‘You want your voice to be heard’: What brought Texans to the polls on the first day of early voting

Early voting continues through Nov. 1.

By Sarah AschOctober 22, 2024 1:18 pm,

Early voting started Monday in Texas for the November election, and all over the state, Texans turned out to cast their ballots.

Journalists at our partner stations were out and about talking with folks about what brought them to the polls on the first day, and Texas Standard wanted to bring you some of those voices.

Below are snippets from interviews with voters in San Antonio, El Paso and Fort Worth. Early voting continues through Nov. 1, and Election Day is Nov. 5.

These interviews have been lightly edited for clarity:

Daniel Canstanera, Fort Worth

I’m 64. I’m a network engineer for an airline company. Well, I wanted to cast my ballot early because I fear the lines are going to get crowded later. So I wanted to get it done on the first day it opened.

This is the first time for me to vote early. So it’s a new experience for me. And I had to time away from work to get it done, so I got it out of the way.

The concerns I have regarding our nation is primarily the economy. I mean, it’s my biggest concern we have, because it’s seen as unstable and prices are out of hand. So I’m hoping we can get an administration that can level things out and get things under control.

Laura Melendez, El Paso

I retired 10 years ago and got up early and came to vote for Kamala. I usually go on the voting day, but today is very important and I wanted to be sure to get my vote in.

I think we need new blood in the whole government. We need time limits on these people in Congress and the Senate and everywhere else. I mean, just like the highest title in the land has a four-year deadline; why don’t these other people? I mean, they come back with the same ideas over and over and over and they don’t think progressively.

You know, a lot of the United States is our young people, and we need young people there.

Nick Campus, San Antonio

I am a construction project manager. It’s important lately for me and my family just to show the younger generation, my kids, that voting is important, that if there needs to be a change, it starts with us – that your voice be heard.

The way I voted today is for life, Israel and freedom.

Ken Shimamoto, Fort Worth

I’m 67 years old and I’m a gentleman of leisure. I’m retired – I’m a writer, which means I’m never retired. I’m a big fan of democracy. I’m a veteran.

You know, I swore to protect this country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And I took that seriously. And I’d like people in leadership roles in this country to have the same feeling about that as I do. Reproductive rights, I think, are very important.

I think that access to the ballot box, you know, the ability of people to vote and have their voice count, is very important for the rule of law. And maintaining the rule of law in our nation is paramount.

Marina Madden, San Antonio

I was born and raised in Austin, but I’ve been in Bexar County since the late 90s. I’m actually a former professor here at UTSA. But now my daughter is also a student here. So we chose to come and vote here on campus today.

I’m a woman. I have a daughter. I’m a teacher. And all of those things I feel are really on the ballot this year because without good health care for women, without good pay for teachers, Texas will fall behind. And so that’s really why I wanted to get out on day one and vote on the first day of early voting.

Doretha Brewer, Fort Worth

I am 66 years old. I’m retired. I retired from the City of Fort Worth with the code compliance department. I’ve been retired for one year. I want to make sure my vote will be counted. And I said I’ll just get on out here the very first day.

To me, that’s the best way to do it, if you can come out and early vote so you don’t have to be in any real long lines on the last day to vote. That is important because you want your voice to be heard. You want your vote to be counted. And I’m all for what’s best for the United States. And that’s the main thing is what’s best for the United States. That’s what counts.

Julián Aguilar of The Texas Newsroom, Gabriella Alcorta-Solorio of Texas Public Radio and Penelope Rivera of KERA News contributed to this story.

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