SOUTH MADISON COUNTY — Grace Bennett, 22, of Lapel waited five hours to cast a ballot Tuesday at the Lapel Lions Club building.
It was her first time voting.
Was it worth it?
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“Yeah, it was,” she said, exiting the polling station after 3 p.m. “It feels good to have done it.”
That was the prevailing mood at several polling locations in South Madison County, where the waits to cast a ballot were often hours long — about five hours in some locations Tuesday afternoon.
The top of the ticket — the presidential race — was what was on people’s minds. Several people asked couldn’t name another race they were thinking about.
Judy Gilliatt and Angie Retz were in line at Pendleton Christian Church, facing a more than three-hour wait at about 4 p.m.
The wait didn’t matter to them, they said. They always vote and would wait however long it took.
Jeff Gardner, in the same line, said he always votes and chooses straight ticket. No exception this time.
Kelly Ginder, voting at Adams Markleville Fire Territory where the line also was estimated at about five hours at 5 p.m., said this is an important election for him because as he gets older he increasingly thinks about the children and grandchildren, and what the future holds for them.
He also votes out of civic duty and a respect for the past.
At Ingalls, Mike and Patty Danford were last to get in line at 6 p.m. and planned to hold out to cast their ballots.
They’d driven by a few times during the day checking out the lines, and finally had to commit.
Mike said he thought it was important for people to vote and be heard “with all the unrest” in the country.
“Yes, it’s very important.”
Georgia Parker, vice president of the Ingalls Towns Council, exited the poll at town hall just before 6 p.m. after waiting five hours to vote.
Parker, a precinct committeewoman who wasn’t working Election Day, said despite the long line, everyone who was there by 6 p.m. will get to vote.