Polling locations across Midtown experience calm Election Day mornings
Virginia-Highland Elementary School’s location has been a polling site for over 20 years. Today, voters are experiencing a smooth process, due to diluted demand.
Kate Bell has voted early in the past 2 elections, and found voting on Election Day this year to be easier than voting early.
“This was the fastest I’ve ever voted,” Bell said. “There was no line or wait. There was plenty of poll workers. So, I think there is plenty of availability for people to vote today here.”
Brian Parrish shared similar sentiments as Bell that the process to vote this year was quick.
“Everyone I know around here early votes,” Parrish said. “But, I love coming on Election Day and even by this precinct’s standards it was pretty empty. Everyone was super nice and it didn’t take much time at all.”
Melissa Shaughnessy enjoys voting on election day as well. Today, she brought both of her daughters along.
“I like the emotion and build up of election day,” Shaughnessy said. “I also wanted my kids to be able to come with me because this is their future as well and they’re off school today. I wanted to do it together.”
Mae Johnson, a chief manager for Fulton County elections, has been involved for over twenty years. Today, she was present to supervise both the voters and the volunteer poll workers.
“I just want everything to lead to a perfect election today,” Johnson said. “So far we have not had any problems, and I don’t expect any.”
Joseph Laster has worked as a poll worker for the past four years. Today at Virginia Highland Elementary School, he worked as a clerk.
“I do this work to make sure as many people can vote as possible and keep the line moving,” Laster said. “As a clerk, I go through training and am here from 5am-9pm.”
Laster believes that some of the mid-day lull is normal for Election Day, but has become increasingly present with early voting.
“There are often many people here at 7am and then after 5pm,” Laster said. “But, over the years, lines are way shorter. As one person in one polling location, I think [early voting] has made it a lot easier and increased voter turnout.”
On the ballot this year, in addition to the presidential election, there were several local races, including Atlanta City Council, Fulton County Commissioner, Tax Commissioner, and more. Parrish said that the smaller races greatly motivated him to vote.
“I vote because I have great anxiety about this country’s direction,” Parrish said. “I care a lot about local Georgia issues and making sure from top to bottom we have people in power to make our community better.”
Conversely, Byron Williams chose to vote today for the second time because he cares about the result of the presidential race.
“We have to make a difference,” Williams said. “We need to elect Kamala Harris. We need to do this for the younger generation and show them that we came out and voted now.”
Jason Haynes has voted in multiple past elections, and said that he will continue to vote as long as he’s able to.
“It’s always important to participate and vote,” Haynes said. “It’s a public duty that we all have. You can’t have a voice if you don’t use it.”
As Park Tavern Piedmont Park opened its doors for voters to cast their ballots, many, including polling officials, noted a markedly smaller turnout of voters on Election Day in comparison to the 2020 presidential election at this location.
“I noticed that I’m the only one out of all my friends who waited until today. Everybody voted early,” Heidi Coble, who voted at Park Tavern, said. “I think everybody was expecting it to be super busy.”
Gamble Everett, a poll worker at Park Tavern, believes in addition to the large early voting pool, a combination of the location’s upgraded voting machines and preparation among voters have facilitated a smoother voting process, reducing the lines.
“I think we have a good system in place now, and all of our machines work,” Everett said. “Also, people are more prepared when they come in. A lot of people have their sample ballot printed out and they know who they’re going to pick and because even there’s amendments on there, and that takes a long time to read them and select them. But I think people are really prepared this time.”
Kelsey Wells said she has been an avid voter since she became an adult and was excited to come to Park Tavern to vote this election.
“I’ve maybe missed one or two elections,” Wells said. “It’s been a lifelong thing … I was actually very excited to come and get it done. We had prepared ahead of time who we were going to vote for, me and my husband, and so it was pretty smooth.”
Brandon Hugueley has voted at Park Tavern since he moved to Atlanta five years ago. Hugueley said he appreciates the location’s accessibility considering the limited flexibility in his schedule to go and vote.
“I’m taking classes and I work full time, so it’s just a little bit harder to find the perfect time in my schedule,” Hugueley said. “Every time, it’s been very quick, but I live very close by, so it’s easy to just ride my bike over here during the day.”
Hugueley believes his role as a voter is significant as a resident of a swing state like Georgia.
“As a liberal, I know I’m living in a state that, outside of Atlanta, is less liberal,” Hugueley said. “I’m from California originally, where California always goes blue. Here, I feel like my vote actually counts a little bit more. And so I want to show up and be there, because I know it’s the chance for me to have my voice heard. And I know there’s a lot of people in Georgia who aren’t voting the same way. So I just want to do what I can.”
Mellyn Miller, who voted at Park Tavern, said through her job as a hairstylist, she interacts with a range of individuals that have taught her to prioritize community impact as much as personal beliefs when making a decision on who to vote for.
“I meet so many people in so many walks of life that sit in my chair, and you’re not just voting for yourself, you’re voting for so many others,” Miller said. “Everyone is so important and deserves rights. And so I just wanted to make sure to not only do what I think is personally best for myself, but also what’s best going to be best for the community and the world as a whole.”
Miller believes that despite some anxiety she has felt around the choices in the election, voting is significant.
“It’s natural to be a little bit uncertain and just anxious for what’s to come, but you have to remember that still using your voice versus not using your voice, it’s going to matter, no matter what,” Miller said.
Everett said since Park Tavern opened in the morning, she has noticed a surprising number of first time voters.
“We’ve had a lot of people check in, and it actually tells us when they check in that it’s their first time voting,” Everett said. “We’ve already seen that several times today, which is cool.”
Jacob Fisher, a student at Georgia Tech, voted for the first time, and said he appreciated the assistance of polling workers in the voting process.
“[Voting] was a little intimidating at first, but the people inside were extremely nice and they were happy to see it was my first time,” Fisher said. “The whole experience of it was fun, good to have my voice being heard, I enjoyed it.”
After record-breaking early voting, there has been decreased voter turnout on election day. This trend was reflected at the Joan P. Garner Library at Ponce De Leon polling location today.
Voter Melissa Bowen decided to vote on election day to avoid the long lines she saw during the early voting period.
“I voted every time, but it was easy [today],” Bowen said. “I don’t know why, but this location is never busy. I walked by here a few times during the early voting process and there was a line, so I just waited until I had a chance and that was today.”
chose to vote on election day because she could not make it to vote during early voting. She said her experience at the Ponce De Leon Library was easy because there were no lines.
“[Today] I feel [voting] was very easy,” deVries said. “It was very flowing. I came at a good time also, right towards the end, which, from experience, I found was the best time because everyone got their voting over with. I have a very busy life, so I just was like ‘oh my God, I gotta get over here.’ [I chose to vote on election day] because I have a very demanding schedule. I work in a non-profit, but also, I just knew from experience, voting later is easier, it’s not as crowded.”
However, for voter Bryan Wheelock, the decision to vote on Election day was more personal. He believes early and mail-in votes cause issues between political parties due to voter discrepancies.
“[I voted day-of] because I feel like one of the parties kind of abuses the late ballots,” Wheelock said. “So if you vote early, they won’t count it until after they’ve already done the other counts. And so in the last election, they were really making a big kerfuffle about it, saying ‘Trump was winning’. So that’s why I do it.”
Wheelock also believes that voter accessibility has improved, combatting issues he’s perceived in past years.
“For some reason, there’s also less line when you vote on the day than when you vote early,” Wheelock said. “[Voting today was] easy. This is way better than in 2016 when I had to [vote] at this church; that was terrible. There was no parking. I ended up being there for two and a half hours. I personally feel like they could have intentionally selected that area because they know that this area votes Democrat. Sometimes they want to make it difficult to do that. That’s just my opinion.”
Voters at Dad’s Garage additionally experienced short lines and wait times. Voter Aaron Griffin felt that the increase in early voting shortened lines this year to more manageable levels.
“I took like three minutes [to vote],” said Griffin.” I think the longest part was just giving them my information.“
When asked about why he chose not to mail in or vote early, Griffin said he has always preferred to vote the day of.
“I like being there on the day of, it’s my personal preference.” Griffin said. “I like being [here] I feel more secure about it.”
The lines were shorter than in years past, with only a few people filtering in and out of the theater between 9 and 11:30. Griffin attributed this to the increase in early voting.
“It’s pretty not not as busy, and I think that’s because history was made with people that voted early,” said Griffin. “So I think early voting is kind of showing itself true because it wasn’t that many people here today”
Voter Holland Reede said that she had decided to vote in person on election day so that it better fit her schedule.
“[The decision] was more so about my schedule,” said Reede. “I didn’t have like a single day to get to the polls for early voting, but I had taken off today specifically just in case to make sure my was cast”
Reede said that the short lines and ease of voting was a remarkable difference from the 2020 election.
“It was a nightmare in [2020],” Reede said. “We were waiting in line for three to four hours at some places. So, this was this is ten times better than it has been in the past.”
Griffin said that one of the most important parts of this election for him was returning to a sense of normalcy and respect in politics.
“I think that the main thing for me is getting back to a place where we just have a certain level of respect just for our fellow human[s],” Griffin said. “I think we’ve kind of removed ourselves from that.”
Griffin stressed the importance of staying informed about the election and candidates before voting in an important election.
“You gotta do your research, because the results can pretty much decide where we are headed as a country in the next upcoming years,” Griffin said. “[There are] some important things on the ballot.”
Many voters gathered at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip and Morningside Presbyterian Church to cast their votes. Voter Mark Musick said it is important to him to, exercise his right to vote in every election.
“I haven’t missed an election in over 50 years,” Musick said. “If there’s an election, I try to be prepared to be there.”
Despite typical long waiting times for past elections, citizens at both the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip and Morningside Presbyterian Church felt that voting was quick.
“The voting experience was very easy, very fast and very well organized,” Musick said.
Voter Will Ray also felt that casting his ballot at Morningside Presbyterian Church was extremely easy.
“I think a lot of people vote early now,” Ray said. “I might have walked in and out in two minutes. Everyone was super friendly and it was super simple.”
Cecil Phillips also felt that voting at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip was much quicker than in recent years.
“The location itself was very convenient to where I live,” Phillips said. “There was also no line and the poll watchers were very helpful. It took 10 minutes; the polls are a lot emptier this year.”
Holly Scott brought her daughter along to vote with her at Morningside Presbyterian Church. Scott was inspired to vote in this election to set an example for her daughter.
“I’m exercising my right to vote because my ancestors weren’t allowed to vote,” Scott said. “I want to be an example for my daughter so that when she turns 18, she exercises her rights.”
Phillips voted at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip because he believes this election is extremely important for the future of the U.S.
“This election is important because it decides what kind of country we’re going to have and what kind of leadership is going to make that country,” Phillips said. “It’s an election that’s going to have a significant impact, not only on the next four years, but for a long time domestically and internationally.”
Phillips believes voting is a way to voice your opinion in politics.
“I always vote,” Phillips said. “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain. You either vote or you just keep your mouth shut for the next four years.”
