JaxVotes – News4Jax’s Election Blog

I just interviewed Duval County’s oldest citizen and voter. Blanche Cobb first voted for President Harry Truman in 1945 and she hasn’t missed an election. She’s an African-American and was born in 1900. She says she never thought she’d live to see an African-American as a presidential nominee.

For one of my stories today I went to Ed White Highschool and talked with seniors in the AP Government class. This is a big night for them because they’ve been studying all aspects of the presidential election process for weeks. They’ve studied up on the political leanings of each state, what makes an effective campaign ad, the accuracy of polls and more.
The teacher took a show of hands vote and 13 students want Obama to win, 3 voted for McCain and 3 still undecided.
Only a few of the students are 18 and able to vote, but they’re thrilled that they can cast a vote and weigh on on this historical 2008 election.

I drove by the Ponte Vedra library today where early voting signs are up, and a lot of people thought they could still vote on Sunday in St Johns County. People showed up, then left dissapointed, knowing they will likely face long lines on Tuesday!

The parking lot at the Wesconnett Library on 103rd is jam packed. Voters tell us they waited in line about and hour and 10 minutes to vote. They say someone recently repaired the machine, but still it is rejecting the ballots multiple times before it will show the vote has registered.
Some voters tell us they’re worried that the machine troubles could lead to problems down the road.
One woman said she came to vote, but left because she’s too nervous that her vote won’t be counted.
She plans to come back in a few days.
An elderly woman told us she hasn’t seen long lines like these since the 1970’s and that was on Election Day.
While many seemed frustrated by the wait and the problems with the machines, many were happy with the high voter turnout on the first day of early voting.