With less than an hour left before the polls close, Mark T. Silvestri ’05 sits behind W. Mitt Romney’s desk.

A smiling picture of Ann Romney, the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s wife, watches over Silvestri as he picks up the telephone.

“Is Louis there?” he asks. “Or Linda? Hi, my name is Mark. I’m just calling on behalf of Mitt Romney to remind you to vote today.”

This is the culmination of Silvestri’s political work this fall. After working for Romney over the summer and fall, he now finds himself in the candidate’s office as campaign volunteers use every available phone to get out the vote.

“This is what you call down to the wire, I guess,” Silvestri says.

A few calls later, he looks up from his call list, which targets supporters who the campaign thinks need an extra push.

“This guy said, ‘Isn’t it too late?’” he explains. “I told him there’s still another hour.”

Then, after an uncertain pause, he asks, “What time is it?”

It’s 7:15 p.m. on Election Night.

Romney staffer Paul Minihane sticks his head into the office to offer Silvestri a few words of encouragement.

“Good man,” he says. “You’re doing God’s work.”

Silvestri is going on his thirteenth straight hour of campaign work today. His day began at 6:30 a.m., checking voting machines at the Gund Hall polling place.

It’s part of what campaign junkies call “poll watching.” For example, before voting started, Silvestri made sure all the machines were zeroed out. Then, for hours, as he waved signs for his candidate outside, he kept an eye out to make sure no one was trying to influence voters.

Silvestri, an official with the Harvard Republican Club, organized poll-watching and sign-waving for Romney by club members at the Gund Hall and Quincy House precincts.

For much of the day, he and other Harvard Republicans stood on two cold street corners with Romney signs, waving at passing motorists—even though, he said, “at this point, you’re powerless.”