Faces of Missoula Voters

By Graham Coppes, 11-04-08

Today NewWest.Net spent time traveling from polling place to polling place with a few questions for voters after they had cast their ballots. We spoke with people at four locations around town; Missoula Courthouse, Lowell Elementary, Target Range School, and Rattlesnake Elementary.

Dominic Scory voted for Obama at the Missoula County Courthouse today and said, “I only paid attention to the presidential race, it’s the only one I am interested in. My entire voting process was very smooth and hassle free.”

We spoke with Emmily Denney this morning at Lowell Elementary and she expressed interest in both the presidential and governors races. She proudly voted for both Barack Obama and Brian Schweitzer. “I sure hope Obama wins,” Emmily said. “I don’t think we can afford for him to lose.”

At Target Range School, 72-year-old Kay Brown added to John McCain’s vote count. He expressed his personal struggle with the decision, but admitted his vote came down to a few simple issues. “I am voting for for McCain because I don’t believe we should bankrupt our coal industry,” he said. “It is important to our country and the entire world.”

Univeristy of Montana senior Jeremy Bogen wore his “I voted” sticker with pride as he left the polls at Rattlesnake Elementary. He explained, “I voted for Obama because I am much more on board with his policies as far as health care and foreign relations go.” His only complaint about his voting process had to do with the incessant phone calls that he has received over the last few weeks.

Anne Rupkalvis told us about her strong interest in the Attorney General race. “I am really into seeing Tim Fox lose” she said. “I felt strong about my vote for Obama. I might have voted for McCain in 2000, but now he seems so squirrelly and unpredictable. And as for Sarah Palin, no. My girlfriend called me from Massachusetts today and told me she expected a landslide. I can’t quite believe that. I would like to, but I am just a little gun-shy on that prediction.”

At Lowell Elementary, Casey Hachathorn expressed his desire to see Dennis Rehberg taken out of office. “I don’t think it will happen, but I would love to see him gone,” he said. “I do think Obama will carry Montana though.” When asked about any complications in his voting process Casey responded, “It was very easy as it always is here.”

This morning the Missoula County Courthouse was packed with voters. We caught Jean-Paul Fowler as he left. He filled us in on his voting process, but was hesitant to respond about his political selections. He said, “I payed pretty close attention to the presidential race and learned mostly by watching the debates.”