By 6 p.m., nearly 2.2 million New Yorkers and counting had turned up to vote in Tuesday’s election—many saying they were motivated by the chance for change and hopes for unity following a divisive presidential campaign season. 

With reporting by Tiara Brownie, Frances Sacks, Usha Sookai, Marina Samuel, Sam Murphy, Kaitlyn Harris, Christopher Edwards, Kayla Mendez, Hilario Martinez, Ashley Vasquez, Seline Liz, Kaliopi Tsiros, Edwin Diaz, Jeanmarie Evelly and Mariana Simões.

By 6 p.m., nearly 2.2 million New Yorkers and counting had turned up to vote in Tuesday’s election—many saying they were motivated by the chance for change and hopes for unity following a divisive presidential campaign season. 

The city’s poll sites closed at 9 p.m., and Vice President Kamala Harris easily won New York State’s 28 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press. But election experts have urged patience, and it may take time before we know the nationwide results of the top-ballot race, in which former President Donald Trump and Harris are neck and neck, according to recent polls.

Residents across the five boroughs also had a chance to cast votes for state legislative seats and to weigh in on six ballot measures, including whether to add an equal rights amendment to New York’s constitution and on the local level, to expand the city Department of Sanitation’s enforcement powers. 

“It’s nerve racking. It feels like there’s a lot of weight in my own little hands,” said Nicole Vargas, a 22-year-old student from the South Bronx, who was voting Tuesday for the very first time.

Another first-time voter was Elizabeth Pargon, 38, who spoke to City Limits outside NYCHA’s Melrose Houses Community Center.

“My friends motivated me and pushed me to vote,” Pargon said. “Honestly, I feel good about myself. Like I did something important for my people and community. Moving forward, I will always vote. The process was easy too.”

Not everyone had a smooth go of it, though: at least a dozen people showed up at the Bronx’s P.S. 1 The Courtland School, only to be sent to the Classic Community Center a couple blocks away because their polling location had changed. 

Many said that they have always voted at P.S. 1, and were surprised by the change, including Francisco Bermudez, an 86-year-old who uses a walker. The walk to his new poll site took him 20 minutes, and because there was no signage, Bermudez had to ask multiple people along the way if he was headed in the right direction. 

A poll worker filling out referral slips at the site said that “people are getting discouraged,” reporting that a couple simply gave up and decided not to vote.

P.S. 1 Poll Coordinator Jose Cruz said that voters have the opportunity to fill out an affidavit if they are unwilling to travel to their correctly assigned polling place. “My job is to make sure that the voter can exercise their voting rights,” said Cruz.

Early Tuesday morning, at NYCHA’s Betances Community Center in Mott Haven, voter Heidy Montano said she waited in line for 45 minutes because the polling site did not open on time. Poll workers who arrived to prepare the site said that there was no one to open the doors, delaying their 6 a.m. start time to 7:20 a.m. The city’s Board of Elections did not immediately respond to questions about reported problems. 

At sites across the city, New Yorkers cited myriad issues that drove them to vote. A common thread was the cost of living. 

“The economy, that’s what everyone is talking about,” said Julie, who declined to share her last name as she voted at NYCHA’s Mott Haven Community Center early Tuesday. “As a single mother, it’s not easy, so that’s what we’re looking to be better.” 

Fatoumada Bary, a 47-year-old secretary from Pelham Bay, declined to share who she was voting for, but said the economy was a key issue. “Right now, it’s very tough for people. Everything is so expensive.”

“The cost of living is extremely high, and the minimum wage isn’t going up,” echoed June Thomas, 55, who was voting for Harris in the Bronx. “Rent, utilities and food are increasing, but the pay for hard labor isn’t. Something needs to be done about this.”

At M.S. 267 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 32-year-old Lisa Ramirez said she wants to see the cost of housing and other expenses addressed. “That working families are able to afford their groceries; hopefully we are able to buy a house soon,” Ramirez said.

Another commonly-cited reason that New Yorkers said they turned up for was protecting reproductive rights, and access to abortion. Several voters said they were energized to vote for Harris and potentially see a woman in the White House, particularly the country’s first woman of color in the role. 

“I’m excited, and I just hope that our first Black female president that has graduated from an HBCU [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] will be successful,” said Amdrina Joseph, 50, of Mott Haven. “I believe that she is our next president, and she just has to be.”

Other voters were more blunt. “To not elect that orange Oompa Loompa,” Pedro Crespo said of the reason he voted. “Anything but him.”

For Thessalya Kapetanos, a 32-year-old law clerk from Washington Heights, Harris’ late entry into the race was a strike against her.

“She didn’t participate in the primaries, she wasn’t voted in by anyone. She was just placed in by her party, so that’s something that really concerns me,” Kapetanos said. “I voted for Donald Trump, I think his policies make sense. I voted for him in 2016, I was happy with him, very happy with him, when he was president.” 

Beyond specific policy issues and preferred candidates, a number of voters told City Limits they were tired of the divisive atmosphere around the election.

“I wish that the rhetoric from each party can become less extreme so that we can start to have more conversations about agreed sets of facts,” said Alex Catege, 33, in Oakland Gardens, Queens.

Pamela Seymour, 68, a retired medical department worker in Concourse Village, said she’s hoping for a more unified nation post-election. “Unity—that’s what my prayer is. I pray every day for unity,” Seymour said. 

“I hope the country realizes that we can’t be so divided,” said Angela Reid, a 53-year-old dance teacher who spoke to a reporter at I.S. 232 in Morris Heights. “We can’t continue to stay divided if we want to see change.” 

To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

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