Mail in Ballots dominate as voters offer Varying Experiences at the Polls

Calling the 2020 election cycle “unique” is an understatement. Not only are we in the midst of a global pandemic, but we are also in an era of strong division. These two factors played a major role in many opting to fill out their ballots in the comfort of their own homes, while others sought out classic feel of “election day.” While most voters recollected a positive experience at the polls, some were faced with instances of voter intimidation.

I did a text outreach and also posted a story on Instagram in order to hear from voters. I asked about their overall voting experiences, and if they felt intimidated or uncomfortable at the polls or mail in sites.

I came across this tweet on the day of the election when #votersuppression was trending. This account does not own this photo, but it did gain more traction than the original tweet as it was used to reply to Ed Rendell, the former governor of Pennsylvania . The person who took this photo, Rebecca Brocious, claims that this man was engaging in voter intimidation tactics. She also stated that he was trying to “assert power at the polls.”

The majority of responses I received were from mail in voters with only a few responses coming from people who took a trip to the polls. Mail in voters mainly cited the pandemic as the reason for choosing that option.

Karen Garcia, CSUN student: “ My voting experience was very smooth! Since I already had my Ballot filled out, I only had to drop it off and the poll workers made it very easy for me to drop it off. I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all! I was very lucky to be voting in this election.”

Josh Orris, voter in San Diego: “My voting experience was very pleasant. I went to the polls early in the morning and the volunteers were very kind and welcoming. I had some issues with my ballot because I had to file a change of address, and despite not getting that ballot back, they let me fill out a new ballot and register as an in-person voter. The whole process was very quick and smooth. There were only one or two other voters there at the time.”

One other Voter from South Carolina who did not want to be named, spoke of long lines where it took him over an hour to vote but stated “aside from that voting was easy.” He also talked about a group of people staying around the voting area waving flags supporting their candidate and saying “it was nothing serious and nobody was intimidated.”