A Vote Like No Other

As they exchanged the tallies at the end of the night, volunteers at the Dome Arena in Henrietta, one of the many polling stations in Monroe County Election Night, a trend was clearly defined.

Votes had been cast for the Presidential race and none of the others on the ballot.

Inspectors had seen it coming when they had witnessed more first-time voters (many of whom were of lesser means) and more young voters than ever before.

At one point, nine developmentally disabled young adults were shepherded to the poll. One man led them to the registration desk, and then, one-by-one, to the ballot. A single lever was pulled each time. All ten people were African-American.

In a record turnout day for voting across the country, some of the 100 million who cast their ballot learned how to vote for the first time.

Lines in battleground states wound around buildings. In the Rochester area, lines formed, but never led to more than a half-hour or 45 minute wait. And most started in the pre-dawn hours.

At the Dome Center, 100 lined up at 5 a.m. Business was steady through the dinner hour and then, in the normally hectic span of 7-9 p.m., the torrent turned to a trickle.

Four million more people voted for Barack Obama than John McCain, but more people voted for McCain than most any other presidential candidate in American history.

What may be debated for a while is how long the Obama coattails truly were for non-Republican candidates who'd hoped to see their levers pulled by an energized electorate.