A sign that reads “Vote Here November 8th” stands in the lawn of the Oxford Mall, directing voters to the precinct. PHOTO BY: Alexis Neely

It’s 6:31 a.m. and as the sun rises in a pale gray and cloudy sky over Oxford, Mississippi, the first voters of the 2016 election patiently wait outside the doors of the Oxford Mall precinct.

All is still and silent as they slowly trickle in single file, peering through the glass at poll workers who are hustling to finish setting up, now less than 20 minutes away from having the first ballot cast.

Oxford High School biology teacher Kendedrick Jones is one of the first to arrive at the precinct. Jones said he wanted to go ahead and exercise his right early, because like the rest of the elections he’s voted in, he’s just ready for it to be over.

However, Jones couldn’t deny this election is an important one.

“I think this one is more important because of what the candidates stand for and how they have portrayed themselves or how they’ve been portrayed by the media since this election began,” he said. “I wanna vote for someone that is for me as an individual.”

Due to the nature of this year’s election, Jones said there will probably be more people showing up at the polls compared to previous years.

And with the country being the closest it’s been to potentially having a woman in The White House, Jones knows this election could be one for the books, despite being ready for the election cycle to end.

“I think it would be a good opportunity to change history, but other than that, I’m really just indifferent,” he said.

The doors of the precinct finally swing open at 7 a.m., as a poll worker greets voters with a bright smile and even brighter “good morning.”

As the line begins to crawl down the span of the sidewalk, an array of people can be seen—from those dressed in scrubs and workplace attire, to those accompanied by small children, as well as the occasional dash of Ole Miss paraphernalia.

One of the first few Ole Miss students to cast their ballot, senior managerial finance and marketing major Danielle Gray, has a busy day ahead of her and was sure to get her vote in early.

“I think voting is very important so I wanna make sure I exercise my right,” Gray said. “I don’t wanna be in line forever later tonight. I was just kinda freaked out about having enough time and how the lines would be.”

Though Gray also voted in and felt the 2012 election between current President Barack Obama and former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney was important, she said voting keeps getting more and more vital to our country.

“I think it’s one of those things where it’s gonna affect everybody depending on who gets in office and the policies they enact,” she said.

As for who that person should be, Gray said whoever is the best candidate.

“I don’t care who—like what race, what gender, ethnicity, anything,” she said. “I just want whoever is the best person to be there.”