The presidential election on November 5 is just over a month away, and some Americans are already lining up to cast their votes in the hotly contested election.
Early in-person voting began on Friday in the US states of Virginia, South Dakota and Minnesota, where voters will choose between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
“You just feel like we’re part of the process,” said Tom Kilkenny, 56, at a polling station in Arlington, Virginia, where people lined up early in the morning before voting centers opened.
His wife Michelle, 55, said she was happy to set a good example for her friends and neighbors by voting early.
“When you … talk to them, I myself might say, ‘I already voted,’ and then start spreading the word,” said Michelle Kilkenny, whose blue T-shirt was covered in Democratic Party pins.
Each of the country’s 50 states has its own voting process: early voting by mail or in person, voting on Election Day or a combination of the three.
For some Americans, voting as early as possible is a family tradition.
Nick Vucic and his wife, Beca, brought their three daughters to the polling station in Arlington.
“We want them to get engaged as soon as possible,” Vucic, 38, said.
– Conflicting worldviews –
In Arlington, across the Potomac River from the US capital, the city center was dotted with signs and posters of Harris and Trump. Activists set up information booths while voters, mostly Democrats, chatted with each other.
In addition to electing their next president, voters are also voting in local and statewide elections.
After a tumultuous election campaign — which saw President Joe Biden drop out of the race to pass the torch to Harris, two apparent attempts on Trump’s life, and explosive televised debates — the stakes could not be higher.
“I can’t believe we could elect Donald Trump, I get very anxious when I think about it,” said Ann Spiker, 71. “That’s why we’re out and doing what we can.”
But some voters in the Virginia city of Fairfax, an hour west of Washington, have a different worldview.
Arthur Stewart, a 58-year-old heating and air conditioning technician, said he cast his vote to put Trump back in the White House.
“He’s had a good track record on the economy, even when he first came here, and I believe he’ll continue that,” said Stewart, who has a shaved head and a gentle smile. “One of the other issues is the border, border security. He’s been very good at that.”
Stewart also reiterated Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from the Republican billionaire.
“I just wanted to make sure I voted early, because there might be some issue with fraud this time,” he said.
But there’s one thing that seems to unite Americans on both sides of the political divide. Whether they support Harris or Trump, once they cast their vote, they’re given an “I Voted” sticker that they proudly wear on their chest.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
