For Jeremy Taylor, every election is a solemn reminder of the barriers his great-grandmother faced in the Jim Crow South. This drives him to vote each time, ensuring that his voice, and those of his ancestors, are heard loud and clear.
“I vote in every election mainly because my great-grandmother actually grew up in Mississippi and eventually moved north, but she and her mother had to pay a poll tax in order to vote,” said Taylor, a DJ with DJs at the Polls. “It was $2 and that was the money they made, probably for the whole week. So I think about that every time there’s a chance to vote — that I can do it freely.”
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump are expected to run a close race for the White House, with results likely to remain uncertain past Tuesday night. In Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, both campaigns have rallied extensively.
Students and community members lined up outside 11 polling locations surrounding Temple’s Main Campus on Tuesday, ready to make their voices heard in a contentious and widely publicized election — one that could very well be decided based on the outcome in Pennsylvania.
On election eve, both candidates made a final push in Pittsburgh and Reading, Pennsylvania. While Harris closed out her campaign in Philadelphia, Trump held his final rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Renea Crawley has worked the polls around Bright Hope Baptist Church at 12th Street near Cecil. B Moore Avenue for the last five presidential elections — including then-United States Sen. Barack Obama’s historic victory in 2008, she said.
With Harris on the ballot, the first Black woman to win a major party’s nomination, Crawley has seen the most enthusiasm from younger voters since the Obama era, she said.
“Obama’s election? They were out here in droves,” Crawley said. “In this election, they’re out here in droves, talking about the issues most important to them. And I’m proud of them.”
Choosing to vote is a crucial privilege for those who fear the negative impact of a potential Trump victory. Xuleyka Ogiata, a Temple alumna, is frightened by Trump’s slogan, ‘Make America Great Again,’ stating that she believes America has never been a safe space for minorities.
“It’s just important that we have our rights being again, a Black woman and I’m queer,” Ogiata said. “It’s a lot of things that Trump and his people want to take away, and it’s everyone’s right to choose what they want to do with their body, what they want to do in terms of how they just act within this society.”
Some succumbed to nationwide grassroots movements, which urged many unsure voters to cast their ballots.
Joseph Cary, a junior economics major, said he did not feel compelled to vote as a white man who would not likely face the social detriments of a potential Trump win. He remained wary about national pressure to vote but caved into his friends’ urges and showed up to Amos Recreation Center near Temple’s campus to cast his ballot.
Cary plans to vote again in the next election if the contest includes a more affable candidate.
“I’m a disaffected young man, and I don’t think [voting] really matters that much,” Carey said. “But I was convinced because everyone gets really mad at you not to vote. I think everyone has the right to vote, but you also have the right not to vote.”
One of the hot-button topics in this election is abortion, where the two candidates differ greatly. During his presidency, Trump appointed three Supreme Court Justices who voted to overturn Roe V. Wade in 2022. This eliminated the national protections on the right to choose and allowed states to create their own abortion policy.
Harris wants to restore Roe and ensure all American women have reproductive freedom and privacy. Gwen Frazier, a local North Philadelphia resident, cast her ballot the morning of Election Day because she believes in this same vision.
“The government should not have nothing to do with my body,” Frazier said. ”Yes, I’m pro-choice, but even if I was pro-life, how are you going to see a woman with a [medical problem] and turn her down. Let her go ahead and take care of her business, okay?”
From college students to senior citizens, women of all ages have their freedoms in mind when casting their ballot.
This was many undergraduate students’ first time voting in a presidential election, so some arrived at the polls bright-eyed at 7 a.m. Kimora McAlpin, a senior communications major, turned out feeling proud to cast her ballot to support women’s rights.
“I voted today because every voice is important, our ancestors, as well as the women that came before us, fought for our rights,” Mcalpin said. “So it’s good to keep it going.”
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