First-time voters cheery despite bitter campaign

President Lincoln said a house divided cannot stand — but what about a car?

First-time voters Lauren Walker and Alabry Ewers drove together to Campus Lutheran Church to cast very different ballots.

“I voted for Romney,” Walker said, glancing at her friend. “And I did not,” Ewers replied, laughing.

But even though their votes effectively canceled each other out, they’re not mad — they’re not even peeved.

“We keep to ourselves about that,” Walker said, hugging Ewers to prove her point.

Walker, dressed in a yellow Romney/Ryan T-shirt, said her first time voting was a breeze. She waited in line “probably 5 minutes,” and said the paper ballot was “quick and easy.”

A car pulls into the polling place at Campus Lutheran Church in Columbia, Mo. on Nov. 6, 2012. This polling place serves the predominately student-occupied area East of the University of Missouri.

First-time voters Alabry Ewers (left) and Lauren Walker smile after casting conflicting ballots at Campus Lutheran Church, on Nov. 6, 2012 in Columbia, Mo. This polling place serves a student-dense area East of the University of Missouri campus; many of those students are voting for the first time.