Sanctions for some, defense of democracy for others who came to defend their “right to be there», the Americans vote in seriousness and tension. “I’ve noticed that some of the candidates who have run recently have chosen slander, negative campaigning and things like that. I don’t want these people to represent me at the highest level“Says Quonn Bernard, a 39-year-old engineer met at the opening of a polling station in Union City, a predominantly African-American town near Atlanta, Georgia.
” READ ALSO – US Elections: What Midterm Projections Reveal
In Phoenix, Arizona, one of the polling stations encountered problems Tuesday morning with its machines responsible for printing ballots, AFP journalists noted. Enough to reinforce the distrust of some Arizonans, in this southwestern state where Joe Biden’s presidential victory in 2020 continues to be contested by Republican candidates. “This machine should have been tested a long time ago, last week“, grumbles Donald Newton, an octogenarian Republican who managed to vote in the neighboring office, and firmly believes that the 2020 election “was stolen“.
In McAllen, a town in Texas on the border with Mexico, Enrique Ayala, a 64-year-old retiree, hopes that “everyone will be civilized and that all parties will accept their victories or defeats“. “There is so much polarization and misinformation that I want to make sure my voice is heard“, says Robin Girdhar, a 61-year-old doctor, coffee mug in hand. “It’s worrying, the rhetoric from both sides seems very extreme“, he adds, not hiding his choice for the Democrats.
” READ ALSO – Midterms: Miami and Florida swing right