Unalaskans Turn Out in Droves for Election
Tuesday, November 06 2012
Tagalog ballot/KUCB
In Unalaska, there’s rarely a line at the grocery store, let alone the polls, but that’s exactly what voters faced when they went to cast their ballots at City Hall today.
As of 5 p.m. 506 Unalaskans had come out to vote. City Clerk Elizabeth Masoni expects a lot more before the polls close. The turnout is a record for Unalaska, and it’s also a big change from October’s municipal elections, when just 110 people voted.
Despite the unusually high turnout, Masoni says the city is ready.
“I believe we have [enough ballots]. We have a huge stack of them in there.”
People weren’t just showing up at the polls out a sense of civic duty. Many had strong opinions and were voting to express them.
Danielle Williams said she cast her vote to protect women’s rights.
“I believe that the government should stay the hell out my uterus, and my daughter's, and yours.”
Williams wasn’t the only one concerned about how women will fare in this election. Gina Walker says that’s one of the reasons she voted for President Barack Obama.
“I'm very interested in women's issues and marriage rights and I think he's done a great job with our economy.”
John McGuire was also voting for Obama because of the economy, although he was mostly concerned about how Mitt Romney’s proposed policies could hurt the middle class.
“We can’t afford the trickle-down economics that the Bush Administration previously had going.”
Other voters were less focused on single issues and more on making a statement. A first-time voter who only identified himself as Jeff says he came out to speak his mind -- even if it doesn’t produce immediate change.
“I’m really not going to vote for Obama or Romney, just because I don’t like their values. I think I’m going to vote for the Libertarian guy.”
The preponderance of people interviewed were planning to vote for Obama, which doesn’t come as a surprise since Unalaska normally leans Democratic in the general election.
City Hall’s polls will stay open until 8 p.m. Voters should bring their driver’s license, state ID, tribal ID, or other form of ID. A Tagalog interpreter is on hand to translate.
Blah on Wednesday, November 07 2012:
Man shows how one sided and blind Unalaskans can be. For the past 4 years here the cost of living has outrageously gone up. Now here we go again for another 4 more years. And supposedly this is "onward to glory"????