Young voter chooses Obama, racial barrier crushes

Tajara Sims had stayed up the night before, counting down until the midnight hour. When the clock struck 12 on November 4th, she broke into irrational exuberance, exclaiming: "It's my birthday and I can vote!"Exactly six hours and 47 minutes later, Sims and her grandmother Myra Sims were in line behind several hundred voters at Samuel Chase Elementary School in Temple Hills, MD. It was a crisp, cool morning, but nothing was chilly about the first-time voter's mood.

She was dressed in a wool overcoat, sporting silver sneakers with black and white lacings. Soft finger waves with red spiral curls flowed down the right side of her face. She laughed and chatted with friends, Janelle Garner, 18; Mache Pickett, 19; and Laquinya Robinson, 19; and also first-time voters idling away the remarkably swift wait.

Tajara Sims may have been one of the youngest voters at the polls. She was born at 11: 08 p.m. on Nov. 4, 1990, barely snagging the opportunity to cast her vote for the nation's first African-American president 18 years later.

"I'm happy. This is historic," her face flashing a charming beamed. "Years from now I can say I voted for a black man on my birthday!"

She didn't know much about the nuances of the Obama-McCain campaign battle, but whatever little she knew came from her grandmother, and from YouTube where her candidate falsely was portrayed as a Muslim, an Arab.

In the end, nothing on YouTube or anywhere else that demeaned President-elect Barack Obama mattered. The fact was that in Myra Sims' household, everyone old enough to vote had to vote for him. And that included Tajara's mother, Sylvia Sims.

Besides being drawn to Obama's personality, Myra Sims likes his policies, especially the promise of healthcare for everybody. She is worried about healthcare insurance for her grand-daughter. Her father died before she was 10 years old and the Social Security check she receives will end now that she is 18.

Myra Sims is a foreman for Amtrak, but she is worried that she may not be able to pay for Tajara's healthcare.

"Obama wants to make health insurance available to everybody," the grandmother said. "I'm in this line so I can cast my vote, and I'm going to make sure Tajara casts her vote, too."

The trip to the voting booth for Tajara started in early September when Myra learned that in Prince George's County, Tajara could register as long as she would be 18 on Election Day. She jumped at the opportunity and filled out the voter registration papers.

On October 20th, Tajara officially became a registered voter, one of the many in Generation Y that gave President-elect Obama a shove over Sen. John McCain.

Eighteen year olds like Tajara Sims would have had difficulty registering to vote this year had it not been for the efforts of the likes of the League of Women Voters in D.C. The League's elections chair, Elinor Hart, said they have been attempting to promote high school youth voter registration for eight years.

For example, she said, the League sponsored a D.C. law earlier in the year that allowed 17 year olds to register at any time even though they could not vote until they were 18. Emergency legislation was passed unanimously on April 4. Permanent legislation was passed in early July.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty issued a proclamation designating September 22 to October 6 D.C.'s youth voter registration campaign.

Scores of teenagers were in the early election line Tuesday with the Sims, confirming Rock the Vote claims that young voters were flooding the polls in states like Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Michigan.

How did the teenagers get turned on? First-time voter Janelle Garner offered a response. The economy is messed up, she said with the confidence of an economist. Obama is the right man to turn it around, she added.

"It's messed up right now. Hopefully Obama can ... change things for the better. I'm excited," said the 18-year-old Temple Hills resident. It has been difficult for her mother, a single parent and bus driver for Prince George's County.

Sounding the message of hope, Obama's signature platform, 19-year-old Mache Picket said that once Obama is elected, she expects better education, more entry-level jobs and winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I like that I'm voting and it will count," said Pickett.

At about 9:45 a.m. Tuesday Tajara Sims stepped up to the voting machine. She fixed a steady gaze at the selections on the screen. Three minutes later, she stepped away from the machine, displaying an exuberant and satisfied smile.

"It was fine," she said as she stuck a sticker on her coat that read, "I Voted, Yo Vote.