(Photos by Selene Raj)
By Selene Raj
Like the rest of Broward County, Tamarac has seen rainy days and, at times, long voting lines—but the process has gone by relatively smoothly.
Throughout the first day of early voting at the Tamarac Community Library brought waits of almost three hours. By Saturday, they were as short as five minutes.
Vice Mayor Marlon Bolton and Commissioner Julie Fishman were seen campaigning, as well as their opponents, Michelle Jones, Elvin Villalobos, and Jodie-Ann Wright.
There have only been a handful of reports about voters who refuse to wear a mask; the vast majority opt to keep facial coverings on.
Tamarac resident Kesny Colton, 24, was casting his ballot, hoping to see change happen in America after Election Day.
“I wanted to vote because it’s a right to make a good movement, especially because of what’s going on right now,” he said.
Living as a minority under a Trump administration led Thomas Santos, 22, to see the importance of voting. Not only did Trump’s racism urge him to vote, but so did his response to the Covid-19 pandemic and lack of leadership.
“When we had the Covid-19 outbreak, he knew months beforehand, and didn’t do anything about it,” he said.
Some residents like Yolette Eugene, 45, opted to drop off her mail-in ballot at the library.
“It is important to me because I’m from the Caribbean, a Black woman, and I have two kids that are going to be going to college soon.” She said that she voted for Biden because the country is in crisis.
“I’m struggling to pay my bills with this economy. I see all the rich people getting richer, but me and the poor, I’m getting down in drain, worse than ever,” she said.
One Trump supporter agreed to be interviewed but wished to be unnamed. She said she loved the president, hates abortion, and people using food stamps.
“Corruption, corruption, corruption—those are my issues,” she said.
Whoever residents are supporting, those who wish to participate can do so during early voting every day from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. up until November 1.
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