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For many voters in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, which is 70 percent Hispanic, a vote for Hillary Clinton was a vote against what they’ve heard Donald Trump say.
“I don’t like the way he speaks about Latinos,” said Jaime Davila, 73, who is Puerto Rican. “I know he’s going to lose.”
Lily Lagara, 32, said most of the people she knows are Clinton supporters. “I think the whole campaign with Trump is a joke,” she said. “I can’t believe people are actually listening to him and how many supporters he has, because of everything that he has said.”
The election has been a frequent topic of conversation among Lagara’s friends and family, she said, especially on social media. She knows one Trump supporter but doesn’t know the person’s reasoning.
That fits with her frustration about Trump’s rhetoric.
“He doesn’t explain anything,” she said of the candidate.
As dusk fell, kids playing basketball outside I.S. 174 started leaving and voters started arriving in greater numbers. Many had children with them.
Jennifer Rodriguez had just picked up her 9-year-old son from daycare. She said she wanted him to understand the importance of voting. “I’m exhausted,” she said. “I just worked a 12-hour shift and I still brought my butt out here to vote.”
A few blocks away, Marcus James, 24, walked out of P.S. 048 with his young son, who had two “I Voted” stickers stuck to his sweatshirt. James said he voted for Clinton. “She makes a lot of sense,” he said. “She makes more sense than Donald Trump.”
Outside I.S. 174, Amporita Ortiz, 59, said she voted for Clinton. Ortiz said Trump’s statements about Muslims affected her grandson, who has a Muslim friend. “He’s 9 years old and hears Trump saying things, and his friend is Muslim, and he feels that he’s prejudiced,” she said.
Marta Torres, 40, said she didn’t follow the election much until the second presidential debate. She called the process a circus, but was clear about which candidate deserved her vote. “Clinton, all the way,” Torres said. “I think we need someone who is more dignified to represent us.”
City Limits is partnering with the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism on covering Election 2016 in the Bronx.
