People came out in droves to vote early over the weekend at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office in Norwalk. The line on Saturday just before polls opened at 8 a.m. wrapped around the voting tents, down the sidewalk, along the length of the office building before turning the corner.
They came from Torrance, from Van Nuys, from Brentwood and from Bell Gardens. A palpable excitement could be felt in the air despite the early hour. Voters who had driven from all corners of the county stood in the queue with smiles and seemed invigorated to cast their vote for a certain candidate. People brought their kids and came with friends. Many acknowledged the significance of the 2008 election and how they wanted their children to witness history in the making.
Reportedly the first person in line arrived at 4:50 a.m. on Saturday. Despite some intermittent rain showers in the morning, people held their places in line.
Michael, a soaked man from Studio City said, "I thought a lot of people were going to leave when the rain hit, but they didn't. I thought of Obama's speech in the rain earlier in the week and how he kept going. The sun's come back out now, so we should be drying out in no time."
Early Voting Line - Los Angeles Nov. 1, 2008 from An Tran on Vimeo.
Overall the atmosphere was jovial and gave a mix of Angelenos a chance to interact. The long line bonded strangers together. Voters held places in line for one another, discussed the hiked up prices in the cafeteria nearby and chatted about Halloween the night before. After hours in line, some people exchanged phone numbers and e-mails.
For those who arrived around 8 a.m., the entire process took about five and a half hours.
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can someone recommend that they implement a txt messaging system to alert you of your position in the queue. there's just no need to wait in line for more than a few minutes.
tp4free. Knowing Dean Logan, he would probably take your comment seriously and consider technology options like this.
How does it work? Is it like a deli-counter, where everyone takes a number and waits until they call your number? Because Delis seem to be doing ok with that system.
I was there yesterday and I've got to say, it was a pretty moving experience.
This was only my 3rd time voting, as I only became a citizen about 5 years ago.
The number of people was impressive. It reminded me of a conversation I was having with someone many years ago and I made the point to them that the difference between here and Latin American elections was that one can still effect change via one's vote here. (Bear in mind that Latin America had several dictators at the time of that comment).
You could sense a certain level of excitement and energy in the air. It was surreal.
I had the fortune of sitting next to an older gentleman (perhaps in his mid to late 60s) as I waited for my number to be called. As we spoke, he remarked on a couple of occasions how it was a historic election, something I could tell my grandkids.
You could see that his eyes were almost tearing up. I felt like hugging the man and telling him it would all be OK.
When they called his number, he didn't hear it or it didn't register. I grabbed his arm and told him "That's you!" and he was so happy, he was smiling from ear to ear as he walked away to vote.
That's the kind of day it was.
Yes, Angel.
It was a great day in L.A.