Voters queue in key swing state
2004-11-02 15:50
Columbus, Ohio - Scores of polarised US voters waited patiently if passionately on Tuesday for the chance to have their say on whether President George W Bush will get a second term in the White House.
In a queue that at snaked far out the door of a church community center just outside the state capital of Ohio, a potentially crucial swing state, Deborah Scott, a 29-year-old law clerk, waited about an hour to cast her ballot.
She said that she, for one, was distressed that Democrat John Kerry might win the US presidency.
Not sure of Kerry
"You might not agree with Bush, but at least you know where he stands," Scott said. "Kerry says he's going to do a lot of things, but he doesn't have a plan for anything."
"He can't possibly raise the money for all the things he wants to do," added Scott, who allowed that if left no other option she she would grudgingly live with a Kerry administration.
Upbeat on Kerry
Shelley Orwick, 24, a university research assistant and a Kerry supporter, was upbeat about chances for the Massachusetts senator, whom most surveys showed in a dead heat with Bush.
Turnout is expected to be key to the outcome.
"I can't believe how many people there are in line. I didn't believe it when they said they were expecting record turnout. They say that every year and it never happens," she marvelled.
Vicki Coyan, 22, a secretary and supporter of independent Ralph Nader, also showed firm commitment to her candidate.
"I'm voting later," Coyan said. "I know its a close election but I didn't want to vote for a candidate I didn't believe in."
'A family affair'
For Cindy Dequenne, 32, a nurse who has family who has served in Iraq, Bush support is a family affair.
"Kerry just gives me the creeps. Im afraid Kerry is going to get elected which is why I'm here today," she told reporters.
Asked about Bush's much-questioned handling of Iraq, Dequenne said: "I have to support him because my family is in the military, and I support whoever my family supports."
156m Americans are eligible to vote in one of the tightest presidential election in recent history.
Although voter turnout is unpredictable, analysts believe it will be markedly higher than the 106m in 2000.
Under the US electoral system, however, it is the candidate who wins at least 270 out of 538 Electoral College votes who wins the election - in 2000 Bush won the Electoral College vote despite losing the popular vote by more than half a million votes to then vice president Al Gore.
Opinion polls show the race to be tight. Five surveys gave Bush a statistically insignificant lead of one or two points while Fox News showed Kerry leading by two points and the American Research Group had a 48-48 percent tie.