The Daily visited six polling places across seven wards in Evanston on Tuesday, asking more than two dozen voters about the issues that matter most to them.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Yesterday, Daily reporters traveled to six polling places around Evanston, asking more than two dozen voters about the issues most important to them, the stakes of this election and how confident they are that their preferred candidate will win.
From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Edward Simon Cruz. This is Everything Evanston.
Across the city, the voters we spoke to overwhelmingly backed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris over her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump. In the 2020 election, about 90% of Evanston voters supported Joe Biden.
But voters had a wide range of reasons for this choice. Some voters were focused on various policies, placing the importance of this election on the issues their candidate was fighting for.
While voting at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center, 7th Ward resident Katie Winter emphasized the importance of the election for her family.
KATIE WINTER: I have three daughters and a son, and so especially with reproductive rights and just, you know, rights over a woman’s own body is number one for me. And then, probably the second is climate change and just the issues in place to either protect the Earth for our kids and future generations or, you know, the disregard for science.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Almost every voter The Daily spoke to talked about protecting reproductive rights. 5th Ward resident Tamika Sargent immediately cited IVF policies as the most significant issue for her.
TAMIKA SARGENT: Knowing that everyone isn’t able to have children naturally and I know that for some people, wanting to create a family can be a barrier, so I think that that was something that was really important to me: for people to be able to have the families they want and not have someone dictate what your family should look like or how you should go about having that family.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Some voters at Fleetwood-Jourdain supported Harris because of her morals. 7th Ward resident Chuck Psotka said he was concerned with the candidates’ character above anything else.
CHUCK PSOTKA: I couldn’t care less about policy. We could argue and discuss policy all day long, but I do not want a rapist, a thief, a liar, a grifter and a con man behind the Resolute desk, no matter what the policies are.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: 2nd Ward resident Ellen Collar also chose to vote for Harris based on the general ideals she wants the country to uphold.
ELLEN COLLAR: We need a government that functions for the people, that the role of government is — why I’m a Democrat, is because they see themselves as having responsibility to care for the citizenry, and that would be the philosophy I want to return.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Along with the strong support for Harris, voters were generally uncertain about how this election would sway. 5th Ward resident Charles Boyd decided his best strategy was looking away from the chaos.
CHARLES BOYD: The polls are so close. It’s really hard to — I’m just going to go to bed and hope I wake up with good news.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Ald. Bobby Burns (5th), who spoke to Evanston residents at Fleetwood-Jourdain, said elected officials should lead by representing their country’s values. He named one economic issue he found particularly important.
BOBBY BURNS: Affordable housing is a local issue, and it’s a national one as well. I’ve been, I’ve been excited to see it’s been a part of the national conversation in this election. I can’t remember a time where affordable housing was mentioned by presidential candidates as much as it has this race, and — so that’s an issue that’s really important to me.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Evanston resident Breannah Ranger voted at Dawes Elementary School. Ranger said she was concerned about affordable food and housing. She said Harris would better address that issue, among others.
BREANNAH RANGER: Just the biggest thing is just the living and food prices. I think that she’ll be able to lower that for us, and she came from (the) middle class. I think she can, she’s well-enabled to do it.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Evanston resident Ty Colvin expressed concern about one specific potential change under a second Trump administration. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, created an initiative called Project 2025 listing policy changes it would implement under Trump. One of those changes: eliminating the Department of Education.
TY COLVIN: I’m a teacher, so I feel like there were a lot of issues with the Department of Education that he was talking about changing that would directly affect just everything that we’ve built. So that part was really scary and kind of brought it to a whole other level.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Throughout the day, several voters said they wanted the next president to uphold democracy. Chicago resident Anthony D’Agostino said he doesn’t care for Trump’s character.
ANTHONY D’AGOSTINO: I don’t respect Trump at all. I don’t really, I can’t say like I know a lot of the details about his policies, other than the fact that I don’t really agree with any of the things I hear him say.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: 6th Ward resident Lee Randhava expressed a similar sentiment.
LEE RANDHAVA: I’m gonna be very frank — the most important issue is getting Trump out of here, never to be seen again.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: At Haven Middle School, 7th Ward resident Cheree Bertalan said the prospect of a Trump victory frightens her.
CHEREE BERTALAN: I think we need a politician — I’m gonna cry, actually. I’m so scared. We need a politician that will keep our democracy alive. That’s so important to me. And I think that who I voted for is gonna do that.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: 6th Ward resident Rebecca Parker also voted for Harris. Parker said for her, key priorities include restoring reproductive rights and implementing universal healthcare.
REBECCA PARKER: For me, it’s maintaining democracy and democratic values. A more progressive everything — reproductive health, I want us to get eventually to universal healthcare, and I don’t think that will happen with Republicans. I think between the two candidates, there’s a clear moral difference. Morality, character, and qualifications — so it’s pretty much just everything.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Several state and county positions were also on the ballot this fall, including for several lower-level judges. Voting at the Robert Crown Community Center, 9th Ward resident Matthew Yasuoka said these races are also crucial.
MATTHEW YASUOKA: I think the most important issue, really, is local election issues — you know, judges and just participating in democracy. I think that that’s something that’s on the ballot.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Many voters brought their children to the polls, as schools in Evanston/Skokie School District 65 were closed on Election Day. 7th Ward resident Kaitlin Bowker highlighted the importance of voting with her daughters. She said she wanted to show her daughters that they have a voice.
KAITLIN BOWKER: We supported Harris, Kamala Harris, and I am hoping that she wins. 100% hoping that she wins.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Evanston resident Angela Mark also brought her three children to Haven to teach them about the importance of voting. However, she had a slightly different perspective on the outcome of the election.
ANGELA MARK: Well, I’m voting for Kamala Harris, and unfortunately, I don’t think she’s going to win.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Mark said she is pessimistic about the future of American politics, citing online disinformation and the influence of big money.
ANGELA MARK: How do you beat a force like that when there are no moral guidelines for the other side? And when you have the effects of unfettered money and billionaires who can buy elections, this country teeters on a complete autocracy. It’s a sad day for me. You know, I wish I could be more hopeful, but I’m not.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Bertalan echoed this frustration about the election.
CHEREE BERTALAN: I’m so sorry I’m crying, but this has been so emotional. This whole election has been so emotional, and I can’t wait until it’s over tonight and she wins. I can’t wait.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: At the Jane R. Perlman Apartments, 1st Ward resident Carole Bass based her vote on how this year’s election will impact future generations.
CAROLE BASS: I’m not gonna live more than another 20 years, but you guys have to deal with this. And what my generation has handed over to you guys is just, in my view, unconscionable. We inherited — there were lots of problems, but the world was pretty much intact, and right now, there are a lot of perils that we haven’t had before.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Back at Haven, seventh-year interdisciplinary biological sciences PhD candidate and 7th Ward resident Michael Ray agreed.
MICHAEL RAY: We’re gonna look back at this time in our history and think that it was just a super f–ked-up time.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: In the face of these challenges, however, Ray said they remain focused on the future. Ray said they want a president who will stand up for vulnerable communities, including transgender and nonbinary people. He hopes voters will make the right choice.
MICHAEL RAY: At the end of your life, if you have a life review, would you be proud of how you acted in this time? And I think that’s an important question that I ask myself and I hope others ask themselves.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Edward Simon Cruz. Thanks for listening to another episode of Everything Evanston. This episode was reported and produced by me, Jack Baker, Matias Castañeda, Dalton Hanna and Isaac Speyer. Anavi Prakash and Isaiah Steinberg contributed reporting.
The city editor of The Daily Northwestern is Shreya Srinivasan. The audio editor is me, Edward Simon Cruz. The digital managing editors are Carlotta Angiolillo and Sasha Draeger-Mazer. The editor-in-chief is Jacob Wendler.
Our theme music is “Revolution” by Xennial, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License and provided by the Free Music Archive.
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