Borderless spoke with some immigrant voters on what motivates them to cast their ballot on Election Day despite facing paper ballot shortages at some polling locations.
Like many voters, Lindsay Caton arrived at Manuel Perez Elementary School Tuesday morning ready to cast her ballot on Election Day. What she did not expect was the polling site to run out of paper ballots before 10 a.m.
“I went in there at like 9:20 a.m.,” Caton, 31, told Borderless. “And, they’re supposed to be open til seven.”
“They only have one of the electronic ballots, which is supposed to be reserved for people that are handicapped that can’t stand or can’t write,” said Caton, who waited in line for almost 40 minutes.
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Other voters like Alejandra Esparza didn’t have time to spare.
“I probably can’t get back in to vote since I have to go to work, and I don’t get out til 8 p.m. today,” Esparza, 37, said.
Perez Elementary was not the only site facing issues. Several polling locations also reported similar challenges. Precinct 5 ran out of paper ballots and its voting machine stopped working, according to ABC 7.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Board of Elections told Borderless more ballots were being printed.
“Voters are using the touchscreen voting equipment, but it’s going slowly,” said Julie Metea, the board’s interim public affairs director. “So we are asking them to consider going to universal vote centers — which were formerly known as early voting sites — so we could pick up the bulk of the voters. But everyone is going to get to vote today.”
Not all voters, however, experienced challenges.
At William Finkl Academy in Little Village, voter Francisco Perales told Borderless he cast his ballot for one reason — to “stop with all the hate and just try to take care of each other better.”
In Pilsen and Little Village, Borderless asked voters at Perez Elementary and Finkl Academy why they came out to the polls and what issues mean the most to them.
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Mila Gutierrez, 20
I think it’s really important to exercise your right to vote, so you have a say in what goes on in your country or your small area.
Serena Paul, 26
I work for CPS as a speech pathologist, so mainly the people that I want to see be elected as people who care about public schools and making sure that disabled kids get the education and services they need.
Sebastian Rosas, 27
This is my first time voting in all my life. I never voted. So what if I vote and something changes, you know?
Jose Magana, 33
Voting for the school board is huge because our public schools are where it all begins. Education is the foundation on which, I think, every community is built, and it’s the first place that we need to invest as far as communities go.
It’s not an accident that our public school systems are underfunded, and I think it’s also important that, aside from funding, the people that we have active in our public school systems have the best interests of the community.
Yaismel Alba Garib, 36
I came from Cuba in 2016. I’m an immigrant. Since I became a citizen after five years of entry, I took advantage of that opportunity. Every time it’s an election, either primary, mid or general election, I take the opportunity to vote because, you know, in Cuba it’s a dictatorship — the authoritarian regime. You are not able to vote for [anybody].
Manuel Ramos, 43, and Dominique Collins, 33
Collins: We live in Pilsen, so we want to make sure that we’re serving the Hispanic community, the Black and Brown communities.
We’re not parents right now, so we don’t have too much of a personal vested interest [in the school board election]. But, we want to see the kids of Chicago thrive, especially the underserved kids. So whatever we can do to support that, we’re going to keep doing.
Ramos: I also felt it’s really important to come out and vote because it’s not good to get complacent.
This is very very cliche, but [children] are the future. Whether we like it or not, they are the future. So we need to take care of them.
Jeanette Sanchez, 50
We need to change a lot of these people there and to have a better Chicago. I always try to vote. Everything is important.
Tara Mobasher contributed reporting to this story.
Amanda Tugade is a reporter at Borderless Magazine. Email her at [email protected].
