Photos by Dominique Martinez-Powell
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Early voting in Jackson County is taking place now to Nov. 1 for voters with their minds made up going to the polls.
Voting in the county started in September. at the County Clerk’s office, occurring weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Polling centers were set up at the Carbondale Civic Center on Oct. 16, 18, 21, 22 and 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The SIU Student Center polls opened Oct. 17 with other days being the 24, 30, and 31 from 10 a.m. to 5 pm.
At the Student Center, voters fluctuated during the day, with many being students and SIU staff.
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Lucy Jackson, a freshman majoring in Exercise Science who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, said voting is important to her and her family and has been instilled in her from an early age.
“I think that personal opinions matter,” Jackson said. “We should be able to get a majority of people’s opinions out.”
Jackson said she’s not a politically-attuned person, so she doesn’t have specific opinions on any candidate and stays open-minded.
Graduate student Zachariah Davis said he votes because it’s his responsibility as a citizen and for the chance to voice his opinion.
“I feel like I wanted to make sure I did my civic duty this year and voted,” Davis said. “I think it’s just important to if you’re gonna be a citizen.”
Davis said this is the second election he’s participated in with his first one being in 2020. With Davis being from Mississippi, he said that voting feels similar to doing it here in Carbondale.
“When you go up and you’re like in your ID, even your ID and everything, still feels there’s almost like a little voter oppression when a black person coming up, specifically black male,” Davis said. “They didn’t ask me, it’s more of just like the feeling, just like the presence.”
According to the American Civil Liberties Union it is not required to present a photo ID to vote in the state of Illinois.
Davis said it’s a feeling he can’t define that’s trying to deter him but will always vote regardless. One of the things he worries about is civil unrest in the country.
“Just the nature of America, just like making sure there’s no civil unrest, because we’ve had a civil war before,” Davis said. “If you forget our history, it can definitely happen again.”
Elizabeth Saunders, who works for SIU medical school, came to put her vote in because of the convenience of it being on the campus she works at, she said.
Saunders said she has strong opinions on two candidates this election and didn’t want to miss the chance to vote against certain candidates.
“Public opinion surrounding this election feels very inflamed right now, ” Saunders said. “It does feel different than it ever has before. I’ve been voting for a very long time. I rarely miss an election but yeah, it does feel different this time.”
Jacob Pasdertz, a graduate student and staff member of the Student Affairs Department, said since he didn’t have a specific plan on when he was going to vote today was a good day to do so. He believes local elections are more important to focus on than the general elections
“The General Election, I don’t feel [it’s] as important as the election for local congressmen and representatives in House to me,” Pasdertz said. “But all the way around, yeah, I think we should vote. It’s one of our civil rights and oh my gosh, how many people have been denied the right in the past to vote? I feel like we almost like we got to do this thing, right?”
Pasdertz said there isn’t a specific political focus that concerns him more than the other, but political identity is something that interests him with this election.
“I think that there’s this mindset that you must have an identity associated with your political alliance,” Pasdertz said. “Political identity as like, the basis for maybe some of your social identity really harms folks and the ability to collaborate and see issues as not like, oh, this issue is a Republican issue or a Democratic issue, but rather, this is a systemic issue or an issue for our community.”
Pasdertz said he believes the political division is something that pressures others to be politically aligned with a certain party.
“I’ve been voting since I was 18. I am 29 now, so I’ve gotten a few elections in, but yeah, I always try to vote,” Pasdertz said. “One, kind of a novelty, and two, like, oh my gosh, it’s input on the system with which I swim in.”
With Pasdertz having a few elections under his belt, he said he doesn’t feel much of a difference in this elections than others in the realm of a voter.
“Maybe I’m not so bright eyed and bushy tailed as I was as a younger man, but I do feel that each vote is important, right?” Pasdertz said. “It also creates this, maybe this idea that by doing things to interact with the system, I may see myself as more a part of the system, and that may empower me to actualize changes in other facets of my life.”
Luna and Matthew, who declined to give their last names, said with a busy schedule working at a hospital, they wanted to get their vote in because this election is very important to them.
“I feel like it’s gonna be a deciding factor for women everywhere, for people of color, for LGBTQIA people, and it’s a very dangerous and scary time,” Luna said.
Matthew said there’s instability not only in the U.S. but everywhere in the world, so his vote ensures his voice is heard during this time.
“Last time I voted was 2008,” Matthew said. “I hadn’t voted in the last election, but I feel like this one was pretty important to go ahead and cast.”
Luna said women’s rights are very important with this upcoming election and wants to make sure that Illinois stays safe for women, as she doesn’t see many other places in the country as safe for them.
Both said this is the first election they’re voting in again because this is the first time they’ve believed in a candidate’s message in a long time.
“Obama came to office, he had a message, yes, we can and believe in, you know, togetherness and I liked his message a lot,” Matthew said. “When Hillary and Trump came into the fray, it was, I don’t know there’s, there’s a lot of uncertainty in my political preference.”
He said he was thrown off by the chaotic nature of the election at the time, but with the knowledge he has now of the re-selection of former President Donald Trump, he felt compelled to vote again.
Carbondale resident Micheal Miller voted early at the Civic Center because his mind was made up on his vote and plans to be out of town on Election Day.
“I feel it’s your duty at this point, our ancestors fought for that right,” Miller said. “I feel [like] Black women [should]… feel that way, even more than black men, because obviously, they weren’t just second class. At one point, they were third class.”
Miller said he’s voted in the recent past elections and has noticed how polarizing the climate is around the election.
“When I was a kid, my parents talked about not talking about religion and politics outside of the home, but still, you still kind of did it,” Miller said. “I feel like …it’s one of those things you don’t want to do, because it will definitely end friendships or alter relationships just based on your political beliefs.”
Miller said one of his biggest concerns is not having a dictator in office.
“That is what really keeps me awake at night, knowing that anyone can weaponize that office in the way that a certain candidate has talked about doing,” Miller said.
More information on voting and polling locations can be found on the Jackson County website.
To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook and @dailyegyptian on X [formerly known as Twitter].
Jamilah Lewis can be reached at [email protected]. To stay up to date with all your southern Illinois news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.
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