St. Louis' eighth ward shows enthusiastic volunteer presence

SAINT LOUIS, Mo. --Increased voter excitement and turnout was noticeable at a polling place in the eighth ward.

Alderman of the eighth ward Stephen Conway (D) said he had been traveling around visiting many of the eighth ward’s polls and noticed a change in voters this year.

“As a percentage everybody’s coming out so I would just say it’s probably about 15 to 20 percent higher than normal,” Conway said. 

Conway said he thinks the increase in voter turnout is not due to any single issue, but rather the intensity of this year’s presidential campaigns.

“It’s just a dramatic difference in two candidates and a perception of which way the country wants to go,” Conway said.  “It’s the top of the ballot I would say that the vast majority of people coming out are looking at.”

Conway said he not only noticed an increase in numbers at the polls, but also a boost in eagerness among voters.  He attributes much of what he calls “voters feeling positive about the election” to unusual amounts of zeal from volunteers working for each of the campaigns.

“Four years ago we had various groups working for Kerry and Liebermann and they did much of the same things the Obama people are doing this time, but they didn’t get as much people out as they have today,” Conway said.

Poll workers said there was a rush of voters earlier this morning and many poll officials anticipated another surge around 6 p.m., when many voters get off work. At this particular precinct, it was estimated that about half of today’s voters were first time voters. 

Volunteers campaigning for Sen. Barack Obama were present in the eighth ward.  Though they were unable to comment about the day’s events, there were roughly 10 Obama volunteers outside the poll, offering assistance, fliers and encouragement to voters.

Frank Gianella, a democratic volunteer for the eighth ward, was among those stationed outside the ninth precinct poll.  Gianella said he had been handing out sample ballots to voters for nearly four hours and was set to stay until the polls closed at 7 p.m.

“There seem to be a lot more folks,” Gianella said.  “There’s a wide span – the whole gamut. … People from all over.”