DETROIT—As Michigan’s statewide early voting began on Oct. 26, long wait times discouraged more than a few would-be participants who spoke with The Epoch Times.
Bill Keller decided against waiting in a two-hour line in Farmington Hills.
“I think what I’ll do is absentee vote,” the supporter of Vice President Kamala Harris told The Epoch Times before he walked back to his car.
Farnsworth and Tricia Howard were deterred by the line at a site in Waterford Oaks.
Farnsworth Howard, a retired United Auto Workers union representative, told The Epoch Times that the two planned to vote for former President Donald Trump in the hopes of ushering in “a new era.”
For all the attrition, the state posted record-breaking returns.
“We’re starting a new tradition of early voting here in Michigan,” Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a statement announcing the figures.
The buzz of activity was reflected in the polling numbers. By late afternoon, 463 ballots had been pushed through the tabulator at the Farmington Hills site.
“This is a higher turnout than we expected,” Dawn Raymond, who was overseeing early voting at the site, said.
She told The Epoch Times that things had gone well. “We haven’t had many people with any political issues that they’re trying to bring up with us when it’s something that we shouldn’t be discussing here,” Raymond said.
For senior citizen Leia, like many other voters, 2024 is about more than policy and dry statistics—it is charged with emotion. She and her husband, Hans, did not wish to use their real names for fear of reprisal.
A dietitian, Leia described the election as her chance to oppose Trump, a man she likened to Adolf Hitler.
“Harris makes you feel good,” she said.
“All my friends that like Trump think that somehow, that Trump’s going to make their lives better,” Hans, a retired specialty store owner, said. “What the world would be like if Trump does everything he says he’s gonna do—that’s a scary, scary thought.”
A few feet away, Emma Wolford had just voted in her first election as a U.S. citizen.
“I moved to the U.S. from England when I was almost 9,” she said.
Trump earned her support.
“I left a socialist country and came here for a better future,” she said.
Wolford is a graduate of Hillsdale College, a school known for its conservatism. Some of her friends from that institution oppose Trump, she said.
Tricia Howard said her biggest motivator to vote was “the safety of our country.”
Her husband, Farnsworth, who is a U.S. Army veteran, said he was particularly concerned about the border.
He said he isn’t happy that foreigners who entered the country illegally can get resources even as many American veterans are homeless.
He said he also is concerned about electric vehicle mandates.
Another couple, Adam and Michelle Stankus, waited roughly an hour in line at Waterford Oaks. They weren’t making a statement by showing up on day one of early voting—they just wanted to get it out of the way.
“Vote now, vote later, vote mail-in—it’s all the same,” Adam Stankus said.
They said they were glad to vote against Trump—“against fascism,” as Adam Stankus put it.
Matthew Kovach, who was waiting for his ride outside the Waterford Oaks site, said he came out to fight communism and globalism. To him, that meant voting for Trump.
Kovach has a disability from a serious car accident in 2021.
“They thought I was going to be a vegetable,” he said. He thanked God that didn’t happen.
“They say President Trump dodged death. I dodged death. That’s the only thing we’ve got in common,” he said with a laugh.
Kovach said he hopes to play hockey again someday. For now, he’s recovering his mobility. He brought his crutches to the early voting site in case of long lines.
Andy Kollin spent an hour and 50 minutes at the Farmington Hills site.
“I don’t want to see No. 45 in office again,” he said, referring to Trump, when asked what brought him out on the first day of early voting.
Kollin said he was glad to see people turn out in high numbers, “whichever way they’re voting.”
Shortly before 4:30 p.m., a trio of young Michiganders appeared on the edge of the parking lot at the Waterford Oaks site. A young man and two young women were trying to cast their early ballots before the site closed for the day.
They jogged to the door, where they had just missed the cutoff. Nathan Rehm let out a groan.
“I’m more of a Trump guy,” Rehm, an engineering student at Michigan State University (MSU), told The Epoch Times. Winter Runyan and her sister, Gabby Runyan, both support Trump, too.
“I just can’t imagine Kamala Harris sitting down with world leaders,” he said.
Rehm said he has grown more comfortable voicing support for Trump on campus. He said he wonders if hatred for the former president has ebbed with the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What college major you are plays a role,” Winter Runyan, who is also an MSU student, said.
“He’s an engineering major, so I feel like a lot of people are more on the Republican side,” she said of Rehm.
As a health care student, Winter Runyan said she is less inclined to reveal her political preference to her peers.
“I do feel judged, and I definitely think they’re going to have some view toward me,” she said, adding that she counts many Democrats among her friends.
The Runyan sisters work alongside each other. Gabby Runyan is a dispatcher, and Winter Runyan is an emergency medical technician. Winter Runyan said she wants to be a physician assistant.
Although the three weren’t pleased to miss out on the first day of early voting, they were determined to make their voices heard.
“We’ll be back tomorrow,” Winter Runyan said.
