 | By Shannon Busta Newsletter Editor, Opinion |
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Happy Election Day, readers. We made it!
We recently asked you to tell us the single issue inspiring you to vote in this election. You delivered. We received more than 4,000 responses from across the country, sharing reasons ranging from affordable health care and climate change to moral character and the pandemic. |
My colleagues on the Opinion graphics team have used many of your responses to map the issues driving Americans to the polls by region. Gibran Mahmud in Folsom, Calif., is voting for “Congress to break up monopolies.” Melissa Rasmussen in Olympia, Wash., is voting for “a wholesome future” for her daughter. And Robert Voris in Brooklyn, N.Y., is voting “so every citizen can vote safely.” |
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We’ve also been sharing responses in our @nytopinion Instagram Stories. I enjoyed them so much — especially the response from a 13-year-old who wants you to know what he would be voting for, if he were able to. I’ve included a few below. |
If you haven’t voted in advance, we encourage you to cast your ballot today. This helpful guide explains how to vote based on where you live. And if you use Instagram, post a photo of yourself (but not your ballot) and your reason for voting in Stories and tag @nytopinion. We’ll re-share some of our favorites. |
“If I could vote, I would be voting to address climate change. I am still in school and am very scared for my future. I feel/know that older people in this country don’t really seem to care about the future of their children and only care about profits and economic growth.” — Andrew Shlomchik, 13, Pittsburgh, Pa. |
“I’m 70 years old and am voting for the first time ever. This country can’t survive four more years with a morally bankrupt president.” — William Pepper, 70, Fallon, Nev. |
“Racial inequality.” — Thelma Dixon, 89, Sandy, Utah. |
“I am voting for a president who accomplishes what he sets out to do: A stable, growing economy, a safe America, and a protected America.” — Marjorie Fick 73, Chestertown, Md. |
“I am voting for the 200,000+ people who died as a result of the coronavirus. I am voting for my grandmother who was one of the thousands as a direct result of the Trump administration’s negligence of the pandemic. The administration is perpetuating and creating problems of injustice and inequality at a time when America needs to stand united. I am voting because America will not survive four more years of Trump.” — Julia Newman, 19, Hudson, Ohio. |
“I am a Hispanic, female, suburban, Republican, never-Trumper. Voted Libertarian in 2016. I have had my absentee ballot in hand for two weeks now and yet it is very hard for me to actually vote for Biden. I can’t stand Trump, and yet his economic policies have benefited me and his foreign policy, as erratic as it has been, yields results. If Biden would just promise not to stack the Supreme Court I could easily fill out the ballot, check that box and mail it in. But I’m still waiting.” — Anna Maria Fernau, 55, McLean, Va. |
“I’m voting for my mother and grandmother — proud Taiwanese immigrants. Under President Trump’s leadership, Asian-Americans have had to cope with dual pandemics: Covid-19 and anti-Asian racism. My vote says that his brand of hatred should have no home here.” — Elizabeth Allard, 30, Washington, D.C. |
“Climate change. I am not even 20 and I would like a world to live in as I grow older, a gift to share with my children.” — Arpan Kumar Barua, 19, Germantown, Md. |
“Safe access to abortion for women. The end.” — Kara May, 51, Edmonds, Wash. |
“The loss of pride in our government and our institutions. In just four years, this sense of pride has been corroded by an unimaginable complacency for bigotry and hatred so far removed from my understanding of what our flag stands for. I want that sense of pride back!” — Modesto Bigas-Valedon, 49, Chadds Ford, Pa. |
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Here’s what we’re focusing on today: |
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