Pahrump locks the doors but is still signing in voters

By Emily Richmond

Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008 | noon

Roughly 300 people are now locked inside the Manse Elementary School cafeteria, but dozens still have yet to sign in with their individual precincts. A log jam around the sign-in table for Precinct 27 (where eight delegates are at stake) nearly descended into chaos. A well-meaning Clinton volunteer tried to help by grabbing a stack of the sign-in pages, and milling through the crowd looking for matches.

Tempers are rising along with the temperature in the cafeteria, which is well-above the brisk and sunny weather waiting outside.

Larry Sonneson, who works at H&M Piping and Supply in Pahrump, said he could see right away what the problem was ˜ people were approaching the table from two sides and opposite directions, overwhelming the volunteers manning the sign-in sheets, instead of forming one orderly line traveling in one direction. But Sonneson said his offer of assistance was rebuffed, so he found a folding chair against a wall and sat down to cool off.

He plans to vote for Obama today, and has no "second choice" in mind in the event that his candidate doesn't get the 15 percent necessary in the first round of the caucus.

The other voters "don't change my mind," Sonneson said of the caucus process. "I change my mind. That's why this is America."