Flint Voters Make Their Way to the Polls Despite Suppression Robocalls

“I’ve lived through several elections of presidents, but nothing like this.”

AJ Vicens/Mother Jones

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Early on Tuesday morning, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel tweeted about robocalls that seemed to be an attempt to suppress voting in Flint:

Voters at the City of Flint Municipal Center on Tuesday were undeterred and encountered no such lines, although some said they had heard about the texts before arriving. One, who declined to give his name, said he saw reports of the text messages “all over the place. I was expecting to wait two hours.”

Timothy Fenior, who was with the man, said that despite their fears, “actually they got us in and out fast. It was nice.”

“Just for our sake of being gay men, I hope that Joe Biden becomes president,” Fenior said. “I think people have to vote for our lives today, unfortunately.” 

Nadie Holmes, another voter dropping off a completed ballot, said that like a lot of people around the country, she wants the election to be over. It has felt “for lack of a better explanation, like a big nightmare,” she said. “I’ve lived through several elections of presidents, but nothing like this.”

“There’s too much division and hatred and violence that’s going on,” the 30-year Flint resident said, adding that more people in her circles are voting this cycle than in the past. “They want to see a change.”

Jason Garcia and his son, also named Jason Garcia, were at the center to resolve an issue with the younger man’s registration so he could cast his first ever ballot.

“I voted,” said the younger Garcia, who is just 18. “It feels cool, I guess, my first time.”

As they exited the building, the father snapped a picture of his son. “Mom wanted a picture to record it to keep for memories,” he explained.

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