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Thousands of ballots cast by Liberty University students Tuesday made Heritage Elementary School the most Republican-leaning precinct in the city, and helped pushed Lynchburg into the red for John McCain.
Exactly 3,000 votes, or 81 percent, were cast for McCain from Heritage Elementary, the precinct where Liberty's on-campus students vote. Overall, Lynchburg favored McCain to Barack Obama by 1,366 votes, not counting absentee ballots.
The next-reddest precinct was Heritage United Methodist Church, where 67 percent of voters favored McCain.
"It was a huge crowd," Liberty Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said, referring to Heritage Elementary.
"The turnout was good, and we're proud of the students for not just using the day as a vacation day. No matter what happens, we'll know we did all we could do as a school."
Overall, turnout in the Heritage Elementary precinct, not including absentee ballots, was about 77 percent, well over the 55 percent turnout in 2004. More than 3,600 people voted there on Tuesday, more than triple the number recorded in the '04 presidential election.
Prior to the university's unprecedented voter registration drive in September and October, the precinct had about 1,900 registered voters. Now, that number is 4,731 voters.
"I think we can say at least 95 percent of that is Liberty-related," Lynchburg Registrar Patricia Bower said last month.
The precinct opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday to a line of about 50 residents, said poll worker Brett Beasley.
Resident Dan Kennard saw the line when he arrived before 6 a.m. on his way to work in Charlottesville. He promptly decided to come back after work.
By the time he returned more than 12 hours later, the precinct had no line at all.
Kennard was relieved, since he was determined to cast his ballot in what he considered a "huge election."
"This is the first election in a long time where I feel it's been close," said Kennard.
Voters reported waiting in lines for upwards of 90 minutes in the early morning and around lunchtime as the line snaked from the school's cafeteria through several hallways.
"Oh my God, this line is never going to end," Liberty sophomore Valerie Gardner said as she walked to the end of the line at about 11:30 a.m.
Liberty provided buses from campus to Heritage Elementary starting about 7:30 a.m. Between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., a bus stopped at the precinct every five minutes. By the end of the day, buses had made more than 120 stops at the precinct.
Liberty also cancelled most classes for the day and held a number of Election Day events on campus. The school closed the night with an election results watch party and concert at the Vines Center.
Precinct Chief Carol Bush said she had never seen Heritage Elementary so busy in her 10 years working at the polls.
The voting surge slowed to a crawl at about 5:30 p.m., when buses started coming less frequently. The precinct remained nearly empty of voters until the polls closed at 7 p.m.
Resident Ben Hastings arrived to cast his ballot at about 6:40 p.m.
He saw the long line at the precinct in the morning when he drove by, and decided to delay his vote.
"I'm glad I did," he said after voting with no wait.
Beasley said the precinct had few complications, "aside from a few people showing up and not being registered."
Each of the two electronic voting machines went offline for short periods of time during the day, but that didn't disrupt voting, he said. The machines were brought back online within 30 minutes, he said.
Students, many of whom were first-time voters, exited the polls with wide smiles at they high-fived, hugged and snapped commemorative photos.
Liberty freshman Pablo Rosas cast the final vote of the night, and his was a provisional ballot since the registrar did not have his information on record.
He felt it was important for his vote to count, he said.
"It's my first time voting ever, and this is a critical moment for our country."
Desrets is a staff writer for The News & Advance in Lynchburg.
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