{"id":14336,"date":"2024-11-06T00:00:15","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T00:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?page_id=14336"},"modified":"2024-11-06T03:19:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T03:19:17","slug":"scenes-from-election-day-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/","title":{"rendered":"Scenes from Election Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
Story by Ethan Davidovitch, Lauren Pehlivanian and Annapurna Bhattacharya; photos by Kulsoom Rizavi <\/strong><\/p>\n At midday, the Cole Mill Church of Christ polling place for precinct 37 had more hoopla than voters. It seemed like many people had voted early, leaving the polling place largely deserted by voters but populated with campaign volunteers handing out fliers and a DJ playing singalong pop tunes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The center of much attention was Darrick Woods, who spends most days as the director of nursing programs at Piedmont Community College. A DJ since he was a student at UNC\u2013Chapel Hill, he took the day off to work for DJs at the Polls, a nonprofit group that hired over 4,000 people across the country to provide music at their local polling places.<\/span><\/p>\n Woods had no preset playlist but had guidelines to keep his selections family\u2013friendly. At some polling places during early voting, which Woods noted was more lively, groups of little kids would come up to his booth and begin dancing. \u201cMusic is the one sorta thing that binds everyone,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Besides making a little money, Woods was happy to provide relief and entertainment for what can otherwise be a stressful day\u2014 \u201cI\u2019m not changing votes, but changing mindsets.\u201d (Woods voted last week.)<\/span><\/p>\n Former president Donald Trump won this precinct by almost 20% in 2020, but the small midday group was a mix of Harris and Trump voters\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ingrid Conley, a Triangle-area realtor, distributed sample ballots with suggestions for each race\u2019s Republican candidates. She wore an American flag shawl, which she said she wears four times a year: Memorial Day, Independence Day, Election Day, and Veterans Day. During early voting, she worked as a poll worker inside this same polling place.<\/span><\/p>\n One voter had strong feelings to back up his vote. Bill, an unaffiliated conservative who voted for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Ross Perot, and Bill Clinton, said politics have gotten more extreme since he first voted in the Nixon election, especially on the left. He said that he feels so much of the left is about criticizing the right, and that he doesn\u2019t understand what they\u2019ll do for him. \u201cSure, Trump\u2019s a pompous ass,\u201d but he cares about improving the average American\u2019s life, Bill said in explaining his vote for the Republican candidate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In terms of policy, Bill said he does not want his taxes going to politicians who support funding gender\u2013change procedures or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. He said he prefers something he picked up from a tech CEO, MEI\u2014 \u201cmerit, excellence, intelligence.\u201d He also favors immigration. In fact, Bill sponsored his wife to immigrate from China. She is now studying to be a registered nurse at the Duke University School of Nursing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bill was happy to speak about his politics and beliefs. But he would not give his full name\u2014 \u201cBill, that\u2019s all you need.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n — ETHAN DAVIDOVITCH<\/p>\n