to assist her in casting her vote. Fre explained to us how important voting in this election was to her telling us that she has been around since the civil rights movement and this was the first time since then she felt that her vote would really mattered. Without us even asking Fre proudly told us she voted Democrat, which seemed to be the popular choice throughout the day.