By Ivan Pereira
Even though polling sites in southeast Queens were packed with voters on Election Day, politically active residents took to the streets to make one final push to get out the vote for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Dozens of volunteers manned the phones, went door to door and even drove motorcades to remind eligible voters that Tuesday was their day to make a difference in the historical election. Obama, the first black candidate to be nominated for president, drew more than 52 percent of the vote in the 6th Congressional District, which covers southeast Queens, in the Democratic presidential primary against Hillary Clinton in February, according to the city’s Board of Elections.
At Obama’s Springfield Gardens headquarters campaign workers were taking in feedback from residents to see if polling stations were running efficiently.
Bonty Defoe, a coordinator at the office, said she was amazed at the high turnout among voters, especially among the younger crowd.
“We had people wrapped around the block in some places,” she said.
Defoe added that voters young and old turned out to vote.
Throughout the streets of Jamaica, motorists with Obama posters taped to their windows and hoods honked their horns around polling places while parents and their children walked the streets in Obama apparel.
The Election Day momentum carried over from weeks of campaign efforts on behalf of the Illinois senator, some of which were organized by Queens leaders, to reach voters in and out of the borough.
City Councilman James Sanders (D−Laurelton) and U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D−Jamaica) have organized bus trips to keystone voting states, such as Pennsylvania and Ohio, to rally support for Obama.
The campaign office organized one last spurt with a special caravan trip to Philadelphia on Election Day to persuade voters to cast their ballots for Obama.
“People are really excited,” Defoe said.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e−mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 146.
