Voters turned out in record numbers to cast their early vote. Others mailed in absentee ballots, or voted on Nov. 4. However, disorder at some voting sites left many voters and frustrated and fearful that they would be misrepresented or not represented at all. One of the first states to report technical difficulties during voting procedures this year was Florida. Voters were stunned on the first day of early voting when they learned that there were problems with the machines.

“It was very shocking to have the very first ballot at 10 o’clock this morning not go into the machine,” State Rep. Audrey Gibson said to News 4 in Jacksonville, Fla.

Voters could cast their ballots into an emergency bin while the polling machines were fixed. Later, election workers would add the votes from the emergency bin to the rest of the ballots. However, many preferred to return and cast their votes once the machines were operating, as a way to ensure their vote was counted.

In a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, 42 percent of those polled said they were not confident that their votes would be “accurately cast and counted.” Skepticism is up 15 percent from the 2004 election, according to a similar poll.

There has also been apprehension on college campuses, as students weighed their options for voting carefully.

First-year Kelsey Rullmoss said, “I changed my voter’s registration to Greensboro so that I wouldn’t have to bother with an absentee ballot.”

Many students resorted to early voting. It was beneficial for some voters who decided to return and vote another time when technical issues occurred at their voting sites. Registered voters were also able to cast their ballot in any district if they participated in early voting.

Though the concept of early voting is not new, statistics show that this year’s election has more than double the number of early voters in the last presidential election.

“This will be the election in which the most people have ever voted in an American election,” said Michael McDonald, an associate professor of politics and government at George Mason University according to CNN.

Many considered casting their ballots early a worthwhile experience, but it was less than stress-free. A lot of states are experimenting with new election cycles, from paper ballots to touch screens and levers. The problems arise when voters and election workers are unfamiliar with the new system.

It was reported that in West Virginia, voting machines were unintentionally recording the wrong votes.

“I went in there and pushed the Democrat ticket, and it jumped to the Republican ticket for President of the United States,” said Calvin Thomas, an 81-year-old West Virginian to CNN.

Some students resorted to absentee ballots to avoid the complications leading up to Election Day.

Sophomore Tasha Birtha said, “There is always the worry that your vote won’t be counted but something went wrong when I tried to register down here so I just ended up filling out an absentee ballot.”

McCain and Obama supporters have rallied during this campaign season to be heard, and regardless of the disorder, citizens of all kinds have voted. Through the energetic rallies, incessant emails and phone calls, both parties got their opportunity to be heard.