When Kate Clarke arrived to set up her Juniata polling place this morning, one woman was already waiting to be the first in line. But within 15 minutes—around 6:45 a.m.—the line stretched halfway down the block.
“It’s been hectic all day,” said Clarke, a judge of elections for the 33rd Ward. “Getting a breather is not happening today, which is fabulous. It’s a little slow at the moment, but then it picks up. It goes in clusters.”
Clarke attributed the increased turnout to several factors, including recent derogatory remarks about Puerto Rico made during a Trump campaign rally and ongoing concerns about women’s rights.
“You have insulted a full community,” Clarke said, noting Juniata’s majority Latino population. “But I also see a lot of women coming out and younger voters. We’ve had a few people tell us it’s their first time voting, and I’m not saying they’ve all been young. I’ve had a couple of older ones too.”
Hunting Park resident Stephanie Santiago, 30, a committee person for the 19th Ward, said turnout at her polling place was approaching levels seen during Obama-era elections.
“People are excited to come in,” Santiago said. “Both excited to get their voice out there, and [to have] their voice heard.”
She appreciated voters' patience with poll workers.
“A lot of people are thankfully coming in very patient,” Santiago said. “They’re understanding that, you know, just because the machine is giving us issues or we’re trying to find their name in the book or in the system, they’re not giving us issues.”
At Heitzman Recreation Center in Harrowgate, a line extended out the door for the first time in several presidential elections, according to 45th Ward committee person Erin Farrell.
“Not as busy as ’08—nothing will beat that—but almost as busy as 2012,” Farrell said. “By the end, we might be on par with 2012 numbers.”
Farrell attributed the increased turnout to strong feelings about the differences between the presidential candidates.
“Harrowgate is mixed,” she said. “We’re definitely seeing some Trump support, but I think Kamala has the edge here.”
In Fairhill, Amarilis Ruiz, a 7th Ward resident, noted a higher-than-usual turnout, which was encouraging for a ward with historically low voter turnout.
“I see that there’s more people coming, so I know there’s gonna be a good turnout,” Ruiz said. “Because any other time, it would be sad, because people would not come, and it’s like, ‘What happened to our community? Why aren’t they voting?’”
Voter turnout numbers will be posted here as they’re made available.
Have any questions, comments, or concerns about this story? Send an email to editors@kensingtonvoice.com.
