From long lines of patient, hushed conversing voters to a rock and roll band with election results flashing behind them, Tuesday was a day of contrasts and contradictions. The 50 percent threshold of voter turnout had been crossed at Lyles Crouch School in Alexandria by 11:15 a.m. where over 1,200 of a possible 2,400 voters had registered their choice. That was mirrored in polling places throughout the City of Alexandria as well as the Mount Vernon/Lee districts of Fairfax County.
Vivian Reinert, assistant chief of elections, at the Fort Belvoir precinct on Telegraph Road, had voters nearing the 1,300 mark by 3:30 p.m. "It's been very busy. The turnout has been heavy from the start. There hasn't been the usual slow down period," she said.
That was buttressed by Katherine Thasen, a poll worker outside the Belvoir polling place. "The turnout is much higher than I have ever seen and I've been doing this a long time. At 5:30 a.m. the line was all the way across the parking lot waiting for the doors to open," she said.
"‘Wow‘ is a good word to describe it. I'm very glad to see all this interest. People have also been very patient and we have the maximum number of voting machines allowed," Thasen said.
By 4 p.m. voters at Lane Elementary School on Beulah Street in Lee District had topped 1,600. "Everything has been going very well although we have had a few small glitches," Richard P. Thompson, assistant chief election officer, said.
"With this large amount of people we are a little short on both voting machines and volunteers. It's definitely the volunteers we could use more of. We got a small break around 1 p.m. but the crowds were building again by a little after 3 p.m.," he said.
When asked what would happen as closing time approached with the long lines, Thompson said, "Anybody who is inside the building at that time will be allowed to vote. If they are outside at 7 p.m. the doors will be closed and the ballgame is over."
THAT MAGIC HOUR also meant it was time to party or not, depending on the results. But for some, it was also time to try something new.
One of the most unusual venues to take in not only election results but also some food, beverages and a live rock and roll band performance was Alexandria's Old Town Theater on King Street. "They're coming because it's a novelty," said Roger Fons, owner, as he welcomed the first patrons to his election night party.
The crowd paid $15 each to watch the results on the big movie screen as well as listen to Kenny Wilson’s rock and roll band, also known as "The Self-Righteous Brothers (and sister)," while enjoying dinner and drinks. Some opted to sit outside at the newly installed tables on King Street to partake of an unusually warm evening before adjourning to music by the numbers.
Fons had a buffet of beef, turkey, and ham sandwiches, salad, sausages, potatoes, cheese and crackers, and cookies on his mezzanine level with two television screens giving results from the networks. Beverages, including beer and wine, were disbursed at the lobby concession area.
"I heard about this and thought it was a great idea and a novel way to spend the evening," said Art Fox of Alexandria. "We also came to support Roger," Arlington resident Amanda Wilson added.
Two Bush supporters, Carrie Staugler of Alexandria and Nathaniel Bolen from Georgia, stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, "wanted to go some place different for the election results" and "heard it was going to be a more bipartisan crowd," they said.
SITTING NEAR THE REAR of the theater's main floor were five women from Alexandria who figured "it was better to be together and have fun rather than just sit home to watch the results." Their loyalties were split, three for Kerry and two for Bush. "But, we'll all still be friends after it's over," they said.
"I walked past at lunch time and saw the sign advertising this, so I figured it would be good to do," Alexandrian Joyce Carter said. She was the organizer of the group and a Kerry supporter.
As to their reaction to the campaign, "Thank heavens it's over." But, Mary La Mantia of Alexandria was a little more specific. "We as adults are supposed to be role models for children. And, here are two grown men acting more like children fighting. I find the candidates and the process, particularly the conventions, embarrassing," she said.
For John T. Adams, III, from the Mount Vernon area of Alexandria, "It was kind of different to come here on a work night and see the returns. I saw it advertised on line and I'm glad I came."
The real draw for Kevin Kelly from Chantilly in deciding to spend election night at the Old Town Theater, as opposed to some bar, was "It's non-smoking and it's a very nice theater. I couldn't go to a bar with all that smoke in the air."
Loyalty to Fons' efforts to revitalize Old Town Theater was what drove Jerry Yost. "I only live a block away and I've been following what Roger is trying to do. This is also a great idea for election night. It's very different."