Students need motivation to vote?

~ Samantha Allen

When Freud spoke about the group mentality, he probably didn’t consider how it could be involved in political voting.

At the Tompkins County voting center set up at Ithaca College’s Circles Community Building, many students came to vote but often in groups.

Linda McBride, Ithaca resident and election inspector, said she had seen a lot of students coming into the building in groups.
Sara Gurman, a freshman who voted for her first time here at the community building, said she wanted her friends to be there for support.

“We’re all sort of new to this, and without my friends this would be intimidating,” Gurman said. She was accompanied by two other freshman, one of whom had voted previously in an absentee ballot for New Jersey.

In this video, IC freshman Sara Gurman and Natasha Petersen:


To find out why students like Gurman thought they needed support for voting on IC's campus, check here.


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McBride said that people were very excited and she had seen a lot of first time voters, including students and immigrants, who wanted friends there to photograph their first time pulling the lever.

“I think people are excited to vote,” she said. “I only wish that kind of excitement stayed with people because, that’s what’s democracy is all about. And, as exciting as this is, I wish it was the norm. But it’s not.”



McBride who said she has been working at the polls since 2002 said she has never seen anything as remarkable as the turnout for this election. She said at 8:15 p.m. that night, 74 percent of the registered voters had cast their vote.

Local students helping out from TCCC, Tompkins County Community College, said they were impressed by the turnout too. Daniel Pine, a student and election coordinator who has been working at the polls for the past three elections, said many senior citizens had actually showed up, something he had not witnessed in the past.

Jake Biles, another TCCC student and election inspector, estimated that over 500 out of 700 registered senior citizens had showed up.

Poll-A-Palooza

Election Story
-Ursula Fox-Koor

Polling places across the country were filled today and Tompkins County was no exception. The city of Ithaca alone designated 12 locations for residents to cast their ballots and they were certainly put to good use.

South Hill Elementary School, one of the twelve polling places within the city, saw many voters come through the doors. “We’ve had over a 50 percent voter turn out, maybe even 60 percent,” said Becky Booth, a polling volunteer at the elementary school. Booth said that the turn out has never been this high and that this election season, Tompkins County has added more polling places as well as more staff and volunteers.

Booth credits the large number of students in the area for the increase in turn out. “We have two universities that make up a big population in Ithaca and with their big flexibility during the day, they are able to come in and vote on their time,” Booth said.

Carol*, one of the head polling staff at South Hill Elementary said the young people are also influencing bigger, national issues. “I think that people under 22 [years old] are more concerned with the national issues, but those over 22 are looking into the local election because they realize that concerns them more in terms of issues such as taxes and schools,” Carol* said.

Sandra Reukaol, another polling volunteer at the elementary school, said she was excited to see the young turn out. "It was delightful to see young people out and voting," she said. "There were three girls here earlier, all grinning, and were skipping up the ramp after the voted."

She said there was even a young girl who was celebrating her 18th birthday today and was voting for the first time. "It is great to see American engaged and awake," she said.

*Last name has been withheld due to person's request.

Below: Carol* instructs a new voter on what to do.



A map of South Hill Elementary School


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Behind the Scenes: Those Who Work to Keep Democracy Alive

Polling story
--Aly Dixon

Walking into the polling place at the Tompkins County Public Library located at 101 E. Green Street was a surreal experience. Having never voted in a general election in a polling place, I was giddy and excited for the events of the day to unfold. However, I wondered what actually allowed this process to work; how we can successfully hold elections in a way most countries can't. And although America's voting process has been deeply criticized, it seems it is also one of much envy. Democracy strives in this country, but it is not without the help of the many who are dedicated to the preservation of this very ideal without agenda or prejudice.

Throughout this 2008 campaign for president, we have seen the attention turn to figures with no influence on our ability to vote, from Bill Hiers to Reverend Wright to General Petraeus, to powerful corporations, to influential lobbyists. But we have not seen the real pioneers of democracy, those behind the scenes, those who sacrifice their time and dedication to make sure our democratic process is carried out in the fairest of manners. Election inspectors are examples of these people.



Essentially, the duty of the election inspector is to ensure that all elections are conducted in a fair and impartial manner. Specifically, that are responsible to ensure that all eligible voters are able to exercise their right to vote and that the election law is applied uniformly. For each polling place there is at least one republican, and one democrat election inspector to ensure fairness and stability.




As an election inspector, you must be at the specific polling place you are working at a half hour before it opens, in this case Begg and the other inspectors got to the Tompkins County Public Library at six-thirty in the morning. You are required to work the whole day as an inspector. In New York, the polls close at nine p.m., so Begg and the others expected to leave around nine thirty, a long day of work. To Begg's suprise, the wage for the day of service is $160. However, Begg claims the pay previously was below minimum wage.

To serve as an election inspector you must be a registered voter along which a resident of the county in which you wish to work at. You must not be a spouse, child, or parent of a candidate running in the district you will work, and you cannot hold any sort of public elective office or being running for office in the district you are working.

Begg and the other inspectors seemed happy at the outcome of the election during our interview. Begg claimed that well over half of all voters assigned to their polling place had voted by about 4:30 p.m., a statistic that satisfied all of the inspectors.

"We haven't had any real problems yet, and I hope that continues the rest of the day," Begg said.

As someone that prides herself on being politically informed, I was ashamed to realize I knew little to nothing about the duties and responsibilities of election inspectors. There jobs may seem small, insignifcant, or even easy, but the opposite seems true. These people took the time out to help others fulfill their constitutional right, while sacrificing most of their day. They could have been home watching the votes get tallied on CNN, scanning updated articles on the New York Times, despairingly watching Fox News cling to hope, or gleefully watching states become blue, but instead they helped the rest of us realize our own dreams of participating in a democracy that many don't have the privilege of realizing.

Coffee and Economy on the Minds of Many Voters

By: Maura Gladys
(Polling story)



“On days like this, we always make sure we have a lot of coffee,” said a poll worker at the South Hill Elementary School polling location

The sky was still black and an early morning chill hung over the South Hill Elementary School early this morning, as voters lined up to cast their ballot in one of the most highly anticipated and historic elections in recent memory. It seemed as if coffee and the economy was on the mind of many voters.

Arlene*, one of the first voters at South Hill arrived at 6 a.m. in order to beat what is anticipated to be a heavy turnout. As soon as she was finished voting she headed straight for Starbucks, which was giving a free large coffee to anyone that presented an “I Voted Today” sticker.

“I really didn’t want to have to wait in line, and I decided 6 was the best. Now, I’m going to get a free cup of coffee from Starbucks,” she said.

Joseph LeCates, a Cornell graduate student, used voting, rather than coffee to calm his nerves.

“I want to feel like I’ve done everything I can. It’s the first time I’ve paid so much attention to an election. I came out early to calm my nerves.”

LeCates, like many others cited the economy as one of his primary issues when voting. Starbucks in downtown Ithaca was a hub of election excitement. Voters, fresh from the voting booths, cashed in on their free coffees and talked politics.

“It’s been a zoo, but it can only get better,” said Karen, the barista. “There have been a lot of new faces this morning.”

One woman, after receiving her free coffee, gushed about the excitement of voting.

“It’s just such a great feeling, to hear the machine when you pull the lever, and you just feel like you made a difference.”

Another man, a teacher on his way to work jovially summed up the morning. “This is such an Ithaca morning. Coffee and voting.”

*it was requested that her real name not be used.