The tricky red levers on rickety old polling machines fazed some voters nearly as much as making a choice in yesterday’s primary election.

“I’ve been back and forth,” local resident Nelson Falcon said as he considered his vote in the atrium of Riverside Church, the 89th electoral district’s Tuesday night polling station. “To tell you the truth, I’m still unsure.”

Falcon was just one of many who expressed a sense of uncertainty on Super Tuesday, and even those who were firm in their candidate selection were still torn about the dynamics of the primary.

Voters said they wanted a candidate with real potential to win in November, yet locals split over which name on the ballot belongs in the national race.

Nathaniel Persily, Columbia Law School professor and expert on election law and political strategy, noted that the importance of early primaries lies in the ability of candidates to live up to their public image. “The important thing,” Persilly said, “is to show that you [the candidate] can fulfill or exceed expectations – and expectations have been shifting wildly recently.”

Emerging from Riverside’s voting booth, Issac Rauch noted that although he was “pretty much” decided from the beginning, the viability of the candidates was less than obvious. “It was unclear, at least at first, if a lot of the candidates really had a chance,” Rauch commented.

In liberal-oriented Harlem, the Obama-Clinton tug-of-war pulled at the area’s political and cultural roots. While Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., won every African-American majority district in New York State, he could not claim victory in the 15th—home of beloved Harlem Congressman and ardent Clinton-supporter Charles Rangel.

Instead, Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., swept the neighborhood—and the state—using the message of her deep ties to the community since the days of her husband’s presidency to her advantage. “Old Harlem lives,” Clinton consultant Kevin Wardally said. Clinton won the state handily by a margin of over ten percent.

“I had second thoughts in the past week,” voter Gillian Kalson said. “We [the democrats] have never really been in this position before, having a viable female and African-American candidate.” Barnard alumna Hannah Kent agreed. “People still really aren’t sure who can pull their weight with whom,” she said.

Even if the dynamics of the election were up in the air, most voters did think that the candidates of both parties had set a clear tone to an intense campaign. “I think people have really been reacting to the sort of ‘historic moment’ we’re in,” voter Stephanie Susens said outside the Church polling station.

The titillation surrounding the 2008 election could be observed in any a local bar Tuesday where, like most area establishments, primary results ran on their televisions throughout the night. Local political club the Broadway Democrats and their peers Morningside Heights’ Three Parks Democrats, held an election watch party at Toast bar on 105th Street and Broadway.

“People like to come to bars to share their fears and hopes especially during an election,” observer John Bennett said as he enjoyed a post-vote refreshment. From the next seat, observer Jon Wool concurred. “I wouldn’t have thought to come to a bar to be with other people on any other election.”

Although the environment felt much like a sports game, everyone seemed aware that the outcome of Super Tuesday carries more wide-ranging and complex meaning than that of the Superbowl.

“This [the bar] is a great place to get together,” Arlene Geiger of the Three Parks Democrats said as she kept tally of primary results on a score sheet that looked much like a bowling card. “But this is more meaningful,” Geiger continued. “A contest like this is a lot more than just one team versus another.”