America votes

On November 2nd nearly 120 million Americans went to the polls to vote for a new president. Over 200,000 of these voters were in the nation’s capital, Washington DC, and at peak times many had to wait for several hours to cast their ballot.

Although George W. Bush won the popular vote nationally, there were wide variations at a local level. In the District of Columbia 90% of voters wanted Senator Kerry to be the next president.

Feeling nervous about the outcome of the election, early in the morning voters passed the time by reading or drinking coffee.

For some it was difficult to contemplate the idea of another four years of President Bush.

But optimism was also in the air.

People hoped they would see a new president the following day.

Many gays and lesbians voted in this part of Washington DC. President Bush’s opposition to gay marriage was a vote winner in some parts of the USA, but not here.

Rap star “P Diddy” launched a campaign to get young voters to the polls with the strap line “Vote or Die”.

97% of African Americans in DC voted for Senator Kerry.

Unfortunately for the majority of voters in Washington DC, their optimism was misplaced.