A full four hours before even half of Hamilton County's votes were counted, the Board of Elections (BOE) was quieter than usual, partly because many of the races receiving the most energy and attention were state and federal races and partly because this year the board implemented new security measures to guard against terrorist attacks. The new measures included prior registration for election night visitors -- which guards never checked, by the way.

Inside the BOE stood the recurring motif of people clustered around TV screens, though the level of anxiety rose as the night wore on and returns slowly seeped in.

Despite some dire imaginings, there were few incidents at the polls. As one precinct's poll workers drove the ballots to the BOE, they became so alarmed by Kerry/Edwards campaign workers following them that they called the police.

Versions of that scenario played out at four or five different precincts as poll workers grew uncomfortable with their escorts, according to Lt. Doug Ventre, commander of the Cincinnati Police Department's Tactical Planning/SWAT Section.

"It wasn't very clear to the polling workers that we were going to follow the ballots," said Barry Gee, a polling manager at Clark Montessori in Hyde Park and a Kerry/Edwards campaign worker. "Some of them felt intimidated and called the police. It was just handled poorly."

In addition to feeling intimidated, "some of the polling workers took it very personally that we were following them," Gee said. He knows many of the BOE workers and tried to defuse the insult.

"As a larger picture, we have to protect ourselves, as we know from 2000," he said. "We know there have never been any problems in Hamilton County, but they have to understand there have been problems in other places. Just nationally, (the Kerry/Edwards campaign) decided that we had to make sure the ballots got to where they were going. In the end, once we explained our position, it worked out very well."

Voters also reported feeling intimidated, according to Gina Gartner, an organizer with the League of Pissed Off Voters. Some voters felt threatened by police officers entering and exiting the Emanuel Center's polling location in Over-the-Rhine. Others reported Equal Rights No Special Rights campaign workers blocking the doors at an Evanston polling location.

'Bush rocks'
Republican candidates and their supporters celebrated on the posh second floor of The Cincinnatian Hotel downtown. Many wore Bush/Cheney stickers and nice clothes, but they were doing the very same thing as every other political junkie on this election night: clustering around the TV, oohing, aahing and cheering when their team scored a few more percentage points.

Republican Rick Hust relaxed with a beer on the landing, wearing a newly acquired T-shirt that said, "Bush rocks/We are great/Republicans/Democrats/Don't Understand."

Hust said he'd wear it to work Nov. 3 at the Hilton Hotel so Kerry supporters could see it.

"Democrats don't understand nothing," he said. "They don't even stick to one thing."

Republicans are different, he said.

"They set their mind on a certain thing, on a certain track of where the country needs to be," he said. "They pace themselves."

A year ago Hust, a reservist, served seven months in Iraq, in cities now burned into our front pages: Baghdad, Basra, Najaf, Fallujah. He said Iraqis embraced him, always touching and thanking him.

"They're all grateful regardless of what the media said," he said. "We were rebuilding schools over there. The people who stick out want to do harm just because of what our country stands for and because, if we succeed over there, they have a fear of us trying to overrun their religion."

The 24-year-old man said he'd never voted before this year. The prospect of "Scary Kerry" drew him to the polls.

"I just don't trust him," Hust said. "He promises everybody everything to get people to vote for him. This election would be a lot better if people actually read up on the documents, Kerry's voting record in Congress."

Kyle McCain, the city manager of Mexia, Texas, came to Ohio to stump for Bush, whom he's known for about 16 years.

"He's one of the nicest guys," McCain said. "He's a solid personality. What you see is what you get. He's a guy you can work for because you know what you're working for."

But what it really comes down to, according to McCain ­ a distant cousin of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) ­ is safety. He spent 10 years with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, four and a half of them in counter-terrorism. The war on terror is going well, he said.

"There's so much more that's going on," he said. "They're doing a great job, but they can't say anything."

McCain was in the Naval Academy when Kerry gave his famous testimony at a Senate hearing following his service in Vietnam.

"The man is a traitor and he can never be forgiven for that," McCain said.

Time to flee?
Then U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Westwood) blew into The Cincinnatian, all trademark blow-dried hair and tired sincerity. Someone asked him about the elections returns.

"We're doing OK, but ...we're alright," he said, betraying that it was a closer race than he'd like.

North of Central Parkway, his weary challenger, Democrat Greg Harris, stood outside Mr. Pitiful's in a light rain, listening to election updates on his cell phone.

"It's so slow," Harris said. "I just asked if I could leave but I was told that I couldn't -- by my mom."

The returns weren't looking good for Harris, who eventually conceded to Chabot. But he was even more nervous about the presidential race.

'If I lose, I still might stay in the country," he said. "If Bush wins, I might just become an expatriate."

Leaving Mr. Pitiful's, Main Street was strangely deserted, even for a Tuesday.

"How y'all doin'?" asked a man standing in a doorway. "I ain't gonna beg from you. Did you all vote, is all I want to know."

A handful of equally weary members of the League of Pissed Off Voters (LoPOV ) remained at Crush, above Carol's On Main, at 11 p.m. They'd spent the day helping people get to the polls, promoting the LoPOV slate and making sure voters' rights were protected.

"I think we were a welcome addition to the polls," Gartner said. "We were the ones making folks laugh."

She said regardless of the election outcomes, LoPOV members would converge on Fountain Square at 5 p.m. Wednesday to regroup, reassess and "make sure we keep up the momentum."

Article 12 repealed
Walking into the Campaign to Restore Fairness' party at Alchemize in Over-the-Rhine, it was clear this wasn't The Cincinnatian anymore.

"Hi, how are ya!" chirped an excited man who quickly clapped his hands and breezed past.

Issue 3 -- the repeal of Article 12, for which Citizens to Restore Fairness (CRF) had worked so long and hard -- kept a steady lead of 9 percentage points and ultimately passed. The victory was somewhat tempered, however, by the passage of statewide Issue 1, which bars marriage between the homosexuals who had just earned the right to be protected from discrimination in Cincinnati.

Not that Equal Rights No Special Rights, the campaign to defeat Issue 3, didn't try. Laura Randall, communications director for CRF, said she heard reports that Equal Rights workers followed voters into the polls and otherwise acted aggressively.

CRF volunteers who had manned almost every poll in Cincinnati packed Alchemize, which, true to hip form, projected the election returns on a brick wall.

One race that seemed clear enough to call was the re-election of Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune.

"Thank God," said Melinda Marki. "Thank God there's, like, some small win for mankind in our city." ©