By 8:40 p.m., the lines at the Illini Union, Siebel Center for Design, ISR and the University YMCA were less than a 20-minute wait. At the ARC, voters at the back of the line could expect to wait about 30 minutes, while Illini Hillel and FAR have reportedly concluded polling. 

County and state election counts are expected to be processed tonight after all voters have cast their ballots. Across the country, most polling has closed, and the Associated Press has already called the presidential race in more than 20 states.  

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The line to vote at ISR wound around four corners at 6 p.m. Newly arriving voters at the end of the line expressed eagerness to vote despite the University’s decision to hold classes on Election Day.

“The line certainly was a little disheartening,” said Oliver Stehlik, sophomore in Engineering. “But I think the overall mood is pretty light. People are talking, laughing, doing everything they usually do, so I don’t think it’s too rough.”

Aiden Peppmuller, freshman in Engineering, stated that being a first-time voter heavily influenced his decision to vote.

“It’s a new experience for me, but I think just having the ability to go out and vote finally is something I want to take advantage of,” Peppmuller said.

At FAR, some students waited to vote for over two hours. Tyra Oghomeh, freshman in LAS, said she was willing to wait in the lines because it was her civic duty.  

“For me, (it’s about being) a young woman who can make history and vote for anyone I want, to have the choices that I have, to perform my civic duty when women used to not have civic duties,” Oghomeh said.

Kayla DeHoyos, freshman in LAS, was surprised to hear that the University had previously given students Election Day off. 

“I think that if you’re going to cancel class four years ago, I think you should do it this time,” DeHoyos said. “Not everybody’s a poli-sci major, so not every professor is going to cancel class, which makes it harder for people to actually go out there and put your vote out.” 

With students reporting a three- to four-hour wait before voting, volunteer poll watchers handed out water, snacks and pizza alongside State Senator Paul Faraci (D-IL), who was spotted at FAR, but declined to comment due to electioneering laws.

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An hour before county polls close, weary students are still braving long lines at each location. 

Ruben Hinojosa, junior in LAS, has waited in line at the Siebel Center for Design for nearly five hours. Students have resorted to sitting in huddles on the floor.

To pass the time, Hinojosa started to track national results as they trickled in. 

“They’re still pretty limited since it’s early, but I believe I saw something like Indiana and Kentucky are coming in, and obviously they’re going for Trump right now,” Hinojosa said. 

According to The New York Times, several states have been called for former President Donald Trump: Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. Vice President Kamala Harris has won Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maryland, though vote counting is far from over.  

Despite the grueling wait times, Hinojosa thinks voting is worth it. He cited women’s rights, minority rights and environmental policy as his key concerns when selecting a president.  

“I really care about protecting democracy … and making sure that a good, respectful leader is in the White House,” Hinojosa said.

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The University YMCA polling line is approximately 200 students long, winding around the main seating area. Staff members have adjusted furniture at the entrance to accommodate the many people waiting to cast their vote.

YMCA staff set up a table with coffee, tea and popcorn to feed hungry voters in the lengthy queue.

One of these voters, Alana Dordies, junior in LAS, has been waiting alongside Lydia Kaszas, junior in FAA, in the nearly three-hour line. 

The pair chose to vote at the YMCA because the line seemed the shortest, though it started outside when they arrived. Kaszas stated her rationale for voting in this election.

“I like to be an active citizen, and I also think it’s really important to be a part of voting,” Kaszas said. 

Jim Hinterlong, executive director of the YMCA, shared his positive outlook on the long waiting lines. 

“The turnout tells me that folks are optimistic in the sense that they believe that their vote will make a difference,” Hinterlong said. “I think this suggests that people want to be part of the process since they’re willing to wait to be part of the process.”

Hinterlong also said that after the results are determined, the YMCA precinct will post precinct-level election results. 

“They will literally post all of the results on the windows on the front of the building, so anybody who wants to come and know what happened at the precinct will be able to come and see what happened,” Hinterlong said. 

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As of 4 p.m., voting lines at the Siebel Center for Design are facing the same issue as other polling places across campus. Students reported four- to five-hour-long waits to get to the voting booth.

Allie Jones, senior in LAS, commented on the conditions in line.

“Everyone has been sitting on the floor together,” Jones said. “So (there’s been) a cute little community that way. But there’s a little bit of ‘hangry-ness’ going on.”

To help mitigate these issues, the community has come to their aid. Michael Gergeni, junior in LAS, is one of the volunteers handing out food and water with the help of the community and candidates. 

“We’re here just handing out food, handing out water a bit, handing out pizza as well to people in line,” Gergeni said.

According to Gergeni, he and the other volunteers have no party affiliation, and much of their support was from the community and the candidates in the race.

“I know Paul Faraci, a state senator, just stopped by a little bit ago,” Gergeni said. “We have some water here now; he dropped that off. Also, his team ordered pizza that we’ll be distributing.”

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The line to vote at the Siebel Center for Design is nearly out the door in the early afternoon. 

Standing near the beginning of the line is Mark Joseph, manager of research and clinic support for the College of Applied Health Sciences. With decades of voting experience, Joseph said he has never seen an election like this.

“I’ve generally been a progressive voter, but rarely did I ever feel that candidates would be an impossible choice,” Joseph said. “I’ve been voting for 40 years. Over 40 years, I’ve never felt like, ‘Oh my God, it would be catastrophic for democracy if things didn’t go the way I hoped.’”

Joseph thinks Vice President Kamala Harris is not a perfect candidate. He said her tendency to “answer things rather strategically instead of answering them honestly” during debates makes him skeptical. 

However, Joseph is most concerned about the “rights of women to choose their own care” and said it would be catastrophic for democracy if former President Donald Trump is elected for a second term. 

Worried for the future of America, Joseph said he is optimistic, albeit anxious.

“It’s hard to understand how other people don’t see it your way, and I think it’s really important to continue keeping an open mind about other people’s opinions and not assuming that because people don’t agree with one another that they’re necessarily wrong or bad people,” Joseph said. 

Anu Atomori, junior in LAS, was also in line to vote for Harris. Near the front door of the SCD, the wait will exceed two hours for Atomori.

Like Joseph, Atomori is anxious but hopes there will be no violence in response to the election’s result. Atomori also acknowledges Harris has her pitfalls.

Atomori said she does not agree with Harris on foreign policy, namely her continued support for Israel and lack of attention to the crisis in Congo. Yet, she feels that Harris is the better alternative to Trump. 

“It’s better to make sure that the house is not burned first so that we could fix the yard and everything outside,” Atomori said. 

Down the street from SCD, lines at the ARC estimate a two-and-a-half-hour wait.

One student expressed surprise at classes not being canceled despite the Illinois State Legislature recognizing Election Day as a University holiday in the two previous elections.

“I feel like when I was growing up, I always had Election Day off,” said Charlotte Judy, freshman in Business. “I don’t have a strong opinion on this, but I was able to get out of classes, so it was a little different for me.”

Judy said she chose to vote at the ARC as it was the closest location to her dorm. She intended to vote in the morning but left after the system outages halted the line.

Earlier this morning, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons confirmed the county-wide network issues preventing voters from casting their ballots. The issues were resolved at approximately 8 a.m.

The ARC polling center is located in a multi-purpose room on the entrance level of the ARC. The line extends out of the door and into a nearby hallway. When asked what brought them out to vote, students expressed various reasons for waiting in line.

“I feel like the state of the country right now is not what I would want for future generations,” said Priyansha Shah, freshman in Engineering. “I’m hoping that with my vote, there will be a change. I am a minority; I’m a woman, so I’m hoping to fix things for myself, especially after Roe v. Wade was overturned.” 

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Long lines to vote persist across campus, even at the furthest polling places. FAR is experiencing long lines, although they are much shorter than those at the Illini Union, which snake through the ballroom to organize voters.

However, spirits remain high among students and poll workers alike. Sally Oppong, sophomore in AHS, commented on the high morale. 

“I feel like everyone’s excited (to) be at the polls today,” Oppong said. “For me personally, this is my first time being able to vote in an election.”

Poll workers at FAR reported no major issues — save for the temporary outage this morning — and said they were happy to see the huge turnout.

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As Election Day begins, students and community members are lining up all around campus, ready to cast their votes. At the Illini Union, the line is wrapped around the building, filled with people sitting and waiting.

Voting system issues halted lines across the county, but as of 8:03 a.m., Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons announced the system was fixed. At 8:20 a.m., voters stood up, and the line began to move quickly. 

Students also lined up at the ISR polling station, with the line moving much slower than the one at the Union.

“I’ve been waiting here since about 6:30 a.m., so roughly two hours,” said Malaika Mburu, junior in LAS, who voted at ISR. “I did have to skip a work meeting (for voting), but that’s about it.”

However, by 10:47 a.m., there were less than a dozen voters in line at ISR. At the polling station in the University YMCA, the line was much shorter than the Union’s. 

“I’d say (I have waited) 20 minutes,” said Ryan Moore, freshman in Media. “But I’m thinking about (missing class to vote) because I have a class at 10. If it goes past that, I might, but I don’t know.”

Despite the voting system working again, many prospective voters in the Union are still facing delays. 

“I went to my small local town to vote, and the computer system was down, so it delayed my voting,” said Brenda Roy, office administrator for the Natural History Building at the University. “I came over here and jumped in line, and I’ve been in line for about 40 minutes.”

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