US Election 2024: Voters in Washington DC hope for unity and change

Washington, DC – US presidential election voting ended on Tuesday at 8 pm here in Washington, DC.

At Dunbar High School, one of the district’s polling stations, around 70 people were seen lining up inside at 10 am, waiting to cast their ballot.

Citizens said they wished there could be less conflict in the country. 

David Dempsey, 30, voted for the first time in Washington DC after moving here two years ago. He registered to vote at the same time as casting his ballot. It went smoothly, he said.

The Black American voted for Kamala Harris because of concerns over women’s rights and the safety of black communities. 

“I have a lot of sisters and aunties, so I just want to make sure that they’re safe and I’m safe too,” he said. 

“I remember the 2016 election and the next day; it was just so dark and depressing, I just want to make a difference this time, [so] I was back,” he said. 

“I hope [the next president] can listen to the people, unify instead of dividing it,” he said. 

James Conway, 29, also voted for Kamala Harris because of her “decent” image and overall policy plans. 

“She has a very good way of dealing with people in a decent way. She would be a very respected foreign policy leader,” Conway said, adding that her immigration policy will not be “archaic”. 

He hoped the country would be free and fair, instead of divided and polarised. 

“[I hope] we can get back to being the America, the country that the world relies on and being decent, normal people. I’m looking forward to that,” he said.

Joe Levesque, who cast a ballot through postal voting three weeks ago, said one of the reasons he voted for the vice president was because of her tax policies, which aims to provide breaks to the middle class in the US.

The vice president said in her campaign that she will continue the current president Joe Biden’s pledge not to raise taxes on anyone making under US$400,000 (HK$3.1 million) a year.

This year, more than 82 million Americans cast a ballot ahead of election day through mail and in person, equal to half of the turnout rate in the 2020 election, according to NBC News. 

More than 2.8 million people in the District of Columbia voted early, with around half of the ballots registered as Democrat and around 30 percent Republican.  

Washington, DC has been dominated by Democrats since its first presidential vote in 1964 with no Republican ever winning an electoral vote.

Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump by about 300,000 votes in the last election.