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WAMC News Series: Americans, Northeast voters divided

Political signs traditionally pop up on private property during election season.
Dave Lucas / Joe Donahue
/
WAMC
Political signs traditionally pop up on private property during election season.

With the election less a week away, America is divided — and voters in the Northeast are no exception.

Nancy Walker hails from Malta. The 30-year old first-time voter felt a sense of urgency that she says drove her to register. She intends to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.

"Because I felt, as a woman, it was my duty," said Walker. "I'm for all the women in this country who don't feel safe going in for health care, and I believe that I just had to step up and cancel out any vote I can."

Walker says this election will define American values, and has many concerns.

"Abortion rights being seen as murder instead of healthcare. Gun laws and the fake news surrounding that. I believe Kamela is not taking away any guns. I don't think that should be a strong point as to be opposed. And then the abortion one just really gets under my skin. That's the main one that really sticks, because my sister just had to go through that. And if she didn't live in a state where she could have the child removed, she wouldn't have made it," Walker said. 

Joanna Desourdy, 39, of Ravena, says she's passionate about the Democratic Party, but in the voting booth will choose the individual she sees as the best candidate.

"I am all about bodily autonomy, which is one of the driving points for the election," Desourdy said. "For me, I am also a survivor of an ectopic pregnancy, where, if I did not have the ability to get an abortion after six weeks, I, my health, could have been in jeopardy. I also had a son at the time, so the thought that my life didn't matter in other states and the unborn fetus. Did you know leaving a son motherless is very upsetting to me. I have been paying attention, listening to both sides. I feel like I'm an educated person. I don't necessarily disagree with a lot of what the Republicans have to say about immigration. I do think reform needs to happen. However, I think a complete and total ban and the implications of illegal immigrants really needs to be looked at further. I'm not a gun owner, but I am. You know, there for others rights to own guns, to be able to have that right. However, do I think more research and more money needs to go into health care and mental health services to prevent mass shootings that are happening in this country that aren't necessarily happening around the world in such a large rate? Yes."

Some voters question question whether they can trust news reports about the race. Matthew Sechrist hails from Mohawk in Central New York:

“It’s my third time voting," said Sechrist. "I'm 29 and I think, at least in my lifetime, this seems like the strangest election. You know everything in the past, even six months from Joe Biden stepping down, and how quickly everything's progressed in just a matter of a few months with, you know, Kamala now being the Democrat candidate. I do think it is really strange, like how things are transpiring. I am supporting Donald Trump. So I have done a lot of research. This is gonna be my third time voting for Trump. I do watch, you know, mainstream news and stuff like that. But I do also check out a lot of things from independent journalists on X.”

Sechrist says his vote for the former president is cast in stone.

"I think when I look at things, compared to four years ago, with, you know, the price of everything you know, even just grocery shopping, and everything going on in the world right now with two wars that we're funding. To me, I think it's a safer bet. And I think it's probably, you know, Trump being elected, I think is probably what's best for the country and for me," Sechrist said.

32-year old Rory McAllister from Clifton Park is among voters who say they’re apathetic.

"I find myself not really caring about who the candidate is. It's more about what they're standing for. And so personally, I find myself just more in line with Democratic candidates just because they happen to match my beliefs. If you could say it that way, it's more just like I believe that giving more rights to people is the better way forward than restricting them," said McAllister, who solidly supports abortion rights and women's rights in general in a year when New York voters will decide on the Equal Rights Amendment to the state constitution.

 "The reason that those rights exist is because there are disparities in our society. It's, you know, nice to have some kind of protections in place for people that need them, and I feel that a lot of those will be stripped away if certain candidates are chosen over others, and in this case, it would be if Trump was chosen over Harris," McAllister said. 

22-year-old Carmen Muñoz-Medrano believes America is experiencing a time of great tribulation.

"We all have our own respective opinions, which are valid and within our circles, but in a grand scheme of things, we're just kind of left out of like, the greater good and the greater goal of, like, improving the well-being of people," said Muñoz-Medrano. " It's not just saying things for a certain sense of, eye-catching, grab quick, like re-posts, or whatever my generation's into nowadays. It's really kind of real people face real consequences or real advantages to whoever is promoting policy."

Although Muñoz-Medrano urges citizens to exercise their right to vote, she has yet to make a final decision.

“I do my research. I think being well informed is highly important for what are people calling this year? Like a, it's a, it's an important year for the for the politics. I, you know, I read up on the candidates. I really do prefer local politics, because state power, at least for New York State, there's a lot of influence that goes into like direct social services related to a specific party. Federally, not really keen on anybody. I don't. I don't care what party you're on. None of them are really appeasing me,” Muñoz-Medrano said. 

29-year old Troy resident Joshua Bishop is concerned about housing, the economy and rising tensions in Ukraine, Taiwan and the Middle East.

“I don't think that we would necessarily get answers from either of the candidates, I think it's kind of choosing the better of two evils, especially with the candidates that are coming down the pipeline," Bishop said. "This year, there's definitely uncertainty, like I said, but I don't think the problems are going to be easily resolved, and I think it's going to take a lot of effort from everybody to come to some sort of solution.”

Bishop, an independent, says he judges candidates based on their beliefs, values and what they bring to the table. He hopes reconciliation will be in the cards for Democrats and Republicans when November 5 is over.

"The goal from this election, for me is to accept whatever the decision is made and kind of make what's best of that. I think that there's going to be good that will come out of either of the candidates that would be elected. I think that leaning into that good is going to be the most beneficial use of our time. And I’d really just like to see some of the problems resolved,” said Bishop. 

Monterey County, California resident Maria Sanchez spoke to WAMC while in the Capital Region on layover from her airline job.

"I am conservative, so I do vote that way. Yes, there's a lot of riff on both sides, and they both sides have good and bad. So I try to look at everything, and when the other side that it's not my party, but if they have a good point, I will give them credit for that. You have to. So both sides, you have to look at both sides and try to vote what's best for you and your family, whatever is going to be best for you first second the country, at least that's how I vote," said the 40-year old Sanchez.

She sees polarization heavily influencing this election. “And it doesn't matter what news station you listen to, you're gonna get what they want you to kind of believe, I think. So don't believe everything you read. Don't believe everything just based on what one particular news station is saying. Do your homework. Try to find the truth as much as you can. It is difficult. There's a lot of fake stuff, made up stuff, and with technology and AI and all that. So I do my best. I try to read as much as I can and try to find out what really happened or what is the truth. But I don't think we really can, at the end of the day, really, really find the truth, " said Sanchez.

 

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.