Heroes of Democracy

"For that night, that moment, this country was someplace I was proud to call home," writes library worker Vivien Lorelied in her account of the determined voters at the Shepard Branch Library in Columbus, Ohio— one of the precincts severely shortchanged of voting machines because Republican officials could predict the community's commitment to save the country from George W. Bush.

Here is Lorelied's complete account, of people who show why democracy is worth fighting for:

I arrived 15 minutes late for my 4:00PM shift due to my own two hour wait for voting to find myself squeezing through our small lobby which was lined up on both sides with people.  I could see the line was out of the door, but I couldn't stop to look because my pressence was taking up the only remaining room in the lobby.  Once I was inside, I snuck a peek out of the children's room window.  The line wrapped around the building and out beyond a point past which I couldn't see.

You would think that with all of that waiting, people would have been irritable, but the holiday-like atmosphere drifted even into the library side of the building.  People stood around grumbling, sure, but more than once I also heard a determined,  "No one is going to stop us from voting," despite the drizzle-like rain that poured relentlessly from the sky.

Shortly after the interview shown in the video mentioned in your article, the rain really began to pour and the library staff couldn't take watching all of these people stand in the rain, so we made an executive decision to let them into the library side of the building.  Even with them snaked around the outside of the room, however, people were stil standing outside.

The mood was absolutely electric with all of the people there.  The line moved incredibly slowly, children wandered around, and people kept wondering out loud whether anyone would give them the dinner they missed.  Fortunately, a group of volunteers - I'm not sure from where - came in shortly after with a box of fruit and crackers and bottles of water.

During all of this, some people came into the library dressed nicely and sporting badges.  Since we were already bending the rules to let people stand inside, the security office decided to ask why they were there.  The two men and a woman pleasantly introduced themselves as international observers, the main speaker being from Denmark, the other two did not say.  They were merely watching the proceedings, and, after a few questions and few minutes drifted back out of the library and over into the meeting room in which people were voting.

Unfortunately, by 8:00PM the line still snaked completely around the room and out of the door and it was our official closing time.  The security officer had to tell people they had to go back outside since the library was closing.  This was met by some hostility from people who thought this was a gimmick to get them to leave without voting.  We patiently explained to them that if they were in line at 7:00PM they would still get to vote but that we had to close the library at 8:00.

As we were preparing the library to close after the last disgruntled person shuffled out - I'm pretty sure that no one left because of us kicking them out, but I can't be sure - one of the people running the voting came over to beg us to keep the library open.  Without authority from the library director we couldn't, so, with the volunteer's pleading, we called the director and she gave us the go-ahead.  Two employees - including myself - and the security office volunteered to stay and keep a watch on the place.

The people grumbled as we brought them in a second time, but the grumbling was less scathing since they were once again out of the rain.  
The food was distributed once more and people stood around talking about how Bush was a stupid idiot.  (This is not an exaggeration.  After the votes were cast, the totals were placed in the window.  Bush got vote totals in the teens while Kerry got vote totals in the hundreds.)

Since we were already following the returns on the Internet, we decided to pull the television out from the break room and let everyone in line watch as totals were coming in.  The images were bleak as early returns went into the Bush camp.  I heard one woman exclaim,  "Well no wonder he got Kentucky, they still hang us N@#%$#@ there!"  In the face of overwhelming red, a spontaneous chant began of  "Go Kerry, Go Kerry!"

By the time the last person had left the library area I felt a little high, excited and hopeful.  I just knew that Kerry was going to win if these people were any indication.  The time was almost 9:30PM and I felt like that by staying just a little while longer than I would normally I did my own little part to help.  The feeling would be crushed not too long after, replaced by anger and resentment, but for that night, that moment, this country was someplace I was proud to call home.