By Jacqueline Hlavenka
Within a three-mile radius on Hempstead Turnpike, polling results varied drastically in Uniondale, Hempstead and East Meadow after a damp, rainy Super Tuesday in Nassau County, as voters spoke their minds and cast their ballots.
Though voters favored Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) overall in Nassau, polling results show the divide between each village, according to the Nassau County Board of Elections.
Clinton received 1,635 votes in the Village of Hempstead, where Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) earned 63 percent with 3,065 voters. In the Republican primary, McCain had 47 percent of the votes in Hempstead, with Mitt Romney at 18 percent and Huckabee trailing at 16 percent, earning only 125 votes.
At the University, students registered to vote at their dorm address were directed to vote at its nearest polling location, the California Avenue Elementary School in Uniondale, approximately three blocks south of C.V. Starr Hall, as a part of the University’s “Educate ’08” campaign. In the Student Center, the University Relations department conducted student surveys as volunteers distributed buttons, T-shirts and educational pamphlets about the importance of Super Tuesday.
Students would vote in between classes or catch a ride on the Blue Beetle, providing a special route to the California Avenue polls for the day.
“Number one, Obama is very promising,” said Landeric Perric, a junior drama major at the University, after casting his vote. “The issues about health care, education and immigration are important. I feel he is equipped to tackle these issues in the upcoming presidential race.”
Perric came out to the polls in the morning at the California Avenue School in Uniondale, where Obama took 52 percent and McCain 42 percent, according to a precinct-by-precinct guide from Newsday.com.
Earlier in the week, the McCain campaign built-up steam at the Nassau County Republican Headquarters where former U.S. senator Al D’Amato endorsed John McCain in Westbury. Volunteers came out to see New York GOP Chairman Joe Mondello and Chairman Ed Cox speak about how local residents can get the community involved in the campaign.
“There’s lots of enthusiasm with young people for this campaign,” Cox said. “His story appeals to them. When everyone else said ‘let’s get out of Iraq’, he stood strong. Young people react to that.”
In East Meadow, Clinton led with 76 percent of the vote, with Obama at 22 percent. McCain topped the Republican primary with 1,163 votes.
Though the results varied from town to town, each voter had their own story to tell.
Student Government President Brent Weitzberg, a sophomore political science major, admired Hillary Clinton for her experience and leadership skills.
“She’s for international policy, she supports Israel, her stance on education and gay rights and abortion are important,” Weitzberg said in Studio A, Dempster Hall at the University’s “Super Monster Primary Watch Party” with free food, beverages and complete coverage on five flat-screen televisions.
Members of the Hofstra for Obama group watched and read election results online at the party as Obama took Georgia and Delaware at 8 p.m. and his home state, Illinois at 9 p.m. on Tuesday evening.
“He truly inspires us as a generation,” said Robb Friedlander, a freshman supporter of Obama. “We could come together and Democrats, Independents and Republicans can work together. Out of all the candidates up there, Obama was against the war to begin with.” Friedlander, a Kansas native, submitted his vote by absentee ballot.
At Eisenhower Park, Veronica Guerad, inspector of the elections, said she couldn’t “reveal” who she voted for, but was able to drop some hints.”Do you want the truth or a lie?” she said, moving her hands onto her hips, with a laugh. “I voted for the lesser of two evils.”
As a Queens native, Guerad originally supported former New York City Mayor Guiliani based on how he handled the city and the terrorist attack on 9/11. After growing up through the Great Depression and World War II, she believes the New York Primary is a crucial vote for young voters to understand.
“The generations before this-your mothers, fathers and grandparents fought for this country,” she said. “We established unions. We picketed in the streets. We can’t have that slip.”