Early Voting Lines Saturday
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.