November 6, 2012 at 6:24 PM

The line to vote at the State College Friends Meetinghouse wrapped down the front lawn and onto the sidewalk of Prospect Avenue early this evening. The voters, the majority of them students, faced a 40 minute wait outside in the cold, when Judge of Election for Precinct 30 Dr. Andrew Jackson intervened.

Jackson directed a huge surge of voters into the much warmer church. Voters wrapped around the pews inside of the church to wait in line.

Penn State student Hillery Wilson (junior-risk management) was grateful for Jackson’s decision to move voters inside.

State College Friends Meetinghouse is the polling location for Precincts 26 and 30. Precinct 30, Jackson said, generally receives three times less voters than precinct 26, due to the number of people living in each area.

Judge of Election for Precinct 26 Scott McClellan said that as of 5 p.m. the Meetinghouse had seen about 25 percent of the registered voters. He said 1,082 votes have been cast in Precinct 26, and 309 votes in Precinct 30.

McClellan predicts that their numbers will be around 1,515 or higher. This year’s election has seen a significantly smaller amount of voters than the 2008 election, McClellan said, who has overseen the 2004 and 2008 elections.

“2008 was crazy,” McClellan said. “There was more of an intensity [to get] people to register and to get out and vote.”

Jackson echoed McClellan’s statements.

“More people assume [Obama] is going to win [so they are not voting].”

Both McClellan and Jackson said they foresee the Meetinghouse remaining steadily busy until the polls close tonight at 8 p.m.