Jessica Hartman | Lindenlink Contributor

The long-awaited 2012 Presidential Election has finally arrived and St. Charles residents in New Town say it has been a long time coming.

Mary Bryne was among one of the early New Town voters, saying she was glad to have cast her vote and is ready for the elections to be over.  The New Town voting polls were busy with a constant flow of people coming and going during the early Tuesday morning.

After she finished voting, Mary Jones, a new resident to Missouri, said, “I am very proud for the freedom to [vote] and happy that there are so many people turning out.  So whoever gets in, they are going to have to work together.”  However, after doing a lot of her own research, Jones says she hopes to see Barack Obama elected to a second term.

Jones voted for Obama because she feels, “He was left with a mess and I think that the economy has improved. But even a family can’t turn their budget around in four years.”

Not everyone feels the same. John Ezell braved the rainy weather in order to cast his vote for Mitt Romney. “[Romney] actually has leadership skills. He has actually done it before. Instead of Obama, who is more of a racial election.” Ezell believes, “[Obama] got in because he is black. Which I don’t have a problem with, but they need to look at what he is qualified to do and President isn’t one of them.”

Ezell’s biggest problem with Obama’s administration has been Obama’s claim that he has ended the war. “If that is true,” says Ezell, “then someone needs to tell the troops that because they are still fighting and dying.”

Bryne also supports Romney and is hoping to get the country back on track starting this November. “I think what’s gone on in the last four years has been an abomination,” says Bryne.  She is outraged by the President’s actions during the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya. “I hold him (Obama) accountable for the murders of the four men over in Benghazi.”

Bryne says she likes that Romney, “is honest, that he is transparent. You know what the man is thinking and he has proven success.”

Although many voters were choosing a Presidential candidate based on Obama’s and Romney’s records, some were remaining loyal to their party affiliation. When asked who she voted for, Charlene Maxwell replied, “I’m a straight Democrat, period.”