August 26, 2012

Supporters of President Barack Obama waited patiently to get their tickets Sunday to see him speak at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion in a campaign stop this week.

When the first tickets were handed out on Sunday, there were 200 people waiting at the downtown mall location, 200 at the Albemarle County location and 250 on UVa.'s Corner.

The first person in line at the downtown mall headquarters arrived at 7 a.m. As more and more Obama supporters trickled in and the clock ticked closer to noon, the line just reached up to East Market Street.

"This is history and I want my grandchildren to be a part of it," said Patricia Wood, an Obama campaign volunteer.

Some people in line at Obama campaign headquarters office on the Downtown Mall said they had seen him speak two years ago at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion.

"I was front row when I saw him before when he spoke and was in office," Darci Leib said. "And the reason why is really special for me because I'll get to see him again but this time as he runs for re-election. I'm just really excited to be part of it."

There were lots of young people in line who were not even 18 yet and won't be by the election in November.

"I think it's pretty naive to think that the decisions being made won't be affecting our generation," Charlottesville High School senior Haley Arata said.

"A lot of my friends have started paying attention to the news because we've realized it's going to effect our future," high school senior Meran Stunes said.

"Even though we can't vote, I think young people have a lot of sway with people who do vote and I think it's really important to have an educated and active generation," Charlottesville High School class officer Logan Hall said.

With Virginia being a key swing state in this year's election, students have also realized all eyes are on us.

"I feel like it might come down to Virginia and that makes it really exciting," Charlottesville High School junior Anna Perry said.

Campaign officials said they cannot release the amount of tickets they have available but tickets will be handed out again on Monday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. until they are all gone.

Children under 5 years old do not need tickets for admission, you can pick up multiple tickets but need the other persons name, email, phone number and zip code.

The locations that are distributing are listed here:

Charlottesville headquarters - 407 E. Main St.
Albemarle County office - 335 Greenbrier Drive, Suite 206
Fluvanna County office - 265 Turkeysag Trail