‘Everything is on the line’: Tampa voters speak out on election day

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Signs in front of a voting location in Davis Islands // Chris Young, WMNF News, 11/5/24

It’s Election Day, and voters in Tampa are making sure their voice is heard. On Davis Islands, Voters trickled into the South Tampa Fellowship Church to cast their vote.

Jesha Dill is a third-generation Tampa resident.  She said she feels like everything is on the line this election.

“Donald Trump scares the hell out of me, and I am old enough to remember when we used to do Rock the Vote, and Rock for Choice, when I was in college, we never thought that our right to abortion would ever be taken away, so it’s really important for us to get that enshrined in the constitution,” Dill told WMNF.

Dill is talking about Amendment 4. If passed, it would enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution. View WMNF’s Voter Guide here. 

In Hillsborough County, Taylor wore her “I voted” sticker after placing a vote at the church.

Taylor said she usually votes early but switched things up this year.

“I’m here today to kind of re-establish normalcy in my life about, ‘this is my neighborhood and this is my precinct,’ and I’m really tired of all of the fear and threats that have been part of our election process for the past eight years, and I want that to end. I want it to be a normal process where people of all political persuasions come together and vote at their local precinct.” Taylor told WMNF.

Another voter, Hans, said he first voted in the 2020 election while studying at Florida State University and thinks it is important this year too. 

“It’s your civil duty. It’s your right as a citizen, you know, to do it. And you know, you got to vote for what you believe in if you want to make change, you got to vote for those kind of people that you want to support, who you think line up with your morals and values,” Hans said.

Rebecca Kerper lives in Davis Islands, which faced major damage after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. 

Her assigned precinct was moved after the storms.

“I didn’t know that my voting area was affected until my husband told me about it and made sure that I got over here instead of our original location,” Kerper said.

Precincts are open until 7 PM  tonight in Florida, and as long as you’re in line by 7 PM, you’ll still get to vote. 

 

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