While many Fresno voters chose to send their ballots in early this election cycle, some opted to vote in person on Election Day.
At nearly 5 p.m., a line outside of the Mosqueda Community Center in southeast Fresno began to form. But Charlene Brown, 35, said she didn’t mind the wait. She’s been voting since she was 18 and said voting in person is more meaningful.
“It’s a different feeling voting in person, to see your visual vote count on the screen,” Brown said. She said she was also inspired by the diverse, young voters she saw while waiting in line.
As for the process of voting, Brown said it was fairly quick. “It’s smooth sailing,” she said. “Everything is 6 feet so distance is key.”
For 20-year-old Ricky Ortiz, it was his first time voting in a presidential election, but that’s not why he chose to vote in person.
“I just registered today, because I had a lot going on the past couple weeks,” Ortiz said, “I’ve been adjusting to online-school and voting just crossed my mind today.”
Ortiz said he’s especially interested in the presidential election but also California Proposition 21 which affects renters like him. He said having the right to vote feels bittersweet, because many of his family members back in the Philippines are unable to do so.
Rosa Espinosa Ortega, 45, voted on Tuesday for the second time in her life. She said this time was much harder than the last, but not due to the ballot process.
“I’m not very political but I know the [presidential] candidates both have pros and cons,” Espinosa Ortega said. “So it made it harder for me to make a decision.”
She said she felt Trump handled the pandemic fairly well and she believes the economy has done better under his administration. But ultimately, Espinosa Ortega said it was Biden’s age that made her vote against the Democratic nominee.
Erika Harper said she has voted in every election since 1991. This time she brought her sister to vote with her and she said she was surprised the lines weren’t very long.
“It was quiet and everyone was very helpful,” she said. Having a small child and grandchildren made it tough for her to make a plan to vote before Tuesday, she added..
Twenty minutes west of the Mosqueda Community Center, voters at James Polk Elementary School also said the voting process went well.
Truck driver Sudarshan Toor is 70 years old and voted for the second time.
“I moved addresses so I just came here, showed my ID, they said I was registered to vote here so I did,” Toor said. Toor voted for Trump because he said the Republican nominee is a “good man and has helped a lot of people.”
He said he noticed a lot more people showing up to vote compared to the 2016 election.
As for Fresno State student Destiny Yang, 22, she said she voted in person on Election Day because she forgot to mail in her ballot.
“And I know it’s very important to vote in this country and to voice our opinions,” Yang said.
Yang said she voted for Biden and Harris with her community in mind. And she said she hopes they do a better job of controlling the pandemic in the United States.
