Alamance County voters reflect on past elections

by Rebecca Wetherbee

Nov. 4, 2008

 

The polls in Alamance County, N.C., were relatively quiet this Election Day.  Residents of Gibsonville, Elon and Burlington trickled in and out of the polls from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. to cast their ballots.  To the uninformed, it would be a dreary sight.  But according to a poll worker at Burlington No. 6, nearly 800 people voted early at that location. 

The voters who did show up on Election Day were dedicated and mostly eager to reminisce.  Roy Harris, who was volunteering at Burlington No. 6, voted for the first time in 1949 when he turned 21.  “I wanted to finally participate,” he said, and he has been an active voter ever since. 

Marianne Roarick, who also worked at Burlington No. 6, voted and worked at the polls for the first time in 1952 during the race between Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. 

The Eisenhower election was the first for Peggy Smith, as well.  Though she’s been voting for many years now, she said this year’s race is one of the most exciting in which she has participated.  “I’ve never seen one this big,” she said.   

T. Frank Bennett, a poll worker at the West Boone location, agreed.  “I think this is one of the more important elections that’s taken place within the past 20, 25 years or so,” he said.

Rhonda Talley, who voted at North Boone, cannot remember her first election but knows that “this one, by far, has the most hype.” 

Bill Gailey, also at North Boone, thinks “all [elections] have serious ramifications.”  He voted for the first time in the 1956 race between Eisenhower and Stevenson.   

Sondra Aheron, a poll worker at Burlington No. 6, cited Kennedy’s election as one of the most thrilling.  “That was a new beginning, a new time for us.” 

Jane Beck, who voted for the first time in 1960, recalled that the Truman/Dewey election was memorable for her even as a child.  “That was the one where we went to bed thinking it was Dewey, and when we woke up it was Truman.” 

At the West Boone location, Steve Harrison electioneered for the Democratic ticket.  “I voted for the first time in 1980,” he said, “back when I was a misinformed Republican.”  Though he skipped voting during his years in the army, he has been politically active for most of his adult life, and now writes for the liberal blog site BlueNC. 

LaRue Southern, who stood with Harrison outside West Boone, voted for the first time in the 1970s to please her brother.  “He would twist your arm,” she said.  But she was glad he convinced her to participate.  “That’s my privilege.  That’s why I’ve been here since 6:30 in the morning.” 

Husband and wife Lisa and David Coble, who voted at the West Boone location, influence each other to stay active.  “We always vote together,” Mrs. Coble said.  They voted for the first time in the 1992 race between George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. 

For Ken Washington, pressure to get active was mostly internal.  He went to the polls for the first time in 1988 when George H.W. Bush won against Michael Dukakis.  “I was getting older and thought I should be more responsible,” he said. 

The 1992 race was the first for Diogenes Hatzisavvas.  “I became a U.S. citizen in 1988,” he said, “so it was my first opportunity to vote.” 

Though at least five people questioned could not remember their first election, their continued participation remains most important.  For the rest of the poll workers and voters who braved the rain this Election Day, casting their ballot is a routine that hardly gets old.