Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Voters kept pouring into the polling booths past the 8 p.m. deadline in a number of precincts across the country, some of which chose to extend their polling cut-off times to 9:30 p.m.

In addition, some of the swing states, such as Ohio, proved too close to call early Wednesday morning when Bush had 254 electoral votes against Kerry's 252 electoral votes.

"Well, we never thought it would be anything but close," said Steve Preminger, chair of the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, which had gathered at 2102 Almaden Rd. in San Jose for what they hoped would be a "victory party."

However, as the night progressed without a fi nal election result, some partygoers felt that the triumphant atmosphere whittled away to a faint hope for victory.

Justin Marlaire, a political science alumnus of San Jose State University, said the democratic spirit was "lukewarm."

"You watch all these states from the East Coast come in for Bush, and if you look at the map it shows a lot of red," Marlaire said. "Florida is certainly depressing. I was pulling for Kerry to get Florida."

Kerry supporters showed more enthusiasm over the local results as they cheered on some of the local democratic candidates, such as Ira Ruskin, Joe Coto and Nancy Pyle.

Nancy Pyle, the democratic district 10 City Council candidate, who at 10 p.m. Tuesday was ahead with 52.82 percent of the vote compared to opponent Rich De La Rosa, who had 47.07 percent, said she felt pretty confident although she did not expect the final results until the early morning hours.

Pyle said she felt a close similarity to Kerry.

"I have kind of been the Seabiscuit of this race, just like Kerry has been the Seabiscuit of the presidential race," Pyle said.

She said this presidential election is the most important election in recent history.

"We need to send a message to the entire world that we are thoughtful in selecting our government leaders," Pyle said. "We want to be seen as the leaders of peace, not war. And we want our leader to be seen as a person who wants to work with other leaders."

As of midnight Wednesday, Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters had registered 865,271 voters, out of which it had counted 407,136 voters or 47.05 percent, representing 39.87 percent of the precincts and 7.18 percent of absentee ballots. In Santa Clara County as of midnight, Kerry had with 63.62 percent of the votes soundly defeated Bush who had 34.89 percent of the votes.

Earlier on election night at the democratic party, a relaxed, goodspirited crowd sporting a range of outfi ts from slacks, shirts and ties to shorts and rugged T-shirts would periodically erupt in applauds as Kerry inched his way closer to the presidential post, picking up electoral votes from such power states as California.

However, as the uncertainty over key states such as Ohio grew larger, many started to drop off from the party. A gasp of disappointment struck across the room as CNN announced that Bush had taken Florida.

Ahmad Chapman, chair of the College Democrats at SJSU who had predicted Kerry as the winner with 294 electoral votes to Bush's 240, said he was disappointed that Kerry did not take Florida but felt that as long as Ohio panned out in favor of Kerry, he would still win.

He said although the polling returns were developing about as he had expected, he did not think people would find out the final result on Tuesday.

"I think if 2000 hadn't happened, we might have had a decision tonight," Chapman said.

He said although the votes appeared to go to Bush early on, many of the key democratic states are counted later on.

"So there is still hope," he said.

Sarah Fields, the vice president for the College Democrats at SJSU, said the election is especially important as it will determine what ideology the nation will practice in the following years.

"If Kerry wins, the focus is going to be on more international cooperation and a more international way of foreign policy," Fields said. "(If Bush wins), he'll feel real empowered and there will be more of the same. He'll feel more confi dent about the direction he is going and it is not going to be positive results."

Nancy Dellamattera, a volunteer for the Democratic Party, said she also thought the election would depend on Ohio.

"It is going to be tense in Ohio," she said. "The Republican strategy of suppressing the votes seems to be having an affect."

She said although Florida might spur some controversy again, the polling count would be closely monitored this time and therefore the state would avoid the same spectacle as in 2000.

"It was easier to make it seem as if it was only a few people whining about the vote, but we have learned more since then," Dellamattera said.

John Comiskey, another volunteer, said the polling returns were developing the way he expected.

"It is going to be a long night, but the turnout is high which is good for democrats," Comiskey said.

He said he felt confi dent that the fi nal results would make the democrats victorious.

Terry Christensen, a professor in the political science department, said although Bush's lead had many worried, he felt it was too soon to project who would win the swing states.

"I'm not surprised," he said, "But as a Kerry supporter, I'm disappointed."

Christensen said the outcome of the election would have a dramatic impact for the country irrespective of who wins the presidency.

"The country is so divided that there is going to be great bitterness on either side," Christensen said. "But I think that Kerry has greater potential to bring the country together again."

He said it would be harder for Bush to reunite a polarized country because many people voted for Kerry because of dislike toward Bush.

Christensen said although it seemed as if young voters turned out in record numbers, they might not have been enough to sway the election in favor of the democrats.