2004 Presidential Election, November 2, 2004, by Elisabeth Shoop

From MemoryArchive

Who: Elisabeth Shoop
What: My first election
When: November 2, 2004
Where: Washington, DC

I turned 18 in November of 2003, so the 2004 Presidential Election was the first time I could vote. Well, technically the first time I could vote was the Democratic Primary in 2004; and I voted then. However, the Florida primary was after Super Tuesday, so my ballot was mostly symbolic.

For the General Election, I had to vote absentee because I was in Washington, DC at school. I sent in my ballot at least a month early. I may be a little dorky, but it was really exciting. Also, Florida does not have the best reputation for counting absentee ballots, so I wanted to make sure mine got there in time.

When Election Day rolled around I was really kind of nervous. I was pulling for John Kerry for president, but even more importantly, Betty Castor for the United States Senate. My apartment building hosted a party so we all gathered around a big screen television downstairs and watched the results come in. I was crushed when the Senatorial results came in. Mel Martinez beat out Betty. At that time, Kerry was also pretty far behind, so I was pretty sad in general. I actually cried a little.

Around midnight, I was tired of waiting for Ohio’s votes to be verified, so I went to bed. In the morning I found out what I had known would happen. George W. Bush had been elected for a second term. Hopefully, 2008 will turn out better.