Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Mama's right again: Vote
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Shanna Flowers is The Roanoke Times' metro columnist.
Shanna Flowers
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Sure, the nation's pressing issues are the crumbling economy, health care and the Iraq war.
But at the Lockett household in Roanoke, the No. 1 issue of the 2008 presidential campaign was convincing 19-year-old Brittanee Lockett to register to vote in her first election.
"My mama kept saying, 'Your vote counts,' " said Lockett, who will attend Virginia Western in January. "I'd say, 'Oh well.' "
Mom won. About 10:30 a.m. Monday, Lockett joined the steady stream of folks filing into local voter registration offices to meet the deadline to vote in the November election.
The 2008 presidential race between John McCain and Barack Obama has engaged voters in a way that hasn't been seen in decades.
Obama's nomination marks the first time a black man has had a serious shot at the White House. Sarah Palin makes history as the first woman on a Republican ticket. She could be the first female vice president.
Couple that with the teetering economy that has hit Americans' pocketbooks, and folks feel compelled to help decide the nation's political fate on Nov. 4.
"Watching the stock market go down ... this morning -- if that doesn't motivate you to vote, I don't know what will," said Patrick Lynch, 33, as he stood outside Roanoke County's voter registration office.
Lynch, who voted in California and Texas in past presidential races, was registering for the first time in Virginia.
He was among residents visiting the county office. At Roanoke's satellite voter registration desk at the Department of Motor Vehicles at Crossroads Mall, other would-be voters kept city workers Christine Amos and Gloria Jernigan busy.
Some, such as Rachel Lawhorn, who is undecided, went to the DMV to switch her address to Roanoke County from Salem, where she lived during the last election.
Rodney Cousins, also undecided, had to register because in 2004, he was living in Oregon. Dawn Wilson, who said she supports Obama and who voted under her maiden name in 2004, wanted to make sure her name was correct.
"It's really been busy for two or three months," said Amos, who runs the city's registration desk at the DMV. The closer the deadline, the busier Amos became.
"Oh my Lord," she said of last week. Monday, she processed 151 voters; 83 on Tuesday; 94 on Thursday; 154 on Friday and 155 during the four hours the office was open Saturday.
At Roanoke County, Judy Stokes said she did not have a daily tally because she gets voter forms in the mail as well as walk-ins.
But the past two weeks have been extremely busy, Stokes said.
As of Sept. 30, Virginia had registered nearly 350,000 new voters this year. Final figures will be available next week.
Lynch said he is excited about voting in Virginia. He previously voted in California, which tends to go Democrat in presidential races, and in Texas, which tends to go Republican.
Voting in Virginia will have more suspense, he said, because it could be a swing state this year.
Lynch said he plans to vote for Obama.
As she stood outside the county registrar's office, Arthurine Turner declared herself undecided.
"I'm confused right now," she said. Both men have traits that she likes.
Shirley Burke cast her absentee ballot for John McCain because she will be on a cruise to France on Nov. 4.
"I think he's on the road to something good, and I think Palin is a breath of fresh air," she said.
Across town at the DMV, Cousins declared he "had no idea" who will get his vote.
"The more I listen to them, the more undecided I am."
