DC Votes: Evening at the Polls

Note: Come back to Patch after the polls close Tuesday for updated precinct-by-precinct results from your neighborhood polling location.

At Precinct 6 at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts just before 6 p.m. a line of 100-odd parents with children, older residents and students filled the voting hall at Duke Ellington; those stuck waiting in the cold numbered approximately 150.

Voters at Precinct 6 waited in the longest Patch observed all day. Lucky voters at Georgetown's Precinct 5 at Christ Church and Glover Park's Precinct 11 at Guy Mason had moderate waits to vote in the evening and could do so in from the cold.

Residents came out for a range of reasons. Many voters Patch spoke with were focused on the presidential election with little awareness of local races and issues. But there were a fair number who had strong opinions on ethics on the D.C. Council.

Norton Katz, a D.C. voter for 35 years, waited in line for 25 minutes before voting around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Though shorter than many lines people reported throughout the day, he said he had "never seen a line like this."

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Victor Huser, who was standing in line at Christ Church, said, “ethics is big” in this year’s local election. He pulled out a sample ballot from the inside of his jacket and ran his finger over Councilman Michael Brown’s name. He told Patch for him Brown was the reason ethics were such a focus this November.

Katz, who also voted at Christ Church, said integrity at the mayoral level and on the council were very important to him this election.

"I emphatically darkened the oval," for each charter amendment on the ballot he said. The amendments address, or in some opinions fail to address, "gross misconduct" as well as felony convictions among members of the District Council.

Mali Brink, who also listed ethics among her concerns, said she was focused on school reform and “smart” economic growth in the District when selecting candidates. She voted for David Grosso.

What was your election day voting experience like? What brought you out to the polls? Tell us in the comments.

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