CubPub reporters staked out the polling place at Wien Hall this morning to get a sense of how the election is panning out here at Columbia. As expected, most of the voters were supporting Obama, but we did find a few surprises for you. Voting at Wien seemed to be going very smoothly over the course of the morning, and we didn't get any reports of overly long waits or trouble with the voting machines. We here at Columbia can consider ourselves lucky - voting is much less convenient in other parts of the city. We also have interesting snippets of our interviews with voters as they came out of Wien Hall.

Our favorite quotes?

"That said, I think the Naval Academy is a fine institution but didn’t he (John McCain) graduate bottom of his class?"

-Dexter, freshman at Columbia College, in response to what he thought of Obama and McCain's educational backgrounds.

"I voted for Obama. I agree with all of his policies except his policies on gay marriage... I feel like Sarah Palin is a mockery of the Clinton candidacy for the Democrats. I supported Obama from the start but I wouldn't have been completely devastated if she (Clinton) had been the nominee."

-Annie (Westchester, NY), senior at Columbia, first time voter

"[I voted for] Obama. I'm not particularly political, but thinking of Sarah Palin as vice president scares the hell out of me."

(When asked about John McCain) "At one point I didn't mind him, but he's gotten more similar to George Bush and that bothers me."

-Daniel, first time voter

"I would've voted for McCain [if I could vote] because he seems to be the more traditional candidate. Reminds me of Reagan. Europe has lately been voting for younger people... I don't really know... People are voting for the younger and dynamic people. As I become older, I'm becoming more conservative, so I'd vote for the more conservative candidate."

-Martin, citizen of the UK, thus could not vote

An anonymous voter said, when asked about how difficult it was to actually vote

"It's really easy. I brought my registration card. You give it to them (people running the station) and you don't even need to spell out your name. You have to get in line right behind the booth in order or your vote doesn't count. That might just be hearsay, but my friend told me so."

Patrick, a sophomore from Buffalo, NY who voted using an absentee ballot said

"I voted for Obama under 'Working Families' so my parents can't yell at me for voting Democratic."

In response to "Why not McCain?" he said, "He's not change I can believe in." When asked for his opinion on Sarah Palin, he declined to comment.

Dexter, a freshman who resides in Yokohama, Japan but is registered to vote in NYC really shared a piece of his mind with us:

CubPub: Who did you vote for?

Dexter: Obama and every other Democratic button there was. [I voted along party lines because] In general, I believe in prochoice policies, more tolerant policies on gay rights, pulling out of Iraq… higher taxes… a more principled foreign policy.

CubPub: Do you think Barack Obama is the man to solve our problems?

Dexter: Yes, I think he is. The Republican candidates have made it out that his following, his being popular, is a bad thing, but I’m glad that he’s someone we can get excited about.
People think Obama is an elitist because he went to Columbia, but as a Columbian, I think it’s important to have a well-educated president. That said, I think the Naval Academy is a fine institution but didn’t he graduate bottom of his class?

"Why not [Obama]? Every single issue he stands for, opposite of McCain. 100% opposite George Bush and that’s what we need...I think his lack of experience is almost a good thing. Someone around dirty politics. His fresh young view is the change we need...I think a lot of people are voting, it especially speaks to younger generation."

-Michael, freshman

(His prediction? Obama, I think he’s going to win by 8 or 9 points.)

"I don’t believe in the Republican platform in general. The positions he’s been taking is completely antithetical to what I believe in. I actually had more respect for him in 2004... [but now] I think he’s sold out and Sarah Palin is the icing on the cake."

-Karina, voter with her daughter Mimi

Lastly, we spoke with Sophie, sophomore, who voted for "Obama, because I think he knows what he's doing with the tax plan."

When asked about John McCain's experience giving him an edge, she replied, "Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I agree with his ideas."

On Sarah Palin, she was the nicest interviewee we spoke with:

"I don’t know. I just thought she was really clueless. Maybe she’s smarter than I give her credit."

And finally, when we asked what if McCain wins:

"I’d be sad. I support Obama but I’m not crazy for him. If anything, it’ll be better than the past 8 years. I’m not making the most informed choice."