South Valley voters exercise their ‘civic duty’

Tuesday’s general election took place within a deeply divided American electorate and under a cloud of concerns about the nation’s future. 

Still, voters in South Valley showed up steadily at vote centers throughout the day Nov. 3, with many making quick stops to drop off their ballots already filled out, signed and sealed. In some counties, nearly one-third of registered voters dropped off or mailed their ballots before Election Day. 

Upon exiting the polls, voters cited an essential responsibility as their reason to vote; others suggested voting is part of life in a democratic republic; and some proudly announced it was their first time at the polls.

Bryan Hernandez, 18, voted for the first time, he said outside the Gilroy Veterans Hall polling place. His family came to the U.S. from Mexico, making him a first-generation voter here. 

“I’m one of the first ones in my family to be able to vote,” said Hernandez, a recent graduate of Gilroy High School. 

Mark Taggart, another Gilroy voter, said, “It’s a civic duty. You don’t want to be leaving it up to someone else. You’ve got to get out there and have your vote counted. It doesn’t matter which way you go.”

Hollister voter John Daudet, after voting at the San Benito County Elections Office, said showing up on Election Day is a sure way to cause real change. 

“If you like the way things are going in California, do the status quo. And if you don’t, you’ve got to come out and vote and change it,” Daudet said. “There’s too much shenanigans going on in this state, and everybody wants to ignore it. I want to put people in there that are going to try to make things right.” 

San Benito County Registrar of Voters Francisco Diaz said state election officials had projected at least a 60% turnout in California for the Nov. 3 election. He added that about 31% of voters in San Benito County had mailed in their ballots before Tuesday. 

As of early Wednesday morning, the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters reported that election officials have so far counted ballots from 28.4% of the county’s 1,080,711 registered voters. In San Benito County, officials have counted ballots from 19% from about 40,000 registered voters. 

Outside the Gilroy Center for the Arts polling place on Nov. 3, Madeline Morrow and Mimi S. volunteered as independent election observers throughout the evening. They were recruited by PACT, an interfaith grassroots organization that offers leadership training in communities throughout the U.S. 

Mimi is also a former election worker, following in the footsteps of her parents and grandparents before her. As an observer, she and other volunteers are on hand to keep an eye out for violations of rules that prohibit electioneering in and around vote centers, and any other potential disruptions to the voting process. 

As of about 4pm, no such disruptions had been observed at the arts building. 

Morrow, who is retired, was volunteering for the first time in any role related to an election. 

“I am passionate about voting,” Morrow said. “I do all I can, which usually isn’t enough, to get more people to vote, and the concept of any kind of voter intimidation is horrible to me.” 

In the days preceding the election, election officials in both San Benito and Santa Clara counties reported they have been visited by federal agents from the U.S. Department of Justice, demanding they segregate ballots submitted by alleged non-citizens. 

Local election officials in both counties have pushed back, noting that they will continue to follow established state election laws and procedures. 

Back at the Veterans Hall, Gilroy voter Vince Koide suggested today’s generation owes it to their predecessors to continue to vote. 

“People have fought long and hard for the right to vote,” Koide said. “Everybody’s opinion—whether I agree with them or they agree with me—it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, I think it’s very important that everybody’s voice is heard.” 

Gilroy voter Maria Flores said upon exiting the Veterans Hall, “It’s a citizen’s job” to vote. “As a citizen, we’re supposed to come out and do this. It might be a little push to what we would like to have, but I think we also have to use our own judgment and trust our guts that it might be a little change for good.”