We read all about how young people were going to the polls in record numbers this year. What were they getting when they got there? Marissa and Nicole filed reports from the trenches.

Marissa Monroy

I went to the LA Gay and Lesbian Center, a damn fine polling place.

Last election one of our editors voted in a neighbor’s garage, it was all about the smell of oil and a thousand ancient magazines. He says it was unadorned, the American Apparel of polling places. This place, though, the LAGL Center, was mint, all voting booths, flags, techno, biceps and handbags. Kidding. I asked people what got them to come out and vote.

This is Brandi Griffith and her roommate Jennifer Russakoff. Jenni twisted Brandi’s arm to vote. Brandi was a vote virgin: “We’re doing this together. It’s my first time.”

Rene Rivera, in the photo on the left, just turned 18 and was celebrating by exercising one of his rights as a near-adult American. Eighteen is semi-adult territory, because now he can vote, smoke, join the Armed Services. At 21 he’s full adult, so he can drink and rent a car. On the right is Paul Draber. He was cool. He had no doubts: “I’m voting because I want to change the world.”

Nicole Middleton

I took some photos from my polling station, and then a polling station at a dorm on campus.

It was such an exciting day yesterday if you paid attention to the media. What I noticed was that if you weren’t tuned into CNN or watching TV, where there was a campaign ad on almost every single commercial break on every channel, or listening to news radio, then there was this overriding calmness during the day and into the evening. I don’t know, maybe it was the heat. But here in California there didn’t seem to be any huge frustrations with polling machines or painstakingly long lines.

And I think except in regard to the propositions, most Californians already had a feeling about the outcome. Or I think people just wanted to sit on it, and see how the outcome fanned out. I think there was way more excitement the day after, Wednesday, especially at work. But there wasn’t the emotional rollercoaster like last election, where everyone was on edge the whole day. Well at least not in this state.

I definitely had a throwback voting experience. My polling place was in the hood so I didn’t experience the new, high-tech voting machines that everyone is buzzing about. The poll workers were four sweet elderly women that reminded me of my grandma. I was the only one at the poll when I went to vote that was below the age of 50 (but that was at 2pm).

My friend at a polling station about a mile away from mine said she saw the same thing. Her demo was a little bit more upper class, but still 35 and up. She saw maybe 3 or 4 people our age.

I would say 2/3 of my college brethren said they voted. In fact, the college dorm polling station had about a 20-min wait from 12 pm till closing time. With this election and the election 2004 it does feel like voting among college students is going up. But among young people not in school, I can’t say.

A satisfying day. Even though everything didn’t go the way I wanted to, it was better than the feeling I got last election when I just knew the world was comin’ to an end.