At Hamline University, in St. Paul, Minn., a local Kerry-Edwards headquarters' call for volunteers brought 500 students, neighborhood residents and nearby activists. By mid-afternoon, volunteers had knocked on every door in the area twice, and were ready to start a third trip. "If they are a different party, no big deal," said organizer LeAllan Estrem. "Offer to help them vote." On the wall behind him, a sign tacked to the wall read: "Annoy them today, they'll thank you tomorrow."
In Jacksonville, Democrats enthused about convoys of volunteer-driven minivans that delivered Duval County voters to polling places in precincts where 16,000 of 27,000 votes were thrown out in 2000. "Sometimes we knock on people's doors and they tell us that we're the third group to come to them that day," said AFL-CIO volunteer Derrick Figures.
But by evening, the early euphoria had changed to confrontation. At 7 p.m., Duval County Elections Supervisor William Scheu rushed through a bedlam of Kerry supporters and put his hand on the broad shoulders of the last man in a long, snaking line of perhaps 100 people. "This is the last voter! The line ends here," he said.
"No matter how many of us they turn away," Natasha Joseph, 24, said, sulking, "Kerry's still going to win."
Behind her was a ruckus. About 70 Kerry supporters were singing civil rights protest songs, dancing in the streets and drowning out Bush supporters, who stood quietly and watched. "It's kind of hostile here," Shawn Lednick said, leaning on his Bush-Cheney sign. Bush supporter Chester Spellman, 26, took a deep breath: "We've got reinforcements coming."
The words were scarcely out of his mouth when a group of vans pulled onto Monroe Street, horns blaring. Within moments, the two sides went at it in the middle of the street -- about 70 people shouting at each other. Traffic stopped.
"Four more years!" yelled the Bush supporters.
"No more years," responded the Kerry backers.
"It's just us and them, going at it," Spellman said. "We're rounding up the troops, ready to get to it."
