US Elections 2024 | Vote amid concern and disbelief
The bodies of more than 3,000 southern soldiers, including 2,184 unidentified, remain. Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery, VirginiaScenes of two important battles of the United States Civil War. Today it is a peaceful place, where squirrels run among the grass Gravewhich groups around the monument that “commemorates the fall of the Confederacy” and thus forms A rectangle crossed by two blades, a copy of the separatist flag,
Although it receives relatively little attention from tourists visiting the city, it is one of the Many places and symbols that keep alive the spirit of the South, the group of slave states that was lost in the Civil WarAn old trail, but not forgotten – the Ladies Memorial Association of Fredericksburg, a century and a half later, still raises funds for the proper maintenance of the cemetery – which remembers The United States faces the most serious political and social rift in its history,
a clash that echoes Political and social polarization these daysAs highlighted by the fences that already protect the Capitol and the White House, the main seats of national sovereignty in Washington. Although the people who look beyond those fences now are, first of all, tourists in memory attack on the capitol by an angry mob of supporters of former President Donald TrumpWho will compete for the presidency with the current Vice President on November 5. kamala harris,
Monument to the fallen Confederates, surrounded by graves of soldiers, in Fredericksburg, Virginia Daniel Flores
steady flow of early voters
Despite this tense calm, life continued this Friday in Fredericksburg, a town of less than 28,000 inhabitants, located less than a hundred kilometers from the federal capital. While some tourists continued to flock to Caroline Street, the main commercial thoroughfare, Posters of the election candidates were present in the posters which many citizens had put up in their homes. and in the early voting centerLocated in a public building, next to the tourist office.
“Hundreds of thousands of early voters have come. Less than in 2020, but that was expected. It’s a small town, so it’s quite good,” he told RTVE.es. DD Lecky, 44-year-old ceramist and Democratic Party volunteerWho, along with her husband Nathan, encouraged passersby to come and vote first thing in the morning. Both praised the “enthusiasm” for taking part in the elections, especially among youth, and assured that “it is fantastic to be able to talk to voters.”
In that polling station in the city of Fredericksburg, a Democratic fiefdom, Republicans have not organized their volunteers, despite the fact that party leadership in Virginia is insisting that Trump can take on Harris in the state. What has been estimated in the survey. The truth is that, Virginia is always blue since Barack Obama won there in 2008 And, in 2020, Joe Biden defeated Trump by ten points. This year, polls show Harris’ lead is smaller, about seven points, but she appears to be clearly leaning toward the Democrats.
Hidden vote and undecided
The state, in any case, is very diverse and Fredericksburg, in particular, is a blue enclave within a sea of red.The city does not belong to a county, but is an independent administrative unit, but is annexed to it for federal statistical purposes. Spotsylvania County, clearly Republican and where Trump won by nearly seven points in 2020Thus, in nearby Bellevue, southeast of Fredericksburg, more signs supporting Trump and his vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance, appear.
However, Republican supporters are reluctant to talk to the press and as soon as the journalist reveals his identity, many of them refuse to continue the conversation.At a Fredericksburg polling station, some voters suggest they voted for Trump, but none of them explicitly recognize it: they are in rival territory and prefer not to confirm it.
However, others still show themselves Undecided, like Mexican Leopoldo Gutierrez, a 48-year-old activist with US citizenship Joe relaxes with his crew while working in the residential sector: “I’m in between the two right now. There are some things I like about one and some things I like about the other.” Gutiérrez, who as a Latino belongs to one of the social groups that can influence the vote, assures that he will go to vote on Tuesday the 5th, although the meaning of his vote “I will decide at the last moment. “
Concern over political violence
In this sense, he does not seem worried about the aspect that clearly worries the Democrats, the possibility that Trump would not recognize a hypothetical victory for Harris and that this would trigger new acts of violence. “It has already happened and Trump has done nothing to discourage his followers. He has been saying that (the attack on the Capitol) was an act of ‘peace and love,’ but they were armed and there was only law on the other side.” The enforcement was agents armed with the law,” says Karen Hyland, 54, from the porch of her home in Fredericksburg’s historic district.
Hyland emphasizes that he only fears the reaction of “some of Trump’s followers, the extremists” and points out that, for example, his neighbors “are conservative, although I don’t know whether they vote for Trump or not.” No, but I know they will never support political violence.” The house next door is visible There is a sign in support of Derrick Anderson, the Republican candidate seeking to win a seat in the House of Representatives, but no sign in support of Trump,
Jacob Black, 47, is in high spirits as he leaves the polling booth, where he claimed to have voted for Kamala Harris and said he Convinced there will be violent acts if she wins: “I think it won’t be at the Capitol, this time they are ready, but it will be in other places”John and Leslie Leahy, a retired couple who volunteer for the Democratic Party, also fear: “It worries me, this could happen. Trump continues to lie that the election was stolen from him and pretends That violence is okay.” She says: “We thought we were immune to these acts and we’re not.”
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weight of uncertainty
instead, A middle-aged African-American couple preparing to cast their vote say – though they declined to give their names – they are confident there will be no outbreak of violence.: “No, no, I don’t think so. Elections are an opportunity for people to speak. We are human beings,” he insisted.
At lunchtime, the steady stream of voters intensified: Americans are used to voting on weekdays and, even if they look forward to voting, they know how to fit it into their work schedules. Above all, because it is A complex process in which voting takes place, although it varies depending on states, usually involving multiple elections. For both federal, state and local offices and even referendums. In VirginiaIn addition to the President, one federal senator and representative, one vacant state senator and representative, four school board members, and four mayors (including Richmond, the capital) are elected, in addition to voting in favor of tax exemptions. Of war veterans.
And although American civil society always mobilizes for elections, no matter the type, this year the sentiment is the same Uneasiness, disbelief and above all, uncertainty, confusion dominate Which, in particular, awakens two candidates for the presidency. It appears that many people vote more against the person they like least than for their own vote, so whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins, at least for half of the United States. There is more hope for relief than excitement.