Election Day lively all along North Shore

LYNN-Strategies used to reach voters on Election Day ranged widely across the North Shore as activists sought to corral the youth vote through an email barrage and the support from the elderly by visiting senior housing centers.Eileen McGivney, an organizer for the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG) at Salem State College and the North Shore Community College (NSCC) campuses in Lynn and Danvers, said thousands of text messages were sent to voting-age students over the past few days.?It was all part of an effort to text out the vote, which focused on using new technology to reach the increasingly wired world of the young voter,” she said. “Students are texting, twittering, Facebooking and emailing to drive turnout and document the experience of young voters at the polls.”The students also staffed phone banks and resorted to old-fashioned pavement pounding as they canvassed dormitories and campus buildings.?We had the phone banks going, and went door-to-door in the dorms,” said McGivney, noting that Lynn English High School students staffed the phones for two evenings. “Some of our students were going around campus wearing masks of Obama and McCain just to remind everyone to vote.”McGivney said MASSPIRG plans to release a report today on getting out the youth vote.?Probably a small percentage of freshmen aren’t of voting age, but the others are,” she said. “At Salem, they’re allowed to register to vote using their campus addresses, and there were two polling places on campus. At North Shore Community College, most of the students live at home, so they use that address and vote at the designated polling place.”Voter turnout across the city was strong, with some polling places reporting short lines as the doors opened.?I think America needs a change,” said Liz Warren of Lynn, an NSCC student who headed for the polls in her motorized wheelchair.Pauline Leslie, a criminology instructor at the Lynn campus, shared Warren’s assessment. “We certainly need a change,” she said. “John McCain puts me to sleep. He’s too old. I think there should be an age restriction on being President. McCain ought to retire.”Lynn residents Ramon Nunez and Ariana Murrell were proudly wearing their Vote for Obama T-shirts as they approached the Ward 4 polling site. “We’re all about Obama,” said Nunez.Kimberly Wilson of Salem, another community college student, didn’t let being on crutches deter her from voting for the first time in her life. “I’m 36 and I’ve never actually voted,” she said. “But here I am. I just heard on the radio that you can’t whine if you don’t vote.”NSCC campus security officer Sokhen Eam said the parking lot in Lynn filled up quickly as the polls opened.Ashley Bovarnick, 19,of Lynn, a student, said she voted at Lynn English High School before arriving on the community college campus. “I voted for Obama. I just think he’s more for the people. A lot of my friends feel the same way.”Calvin Anderson, a political activist in Lynn, donned a red-white-and blue striped outfit and stationed himself just outside the campus polling station. “Every four years we get the chance to approve or disapprove something,” he said. “This is a big one, so I took the day off. I want to do what I can to remind people to vote. Most of the Republicans I saw were not having a good day.”Anderson was joined on lower Washington Street by activists Judy Josephs of Lynn and Katie Hyde of Nahant, who carried signs supporting Presidential candidate Barack Obama, state Rep. Lori Ehrlich, U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry and U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney.By noon, in Nahant, 1,033 or 39 percent of the town’s 2,620 registered voters had already visited the polling place at Town Hall.Early turnout in Lynn was equally impressive, with 89 percent expected to vote, according to Assistant City Clerk Janet Rowe. No glitches in the process were reported.?It’s absolutely maddening here. With so many people out voting, I haven’t seen anything like this in past elections,” Ro