On Election Day 2000 we stood in line for 2 hours and 45 minutes to vote. You read that correctly - 2 hours and 45 minutes. We vote in a gerrymandered precinct that includes many student residences, and the line was enormous. In the next precinct over there are almost no student residents, and the wait to vote was about ten minutes.
As you might expect, we got to chatting with our neighbors in the line, some of whom were students. We were pleasantly surprised that they stuck out the long wait to vote, but dismayed to hear them say they didn't realize voting took so long. We had never ever had to stand so long in line to vote before (heck - we don't think we've had to stand in line that long to do ANYthing before!) and we tried to encourage the students by telling them it is not always such a long wait. And we pleaded with them not to be turned off to voting by their experience. They were patient as saints.
We are in the heart of Sodrel-Hill country, Indiana's 9th Congressional District and one of the most hotly contested Congressional races in the country. The president himself was in the district the other day, stumping for the incumbent Republican. We love politics, and we're looking forward to Nov. 7. It will be interesting to see if the students turn out for this one too.
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