Crowds of students lined up in a downpour on Tuesday for The Red Lion’s 6 a.m. Election Day Block. Under umbrellas, many in line wore Lion’s Uncle Sam merchandise, with “I WANT YOU TO ICE OUT!” in bold letters on the back.
But the rain didn’t dampen the excitement of the students queued on Third and Green streets. Neil Moghe, senior in Engineering, said this was his first time going to Red Lion this early during his time at the University.
“I came because there are 6 a.m. blocks every year, and I’ve always had class or a test,” Moghe said. “I figured it’s my duty to go to 6 a.m. block at one point, so I chose today, on Election Day.”
Bartenders offered “blue and red spritzes” for $4 in the spirit of Election Day, along with wrestling Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer for $3. Red Lion also offered themed merchandise for $30-40, with options ranging from T-shirts to crew neck sweatshirts.
Moghe’s friend, Amos Blomberg, senior in FAA, was less excited to be rained on in line; he spent the night studying and wouldn’t have come had Moghe not responded to him.
“I just pulled an all-nighter to do homework,” Blomberg said. “Then I thought, it’s already 5 a.m., I might as well drink, I guess. And (Moghe) said he was going, but then he waited until 5:50 a.m. to text me back.”
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
In another part of the line, Vaasu Kakuturu, junior in Engineering, said despite the difficulty of getting up for the occasion, he was glad to be there.
“It was a tough wake up, not going to lie,” Kakuturu said. “But we’re getting older, so I thought we had to do this at least at some point because I’m probably going abroad next semester, and (my friend) is graduating after this year.”
Students in line also discussed voting and the atmosphere that election season creates. Moghe said he voted early, but Blomberg said he was unlikely to exercise his right.
“I sadly did not register (to vote),” Blomberg said. “I’ll be honest — this is the only line I’m standing in today.”
Taylor Glicken, freshman in Media, voted for Vice President Kamala Harris but said voters have little control aside from casting their ballot.
“I’m pretty stressed — it’s kind of out of your control if you voted,” Glicken said. “I voted for Kamala Harris. It was a no-brainer.”
Grace Flaherty, freshman in LAS, shared the sentiment, citing the tight race between former President Donald Trump and Harris. Flaherty said she voted for the latter as she believes Trump should not lead the country.
“I’m pretty stressed; it seems really close, so I’m just kind of hoping at this point,” Flaherty said. “Because Trump is not a good president, shouldn’t be president, so I didn’t want to vote for him.”
Glicken and Flaherty were not the only students to express election-induced anxiety. Kakuturu said after voting, the only option is to wait for the results.
“I feel optimistically anxious,” Kakuturu said. “I have no idea how it’s going to go, so I’m kind of just waiting. I’m trying not to think about it. I already voted early, so I kind of got that out of the way, and I guess it’s not much that you can do now other than just wait and see.”
Kakuturu said he felt only one candidate would accept the election’s outcome.
“For me, it was a pretty easy choice,” Kakuturu said. “One candidate to me would probably not accept the results of the election, and one probably would. That was all I needed to know from a character standpoint: one candidate aligns with my morals.”
Kakuturu also explained how he approached the local elections as someone voting in Champaign.
“I looked at the ballot right before I went just so I had a baseline understanding of what was going on,” Kakuturu said. “I wanted to make sure to fill out as much of the ballot as possible.”
Glicken felt differently — because she is not from Champaign, it wasn’t her place to vote in the local elections, she said.
“I didn’t do the whole ballot,” Glicken said. “I just didn’t feel like I had the right to vote here when I don’t live here all the time. I don’t know enough.”
Flaherty, on the other hand, said she voted Democratic down the line.
Despite the tense feelings surrounding the election, students were happy to be there. Clement Wang, junior in Engineering, was ready to get inside the bar.
“Now that I’ve been standing in line and I’m soaking wet, I feel excited to just be inside,” Wang said.
Soon, by 8 a.m., the inside of Red Lion was shoulder-to-shoulder, with some students even dressed as founding fathers and wearing top hats decorated with stars and stripes, ready to drink for their civic duties.
