Immigrant explains why he’s backing Trump as early voting begins

Voters lined up to vote in Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia, the states with the first in-person early voting opportunities. About a dozen more states will follow by mid-October.

At a polling place in Minneapolis, Jason Miller arrived well before the polls opened at 8 a.m. and was first in line. He was among about 75 people who voted in the first hour at the city’s early voting center.

“Why not try to be the first? It’s kind of fun, isn’t it?” said the 37-year-old painter.

He said he voted “against the crazies” but would not name his choice for president.

“I don’t think I have to. I think it’s pretty obvious. I think that’s very, very clear,” he said.

The start of in-person voting follows a tumultuous summer in American politics that has included President Joe Biden dropping out of the race and being replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, and an assassination attempt on Republican nominee Donald Trump, followed by another apparent. attempt on his life just nine weeks later.

Across the country, local returning officers are beefing up security to keep their workers and polling places safe, while ensuring that ballots and voting procedures are not tampered with. Officials and ordinary poll workers have been the target of harassment and even death threats since the 2020 presidential election.

Federal authorities are investigating the origin of suspicious packages that were sent or received by election officials in more than 15 states in recent days, including Virginia.

“If I could wave a magic wand in this room right now, I would like two things: between now and November 5, I want to see high turnout and low drama,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon during a press conference on Thursday. who anticipated his state’s efforts during the election season. Simon is also president of the National Association of Secretaries of State.

Some voters suggested that the potential for trouble or chaos on Election Day was a reason not to wait.

Chris Burda, 74, said he encourages others to get their ballots early “to avoid potential disruption on Election Day or in-person voting by a particular party that seems interested in chasing the poll until to intimidation”. She cast her vote for Harris at a polling center in Minneapolis, saying the vice president “stands for democracy and freedom of choice.”

As the start of early voting approached, Trump’s rhetoric grew more ominous, with a pledge to prosecute anyone who “cheats” in the election in the same way he falsely claimed they did in 2020, when he lied about widespread fraud and attacked officials who stood by. their exact vote tallies.

Trump has previously tried to cast doubt on mail-in voting and encouraged voters to vote in person on Election Day. But this year, Trump and the Republican National Committee, which he now controls, have begun embracing early and mail-in voting as a way to block GOP votes before Election Day, as Democrats have done for years.

Eugene Otteson, 71, a Vietnam War veteran and former factory worker, cast his early vote for the former president in Anoka, Minnesota. He said he believed Trump would keep the country from intervening in foreign conflicts and manage the economy like a business executive.

“Not that I like him, but he’s a businessman, and I like someone who can run a business,” Otteson said. “With Kamala, you still don’t know what it represents… I hear her walking around saying ‘joy, joy.’ Well, I can say joy to the world, but that doesn’t mean it will stop the wars.”

In Virginia, in-person early voting has long been popular in many parts of the state.

Fairfax County Elections Director Eric Spicer said about a third of local voters turned out to vote on Election Day during the 2020 presidential election, while the rest voted by mail or early and in person. Mary Lynn Pinkerman, director of elections for the city of Chesapeake, expects early voting to help ease congestion on Nov. 5, but she also warned that with strong interest in this year’s presidential race, “voters may experience waiting times” on election day.

Among the Virginians who took advantage of early voting Friday was Rocklyn Faher, a retired US Navy aviation electrician who served in the first Gulf War. He became emotional when talking about his vote in Norfolk for Harris. Fighting back tears, he spoke of preserving the Constitution and the future of his grandchildren.

“I’m obviously very emotionally involved in this election,” Faher, 70, said. “It’s the most important election in the last 100 years.”

Faher said she believes in protecting reproductive rights and likes Harris’ plan to offer $25,000 for first-time home buyers, while criticizing Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on products from overseas.

He also said that Harris’ overall proposals are “better than putting 10 million naturalized and undocumented immigrants, documented or undocumented, on railroad cars and sending them across the border into Mexico. It’s crazy.”

Immigration, and especially the surge at the country’s southern border in recent years, also emboldens those voting for Trump, who has promised mass deportations if he wins the presidency again.

Israel Chavez, 37, came to America from Peru at the age of 10 with his father and sister. He voted for Trump because he believes the economy was stronger under the former president and supports a tougher line on immigration.

“I know what it’s like when you have an open border and you let anybody in,” he said after casting his vote at a polling place in Anoka, Minnesota. “My father brought us into the country legally. I had visas. He just did it well.”

In Yankton, South Dakota, the county elections office saw a steady stream of early voters right after it opened at 9 a.m., said Kasi Foss, assistant county auditor. This is unusual for the first day of early voting.

She said that while the office didn’t have a voting line, the office consistently had two or three people wanting to vote at any given time.

South Dakota voters are deciding the fate of several ballot initiatives on important issues, including a proposal to amend the state constitution to protect abortion rights and a measure that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana. But Foss said he believes the presidential race is driving turnout.

“Normally on the first day, we’ll have a few strays,” she said.

Some voters may opt to vote early in person instead of using mail-in ballots to make sure their votes are counted, given the ongoing struggles of the U.S. Postal Service.

State and local election officials across the country warned last week that problems with mail deliveries threaten to affect voters and told the system’s chief that he has not fixed persistent deficiencies despite their repeated attempts to reach out.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy responded in a letter released Monday that he would work with state election officials to address their concerns, but reiterated that the Postal Service would be prepared.

Simon, Minnesota’s secretary of state, urged voters to make their voting plans now.

“My hope and expectation is that the USPS will do the things that we have recommended and do them quickly in the next 47 days because the stakes are really high for individual voters,” Simon said.