As early in-person voting began in Arizona, one of 2024’s most closely watched battlegrounds, The Epoch Times traveled across the state to speak with voters.
It soon became clear that Arizonans of all political stripes are eager to cast their ballots.
“We don’t want our votes suppressed or subverted,” former President Donald Trump voter Troy Goddard said when asked why he had come to an early voting site in Tucson on Oct. 9, the first day of early-in person voting.
“I’m worried about our country,” Mary Jo Odom, a Vice President Kamala Harris voter, said at the same voting site when asked the same question.
The Epoch Times also spoke to supporters of both Trump and Harris at rallies for their running mates, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The events precede appearances in Arizona from Harris on Oct. 10 and Trump on Oct. 13. First Lady Jill Biden visits Yuma on Oct. 11.
While many Republicans are still wary of non-Election Day voting, encouragement from Trump and other GOPers to vote early has resonated, especially after the 2020 and 2022 elections. In 2022, multiple voting machines failed on Election Day in Maricopa County, home to more than 60 percent of the state’s population.
“That’s why I’m voting early now—[to] make sure it’s getting counted and the same thing doesn’t happen in 2024,” said Susan Rosener, a Trump voter outside an early voting location in Scottsdale on Oct. 10.
Trump Leads a Tight Race
Early in-person voting opened in the state on Oct. 9, the same day drop boxes opened and mail-in ballots were sent to Arizona voters.Trump, a Republican, seems to have a very narrow edge in the state, at least judging by much of the latest polling.
He is ahead of Harris, a Democrat, by two points according to a recent survey commissioned by the AARP. Emerson College’s latest poll has him two points ahead of her too. He leads in both the FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolling averages for the swing state.
Outside a Walz rally in Tucson on Oct. 9, Steve Wade was hesitant to predict massive Democratic turnout this time around.
“One neighborhood might have signs for one candidate, and another neighborhood, somebody else,” the Harris supporter said. “It’s really down to Phoenix and Tucson. The rest of the state is rural.”
Wade said he plans to deposit his mail-in ballot at a drop box after he receives it in the mail.
Early Voters Explain Their Thinking
Goddard, the Trump supporter in Tucson, participated in the first day of early in-person voting with his wife, Trisha, and his mother, Ann. All three were enthusiastic Trump backers.Ann’s T-shirt was emblazoned with an American flag.
Odom, the Harris supporter, was clad in her own American flag-inspired shirt. She said it was part of a deliberate strategy by Democrats to reclaim the emblem, which has become associated with Trump and his supporters.
“These are our colors as well,” said Odom.
Like many other Trump opponents who have spoken with The Epoch Times, Odom fears the former president will act like a dictator once in office and worries about “the potential of civil war.”
Even as Harris supporters speculate about a politically oppressive future, Rosener, the Trump supporter in Scottsdale, says she is already dealing with what she sees as a heavy-handed response to her political beliefs, though from the private sector.
A few weeks ago, in an incident widely covered by local media, she was forced to throw her Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat in the trash before entering an Arizona Cardinals game. Rosener is a season ticket holder who has been attending games for more than three decades.
“I’m actually glad it happened, because it’s brought more awareness to free expression,” she said.
Conservative activist group Turning Point USA responded a few days later by setting up a tent and handing out MAGA hats outside a Cardinals game. The Cardinals apologized to Rosener after the incident, which they characterized as a misunderstanding.
Jeff Gilb was also at the Scottsdale early voting site on Oct. 10. He told The Epoch Times he was voting so early “to get the ball rolling for Trump as soon as possible.”
Arizonans Come to Vance, Walz Rallies
Walz and Vance both held rallies in Tucson on Oct. 9.Walz, a former public school teacher, spoke at Palo Verde High Magnet School in the Terra Del Sol neighborhood. Vance spoke on the outskirts of town at the Tucson Speedway.
At the beginning of his remarks, the senator acknowledged the sweltering temperatures.
“If you’re getting hot, and you’re not feeling great, we’ve got an air-conditioned tent,” he said.
The start of early voting permeated remarks from Vance and the speakers before him. So did themes of war and peace.
Robert O'Brien, who served as national security adviser under Trump, praised Trump for presiding over what he called “peace in the world” before criticizing opposition to strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump has encouraged Israel to hit nuclear facilities in Iran.
Vance’s speech was interrupted by a military jet flyover.
“I think that fighter pilot couldn’t say it, but I think he’s gonna vote for Donald J. Trump for president,” Vance said.
Attendee James Gould said he planned to vote early in the next several days. While he worries about fraud, he noted the state allows Arizonans to track their ballots online.
“I don’t like mail-in ballots, but Trump asked us to get it done,” said Tad Richards, another attendee.
“Republicans are saying go vote now,” said Victoria Aguilar. She too plans to cast her ballot early and, like Gould, is glad she can monitor her ballot.
Kathleen Splittstoesser and Peggy Gibson also plan on voting early.
“Each time, we have a different strategy. This time, it’s vote early and swamp ‘em right up front,” Splittstoesser said of Republicans’ approach in this election.
While the Vance event was crowded, so was Walz’s later that day. Many would-be attendees couldn’t get inside the room holding the rally or an overflow room.
Harris supporters slowly dispersed from the high school parking lot. The Kamala Harris Art Car, decorated by Bisbee, Arizona, artist Gretchen Baer, sat nearby, one of many vehicles shielded from the sun by arrays of solar panels.
“At least I got to see Gretchen’s car,” said Richard Trible. Trible is a photographer known for documenting the javelinas that live under his home.
“I haven’t voted yet,” he said, noting that mail-in ballots had only just been sent out.
When he was informed of the possibility of casting his ballot at an early voting center, the artist chuckled.
“I’m too lazy to do that,” he said.
