The polls had been open for an hour before the second person voted in the Republican primary at Richmond’s East End Government Center in Church Hill.

By that time, 90 people had voted in the Democratic primary.

“Sounds about right, at least for Church Hill,“ said Mort Casson, a 79-year-old Libby Terrace resident who sported a blue beret at a jaunty angle.

Casson was surprised at the line of voters who began arriving at 6 a.m. at the government center on North 25th Street. “I haven’t seen a wait this long in 15 years,“ he said.

He planned to vote for Sen. Barack Obama, the son of a white American and black Kenyan. “I like the idea of what he represents,“ said Casson, who is white. “I’d like to see if this country can do it.“
Kiara Green, 18, cast the first vote of her life for Obama today.

“It’s not just because of his race,“ said Green, a freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Church Hill native, who is black. “It’s because of his message. I am able to connect with it.“

Green voted early because she has an English class at 9 a.m. As she walked out the door, she stopped and went back. “I didn’t get a sticker!“ she said, before picking up a sticker that proclaimed “I voted.“