Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
Snapshots from Valley Polls -- Pretty Pictures for Democrats
"By George Nelson and Andrea WoodYOUNGSTOWN,Ohio -- "This election is over," shouted a Democratic Party operative as he spotted a reporter and pulled his car into a downtown parking garage.Having just come from his polling place at the Stambaugh Golf Course onthe north side of Youngstown, he reported with glee that young blacks -- folks he had never before seen at his poll -- werestanding in line waiting to vote. "With this kind of turnout, it's possible John Kerry could come out of Mahoning County with 70% of the vote," he predicted.Well, not really, said Lisa Antonini, chairwoman of the Mahoning County Democratic Party. "The highest any Democrat has polled in Mahoning County -- that I knowof -- is the 63.9% Michael Dukakis got in 1988," she said.The Business Journal caught upwith Antonini outside the Elizabeth Baptist Church on Youngstown's east side. "Everywhere I go, it's a huge turnout," she reported.At The Rayen School, on the city's north side, as many votes had been castby 10 a.m. as were cast in the 2000 presidential election,according to Antonini.Huge voter turnouts typically favor Democrats -- in Ohio andnationwide. Conventional wisdom holds that Mahoning and Trumbull countiesmust deliver at least 60% of their votes to Kerry to offset bigRepublican majorities downstate.But in the Mahoning County polling places where significant numbers ofvoters are Republicans, voter turnout also is high. At one precinct inCanfield, for example, voters waited 30 minutes to cast their ballots.Said a poll worker, "I've never seen anything like this."In Poland, at Precinct 7 in the Poland Presbyterian Church, nearly 30%of the eligible voters had cast their ballots by 10 a.m. For the firsttime in memory, lines were 40 voters deep and it took 30 minutes toreach the electronic voting machines. In Austintown, Precinct 5 on Kirk Road, a first-time voter said shearrived at her poll at 6:40 a.m. and the line stretched the length ofthe parking lot. She did not reach the head of the line and cast herballot until 7:25. In Niles, voting was steady early this morning at Precinct 4-D, theFirst Baptist Church downtown, with about a dozen ballots cast by7 a.m., although not without some problems. In one instance, a father and son were directed to another precinctwhen they did not appear on the register. Another voter, Gerald MurrayJr., had to cast a provisional ballot likewise when his name wasmissing from the register. "What they figured happened was my son -- he's a third and I'm a junior-- this is his first election and they figure that with him signing upsomehow they cross-referenced the names and canceled mine out," Murraysaid. Despite the situation, he isn't concerned that anything impropertook place."I think it's going to be very close," he said. "My biggest concern isthat every vote counts and that we don't turn into another Florida."Like the other voters interviewed at the downtown Niles precinct by TheBusiness Journal, he voted for Kerry.Richard Tock, a retired plumber, said he had no problems voting but isconcerned about election fraud, and would like to see voting reform. Hewondered whether voters may need identification cards someday to cutdown on fraud. Tock said he is voting for Kerry mainly because heopposes privatization of Social Security, and said he buysmedications by mail order from Canada, saving him $400 every threemonths. A Roman Catholic, he described himself as personally opposed to abortion but in favor of abortion rights. "I think the woman should have that choice to do what shewants," he said.Rocco DiCintio, another voter, said he hopes there won't be any problems with theelection but added that he sees "a big turnout" this year. "I've seenmore people getting out campaigning, even myself," he said. Heacknowledged his vote wasn't exactly for Kerry. "It's just that I don'twant to see Bush on there for another four years," he said.An elderly gentleman who declined to be identified said he wasconcerned about the potential for voter challenges in Ohio, and wasconcerned that the weather might help the Republicans by dampening theelderly turnout. He said he voted for Kerry because of the Iraq war andthe economy.Deborah Kovell was also pleased to see the steady turnout at herprecinct. "Normally it's not this busy in the morning so this is good,"she said. Although she remained concerned about the provisional ballots,she said the poll workers have been here for years and know everybody by their first names. She also was concerned about the economy and theIraq war. "It's very hard for me to give Bush another four years. I just couldn'tdo that," she said. "He has not done anything for us locally. There are too manyfamilies losing homes, selling cars. Families are falling apart. ... Wecan't do this. We can't go from a factory job and put them on a minimumwage job with no benefits. It's not going to work."More Election Coverage:Go to the Polls and Vote, Officials UrgeLocal Elections Officials Ready for Record TurnoutBlack Females Targeted to 'Reclaim Our Democracy'Contact Andrea Wood at [email protected] Nelson at [email protected]"