Communities across New Hampshire are reporting very high turnout for Tuesday’s election.
Nate Hegyi, the host of NHPR's Outside/In podcast, went out to talk with voters in the North Country about what's on their minds as they enter the polls.
In Berlin, where the city was almost evenly split between Donald Trump and Joe Biden in 2020, Nate found a lot of folks who are deeply — and personally — dialed into the presidential race.
Listen to this story by clicking the play button above. You can also read a full transcript below.
[Nate Hegyi] Hey, I'm with New Hampshire Public Radio. Do you have time to answer a couple of questions?
[Errol Decker] Go ahead!
[Nate] Alright, perfect. What's your first and last name, and the town you live in?
[Errol] Errol Decker, Berlin.
[Nate] Um, alright. So, you just obviously exited the poll. Who is the candidate you were most excited about?
[Errol] I… don't divulge that.
[Nate] Then, what was the issue that you were most concerned about coming into this election?
[Errol] Hmm… You're going to get it, aren't you? (laughs)
[Nate] Well, we'll just uh… you know…
[Errol] I can't stand four more years. (laughs) Okay…. So, that answers the first…
[Nate] It does answer the first question. Why is that?
[Errol] Because the economy has never been worse.
[Nate] How do you feel that in your personal life?
[Errol] When when you're paying $1.50 for an item you paid a dollar for four years ago? That's not 7% inflation.
[Nate] Yeah, yeah.
[Errol] Okay? In my book, that's 50%.
[Nate] When you think about this town, what are you most concerned about?
[Errol] Uh, the ability to be employed? There's no factories anymore. There's no major employers.
[Nate] And how would said unnamed candidate, (Nate, Errol laugh) what… How would Anonymous fix that?
[Errol] It's hard. I mean, he's got, he's… Any president is in a difficult position to just instantly fix something. We've been so reliant on the pulp mill, um, and various other businesses that we don't know what to do anymore. They're gone.
[Nate] Yeah.
[Errol] And they're not coming back.
(sound of people walking and talking outside polling place)
[Ashley Pierce] Ashley Pierce in Berlin.
[Nate] And why did you come out to vote today?
[Ashley] Oh, I don't want him to win.
[Nate] Who's "him?"
[Ashley] Donald Trump. I don't want him to win.
[Nate] And what is it about him that, that makes you concerned?
[Ashley] His, uh, his views on women's health.
[Nate] Have you always been a, uh, I guess anti-Trumper or was there ever a time you voted for him or liked him?
[Ashley] I was going to vote him in 2020, but I moved, so I didn't.
[Nate] What made you change your mind between 2020 and 2024?
[Ashley] My daughter.
[Nate] What's your daughter's name?
[Ashley] Aurora.
[Nate] Aurora! That's a beautiful name, Aurora.
[Ashley] She’s 2.
[Nate] And so that was the big thing, was having a daughter, looking at women's….
[Ashley] She needs to have a future.
[Nate] And you don't see that future with Donald Trump as president?
[Ashley] No.
[Nate] Okay, okay.
(sound outside polling place)
[Ian Wilson] I live in Berlin. My first and last name is Ian Wilson. It's an old Scottish name.
[Nate] I like it.
[Ian] Yeah, yeah.
[Nate] What was the issue that you were most concerned about coming into the voting box today?
[Ian] Abortion. Abortion is no good for nothin’.
[Nate] No good for nothin'. Why's that?
[Ian] Because it's infanticide. It kills the child. It's a baby. It's not a piece of glob, of junk. It's, it’s a human being and it's murder. Period!
[Nate] And so, did you take that, that view on abortion when you were voting today? Does that help…?
[Ian] I take it all the time.
(sound outside polling place)
[Lane Strahan] Lane. L-A-N-E. Last name, Strahan. S-T-R-A-H-A-N.
[Nate] Who is the candidate that you were most excited about?
[Lane] To be honest… (sighs) gosh, neither.
[Nate] Why is that? (laughs)
[Lane] Neither. Hey, you got to, like, lesser of the two. It was just a very difficult decision, so...
[Nate] So, how did you make that decision?
[Lane] (sighs) Narrowing it down to what is going to keep me safe as a Black woman here in America? Like, what's safe for me out there…?
[Nate] Yeah.
[Lane] …is for someone to take my life into consideration. So, I had to go with the lesser of the evils. It was not, like, the best two candidates, I'm sorry. It just wasn't.
[Nate] Who did you end up voting for?
[Lane] Oh, gosh. Kamala.
[Nate] Okay.
[Lane] Yeah. Woman. I'm like, is there a way that a woman can actually make a difference? It, it gives hope for me!
[Nate] Yeah.
[Lane] So, I don't know. Let's just switch it up and see if a woman can do something. Not confident. (Lane sighs, Nate laughs) Like, I'm going into hiding after this.
[Nate] (Nate, laughs) You're going into hiding? (Lane laughs) Are you going to watch the election results tonight?
[Lane] Nope, nope, nope! I'm going to Bali on the 15th and I'll be back in January. So, yeah, like, I don't care.
[Nate] We probably still wouldn't have decided who’s won the election by then. It's going to take forever.
[Lane] Yeah, I'm going to be away from this debacle, and I wish this country the best in love.
(music up and out)
