By Annabelle Blair | Echo
Residents of the Upland area directly surrounding Taylor's campus voted at Upland Community Church--the poll location for Jefferson 1st and 3rd precincts.
The poll location remained open between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, with some election officials beginning work at 4:30 a.m. According to Larry Stump, the poll inspector for Jefferson 1st and 3rd precincts, election officials lock the doors at 6 p.m., allowing only those already inside to vote.
Stump said 122 people were immediately in line when the doors opened. "It was lined from here, to there, for four hours," he said, gesturing from one side of the building to the other. "It's been a good turnout."
Due to the large number of people coming in to vote early on and throughout the day, Stump and other officials expected to be at the polls until late in the evening. However, the last voter walked out at 6:15 p.m.
Upland resident Amanda Evans voted for the first time Tuesday, as it's the first election she's been old enough to participate in. She waited in line for an hour and 15 minutes. "My family gets into politics, so I guess I'm one of them and really get into it," Evans said.
This election was also the first time Upland resident Leta Webb voted. Webb waited in line for an hour but said the process was pretty simple once she reached the booth. Webb said she chose to vote this year because of her pastor's encouragement to do so.
Voter turnout in Grant County was 52 percent, a two percent increase from 2008, with Donald Trump receiving 17,009 of the votes; Hillary Clinton 7,029; and Gary Johnson 1,201.
Republican Anthony Cook was elected State Representative for District 32, which includes the Upland township. Cook beat his only opponent, Democrat Ryan Davis, by a 2,184 margin.
