'It was an emotion-filled day. A day that meant more than making sure a vote was cast.'

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October 21, 2008

Early voters pack polls Monday in Tallahassee, Fla.


FAMU President James Ammons leads FAMU students as they march to the Leon County Courthouse to take advantage of early voting Monday Oct. 20, 2008 in Tallahassee, Fla. The university was holding a Wake Up the Vote 2008 Rally and March.


LEON COUNTY'S first day for early voting broke records, Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho said Monday. But just how Republican and Democratic parties rallied voters to the polls differed.

Democrats relied on grass-roots operations similar to the Florida A&M University march, in which an estimated 800 students, faculty, staffers and administrators arrived from the campus to vote at the courthouse, according to FAMU Police Chief Calvin Ross.



Jibari Daniels, 22, said, "I'm voting for Barack Obama. He's just the person that can (create) change in America right now. We're the future of this nation. McCain ... basically has the same policies of the last eight years, and right now, we don't need that."

While getting the word out appeared to pilot early voting for Sen. John McCain's camp, emotion and a sense of making history fueled the majority of the marchers who supported Sen. Barack Obama. It was an emotion-filled day. A day that meant more than making sure a vote was cast. Nineteen-year-old student Rushad Thomas quickly brushed the tears from his eyes but their tell-tale redness showed his emotion as he joined fellow students at the courthouse.

Rushad, an Obama supporter, said, "I'm a first-time voter and the first person that I can vote for — for president of the United States — is an African-American man. That is such a powerful thing to me. When I vote I can feel the spirits of my ancestors and all the famous people from the civil-rights movement who fought and died for my right to vote."


article: http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20081021/NEWS01/810210351/1010/NEWS01

[trashcanistanista]

1. Very poignant and so true. Thank you for posting.

I am voting absentee so I can get emotional in the privacy of my home. I feel exactly the same way as the students.

[tblue]

2. There is no overestimating the sense of healing this victory would bring.

And hope. And renewed spirits. And rededication to this country, to all of its people, to our future, to overcoming every challenge. There is no way to overstate the grand impact and the tidal wave of pride and joy this would bring. No way. It will be beyond words.

[bigtree]

3. It was a day virtually unremarked on by DU

:kick: