As crowds of voters headed to the polls Tuesday, the Coles County Democrats and Republicans headquarters took their final actions and prepared for the final votes to be cast.

Opening their doors at 11 a.m., the Coles County Democrats headquarters, 605 Monroe Ave., immediately began efforts to get local residents out to vote.

“As of 11 a.m., we started calling all of our good Democrats to get them out to vote,” said Paul Wieck, Coles County Democrats chairman, the din of telephone conversations humming behind him.

Sara Metzger, a volunteer at the Democrats headquarters, was calling registered Democrats to remind them to vote and answer any questions they might have about the voting process.

She said this year was the first year she has volunteered to help the voting process and that the day had been very busy but rewarding.

“Today is kind of hectic,” she said. “This is the first time I have really volunteered for something like this. It’s been a good experience.”

Among the volunteers shifting about the Democrats headquarters was EIU College Democrats president Ryan Plunkett, sifting through a list of registered Democrats as he called out urging them to vote.

Wieck said he was glad to see students involved in politics and was thankful for their efforts both on campus and in the community.

The Democrats headquarters also organized transportation for voters who did not have a vehicle or who did not have access to handicapped-accessible vehicles to get out and vote, Wieck said.

“We have a shuttle bus to pick up folks wherever they want if they need a ride,” he said. “We also have handicapped-accessible vans to make sure they have that opportunity to vote.”

Democrat volunteers were also active throughout the day answering phone calls and welcoming people to the headquarters who had any questions about how and where they could vote.

“It’s been hoppin’,” Wieck said. “It’s certainly exciting, and it’s certainly good to see democracy in action.”

As the day wore on, Wieck said he was glad to see everyone out voting, whether they were Democrat or Republican.

“It’s great to have everybody understanding that we are all Americans, and democracy doesn’t work unless we all participate, regardless of who you are going to vote for,” he said.

As the day began to darken and a cold, light drizzle began to fall, the Coles County Republican headquarters, 612 Jackson Ave., flipped on their lights at 6:30 p.m. and prepared to see the results of their efforts as the polls closed.

Tyler Weaver, Coles County Republicans chairman, explained that most of the Republicans headquarters’ efforts took place before Election Day.

He said most of the Republican headquarters’ efforts were concentrated on early and absentee voters and that he was confident in the Republican turnout this year.

“There’s a lot of momentum in this country right now,” he said “And so, with that kind of enthusiasm should come a high turnout.”

Weaver said volunteers did not call registered Republicans on Election Day because there was a feeling previous efforts by the headquarters would bring Republicans to the polls.

As well, Weaver said he did not want to call residents on Election Day because most people had already decided whether they were going vote or not and that calls would only serve as an annoyance.

“What we don’t want to do is overreach and start pestering people,” he said. “If some people don’t want to vote, that’s their choice.”

However, Weaver and other Republican organizers and volunteers did make efforts to provide transportation to voters. He and other volunteers provided their phone numbers to the public to drive residents to the polls if they needed.

“I had calls today from people saying ‘I don’t have a car and I’m not in good health, but I want to go vote,’” he said. “We’ve been able to line that up to make sure everybody that wants to go vote can be a part of the process.”

As Republican volunteers and community members began to gather in the headquarters, they began flipping open their laptops, clutching their telephones and gathering around a television screen to view the incoming poll results.

Doug Towle, a volunteer for the Republicans headquarters, helped with the early push to support early and absentee voting and said he was looking forward to the end of the election.

“I’m kind of relieved that the election is coming to an end,” he said. “We’re going to see how our hard work and volunteering efforts are going to pay off.”

And regardless of the results of the election, Towle said volunteering taught him a lot about the election process.

Tim Deters can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].