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Steady stream of Delawareans head to the polls on General Election day

A steady stream of voters were casting ballots in Dover Tuesday.

Alison Parkes and her husband Herbert from Highland Acres voted at Caesar Rodney High School in Camden.

“This is very convenient to where we live and we picked a time when there was nobody here; very convenient,” said Alison Parkes when asked why they opted to vote on Election day rather than vote early.

Parkes added there are numerous issues important to her.

“Democracy is #1. And #2 for me is abortion. And that really covers it,” she said.

She says there’s not much anyone can do about inflation, which she feels is driven by greed and the Saudis.

And Parkes and her husband agree that gun control is also important because they feel it could have an impact on crime in the First State.

“If people don't have guns they can’t commit robberies and murders and school shootings and I could keep going on the list,” Herert Parkes said.

Greg from Dover voted at Polytech High School and says there was no line at all.

He notes that his motivation for voting was taking the country back.

“Whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat, a Conservative, a Liberal or an Independent - it doesn’t matter. If you have one ounce of common sense in your head, in your body - one ounce - you can’t believe what’s currently going on in this country is good," he said. "That’s all I have to say.” 

Another steady stream of people got their “I Voted” stickers at Wilmington’s P.S. DuPont Middle School Tuesday morning.

Kenny Bond brought his ten year old granddaughter to the polls with him.

Kenny Bond was among those voting at Wilmington’s P.S. DuPont Middle School Tuesday.
Mark Arehart
/
Delaware Public Media
Kenny Bond was among those voting at Wilmington’s P.S. DuPont Middle School Tuesday.

He said it’s important for her to see him vote because there was a time when it wasn’t easy for Black voters.

“I’m just old enough to remember a lot of serious (voter) intimidation when we wasn’t allowed to vote. I’m 73, man. I’ve been doing this a long time. We can’t have what happened January 6th. We gotta get out and vote,” he said.

There are four statewide races on the ballot in Delaware. Voters will cast their ballots for the state’s lone U.S. House seat, Delaware Attorney General, State Treasurer and State Auditor.

Bond was pretty certain of how Delaware’s races would turn out, but added he was watching other states closely, especially the tight races in nearby Pennsylvania.

"Other states the races are so tight. People have to get out and vote, man, unless they want to see this thing go down,” he said.

Despite adding early voting this year, Delaware’s Department of Election says a majority of Delawareans will cast their ballot in-person today.

As of midday Monday, the Elections Dept. reported about 7% of eligible Delaware voters use the early voting option.

The polls are open until 8 o’clock. If you need to find your polling place, visit the state's elections website.

And Delaware Public Media’s live coverage of the results begins as soon as the polls close.

Delaware Public Media's Election Coverage is supported in part by a grant from Delaware Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities and NEH’s special initiative “A More Perfect Union." The “A More Perfect Union” initiative supports projects that explore, reflect on, and tell the stories of our quest for a more just, inclusive, and sustainable society throughout our history.

Kelli Steele has over 30 years of experience covering news in Delaware, Baltimore, Winchester, Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California.