Norcross Votes: Mid-Day Polls Update

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Despite the rain, huge rushes of people were at this morning's polling locations in Norcross.

"We were here at [Hopewell Baptist Church at] 8 a.m., thinking the people who were already going to go to work were already gone," said Norcross resident Alice Vander Veen. "[The line] went all the way around the sidewalk, and it was pouring rain, and everybody had umbrellas. We thought, 'We're not going to do it.'"

But Vander Veen came back at 1 p.m. to vote with virtually no line to wait in. Polling Manager C.A. DeBord said it was the first time all day where she's had a break, and where no one had to wait outside in order to vote.

More than 800 people had voted so far at her precinct as of that time, too, she added.

As for whom people were voting for, many of the people Patch spoke with voted for the incumbent president.

"I voted for Barack Obama and Joe Biden," said Ebone Adou, a Norcross resident. "I voted because every little bit helps. If you listen to the debate, you'll be able to focus on what you like and what you don't like."

On the state level, Robert Combs and Donna Passaro, also of Norcross, voiced that they voted against the Charter School Amendment.

"I don't want to pay for rich people to send their kids to private school," said Passaro.

"I personally have a problem with private school," said Combs. "If everybody has to send their kids to public school, and if all public schools get the same amount of money from the state, not the district, it would raise the level of education overall."

In the local Norcross City Council election where there are two opposed races, voters have been steadily coming in, said Polling Officer Monique Lang. As of 1:30 p.m. in city hall, 383 people had voted Tuesday,  and that vote count doesn't include the 300-something early votes the city had already received, said Long. 

Exiting the poll, James Pledger voiced that he voted for candidates Keith Shewbert and incumbent David McLeroy as opposed to their opponents, Arlene Beckles and Ross Kaul.

"These elections in Norcross are always very close, and you want to give other people a chance to work in the city council," said Pledger about Shewbert. "This council is very active, and you need new people and new blood running for office. ... That's why I voted for Shewbert. He's a different guy."

Pledger explained that he lives in the recently annexed part of Buford Highway, so this election is the first time he's able to vote in a local city race.

"It's our chance to come up here and have a voice in the government," he said.

Another voter said her votes went the opposite way, though, and instead to Beckles and incumbent Ross Kaul.

"With Arlene [Beckles], nobody volunteers in this city more than she does. She's phenomenal," the voter said. "She gives so many hours and cares so much about this city, and it's geniune."

She added that she voted for Kaul because of his support for teachers, and she also knows him personally.

A third voter told Patch that she casted her vote for both the incumbents, McLeroy and Kaul. She said she didn't know Shewbert, but Kaul had made a call to her Norcross home once and the gesture impressed her. McLeroy is a personal friend of hers, too.

Who did you vote for in today's election, whether it's on the local, county, state or national level? Tell us in the comments.

See also:

• How Did Norcross Vote in the 2008 Presidential Election?
• What You Need to Know to Cast Your Vote Tuesday
• Norcross City Council Election Roundup

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