Voters’ motivations for casting ballots are many
What voters on the street told Herald reporters Joe Battenfeld, Alexi Cohan, Brian Dowling, Mary Markos, Brooks Sutherland and Laurel J. Sweet:
‘OUR OBAMA MOMENT’: Julia Mejia, who is still recovering from a recent surgery, was walking around reminding her neighbors in Mattapan to get out and vote for Ayanna Pressley in the 7th District race as a self-appointed campaign volunteer.
“I see Ayanna like our Obama moment. It's like 2008 all over again,” Mejia said. “Here's someone who lives like us, who looks like us, who has lived through our experiences, who is actually running for something we believe in and that's why I'm so excited about her because I think it's an opportunity to really change the conversation in the White House.”
HOT FOR VOTING: Voters in Dorchester said they were drawn to the polls despite yesterday's oppressive heat and humidity in large part because the sprawling field of candidates finally offered them some variety.
“It wasn't just the same old names on the ballot,” said Jack Hussey, 72, a retired veteran who voted Democrat in the state primary.
Hussey said the ballot was so long it took him a full 20 minutes to make his choices. And while he declined to say who he voted for in the much-watched 7th Congressional District race between incumbent U.S. Rep. Michael E. Capuano and Boston City Councilor Pressley, Hussey remarked, “It's time for a change.”
EVERY VOTE COUNTS: Ruthie Gomez, 64, who voted at the Adams Street Library in Dorchester, said, “I guess my motivation is what's happening in the state. And not just the state, but the entire nation.”
Gomez was asked if campaign ads touting candidates' dislike of and distancing from President Trump made an impression on her.
“Definitely,” she said. “It matters a lot. I have a lot of concerns about the direction this country is going in. I have concerns for my grandchildren. That's why I vote.”
SOMERVILLE SHOWS UP: Somerville elections chief Nicholas Salerno told the Herald this primary has been hard to gauge because of the post-holiday date, the hot weather and the intense focus on the 7th Congressional District race between Pressley and Capuano.
“When we initially got the date — the day after Labor Day — I thought it was going to be a sleeper,” Salerno said. “But as things progressed because of the 7th District race and interest in a couple of other races, all the sudden things seem to be active again.”
He said his office handed out twice as many absentee ballots as they did for the midterm primaries four years ago, when turnout was about 20 percent.
EYE ON LIZ: Debbie Gordon, 65, of Wellesley voted for GOP challenger Geoff Diehl with an eye toward taking down incumbent U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “I like that he was a Democrat and he switched over,” Gordon said. “He proves how far left the Democrat party is going. I like that he wants to keep taxes low, wants a wall.
“I think he'd have a good chance. I think anyone would be a good fight for her.”
Jan Hickenbothem, 70, also of Wellesley, voted Democrat “only because of Sen. Warren,” she said.