BY KELSEY SANTOS
On Tuesday, Nov. 8, hundreds of Brooklyn College students and residents of nearby Flatbush cast their vote in the midterm election on campus at 2946 Bedford Ave.. Prior to election day, The CUNY campus also was open for early voting from Oct 29 to Nov 6.
Voters made important decisions about who to elect for governor, senator and attorney general, among other ballot choices. Because of early voting, the polling site wasn’t as crowded as it as expected.
“It has been calm over here because it’s a big space. It’s not like those high schools and elementary schools where it gets crowded with a long line outside,” said Robert Gerald, a poll worker. “This is my first time as a poll worker at this location so it’s good to meet new and different people and hear their thoughts.”
Many elderly Black residents came out to vote, which he said, shows a commitment to care about the community. But Gerald said he hoped more younger voters would turn out.
“Don’t get me wrong, there have been younger folks coming in to vote but a large percentage have been the older people,” Gerald said. “There are definitely younger people who are supposed to come in and vote. It’s sad to see all those votes go to waste when they don’t realize it could benefit a lot.”
Many voters on site said they are following what elected officials have been doing and are hoping the midterms bring important changes in policy. recall actions that the government took and hope that this election brings better changes.
“I do believe that this time people are taking the elections more seriously because we’re hearing more noise about it,” says Franchesca Lee, a local voter. “Because of what the government has done to us, people are now waking up and realizing how important it is to vote. I’m not worried about anything though, NYC is blue all the way!”
Lee has been a long time voter. She is a resident from Midwood and lives 10 minutes away from the Brooklyn College polling site. Lee said she hoped others would make the effort to come out and vote.
There have been a number of students that had the benefit to vote while attending classes since the campus was their poll site, as well. A couple of students have stopped by in between classes to vote.
“It’s literally perfect that my poll site is my school because if not then I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to vote with my busy schedule,” said Maria Castro, a student at Brooklyn College. “It’s even better that it’s not as busy here because it’s quick in and out and I can go on about my day and go to my next class. It took me no more than 10 minutes so I hope others take the time out to do this.”