Across the U.S., an Election Day like no other

‘See you in November’
"I just feel we live in this country, we should exercise our rights, you know?" said David Turow, an accountant who has served as an election judge since he was 18. As voters left the restaurant, he called after them cheerily: "See you in November."

In Fayetteville, N.Y., 54-year-old sales representative Walt Klingerman, a disappointed former supporter of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, went with McCain.

"I think he also has a better sense of what war is about than the other candidates," he said. "I think he can make the tough decisions about Iraq, and I think he will know how to work with Congress."

The open field — the first since 1952 in which the ballots were missing a sitting president or vice president — had voters plotting some mind-bending hypothetical strategies.

In Grayslake, Ill., where voting took place outside a restored barn, Steve Greenberg couldn't decide between Obama and Clinton — so he went with McCain.

"If the Democrats lost, I'd be more comfortable with him," he said.

For Jamelle Chadwick, a stay-at-home mother in Sandy, Utah, Romney's Mormonism made the difference.

"The standards are important in leadership, like integrity, honesty and hard work," she said, adding that Romney's experience is another plus. "He knows how to solve problems."

Some last-minute deciders
And others were conflicted mere minutes before they cast their ballots.

Outside a public school in Brooklyn, Carolyn Grant knew she wanted a Democrat to "clean up the mess" left by President Bush but could not decide which one. She sipped coffee and said her head ached. Ultimately, she went with Obama.

"Hillary is probably politics as usual," she concluded. "I think Obama will do things differently."

Daniel Schereck, a 33-year-old project manager discussing the election at a San Francisco playground named for Joe DiMaggio, said he opted for Clinton because his key issue was universal health insurance.

Plus, "I know where she stands on the issues," he said. "I would happily have voted for Obama if I knew what he stood for other than change."

Change — it had long since become the buzzword, used by candidates on both sides, for a contest to decide who should follow Bush's eight years in office.

And it was not lost on Gina Nunez, who has never missed an election, primary or general, and found herself at that same Methodist church in Phoenix on Tuesday to vote before anyone else in her precinct — even before Mona Reese.

Nunez, an Obama supporter, is 43 years old and knows the routine. Still, she said she could not wait to vote this time.

"It just feels like something new's going to happen," she said. "Something different's going to happen with whoever we get."

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