As the United States hurtles towards a presidential election this November between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, AFP has been taking the temperature in key counties of seven battleground states.
North Carolina’s Scotland County has emerged as a swing district in a state pivotal to both presidential candidates.
Here is what some of the voters are saying:
– Retired teacher Carolyn Banks –
For Carolyn Banks, a 73-year-old Black retired teacher, the single most important thing heading into November 5 is that “everybody is given the opportunity to vote… and that our young folks get out and vote, this year especially.”
Banks, who is now the vice-chair of the Scotland County school board, worries about election misinformation and the possibility of voters choosing “a person who is not qualified, who has no morals, who does not care about people.”
Speaking after a meeting of the local Democratic Party, Banks was making a thinly veiled allusion to Trump, who was convicted in late May of multiple felonies related to the falsification of business records over hush money payments to a porn star.
– Larry the plumber –
At a home improvement store in Laurinburg, Larry, who did not wish to give his last name to protect his family’s privacy, said the most important thing for him in November would be a Trump win.
“This world is just going to crap,” said the 32-year-old plumber and owner of a contracting business.
“We need somebody better in the seat. Biden isn’t it.”
– Administrative assistant Yampiere Lugo –
With Democratic Party fliers in hand, Yampiere Lugo and Sarah Hardy walk up to a house in Laurinburg, under a blazing summer sun. But one of the occupants quickly tells them to leave — something the activists say they hear often.
For Lugo, a 25-year-old administrative assistant, the most important thing in November is “just making sure that we find a way to protect our democracy.”
“I think that recently, we’ve seen a lot of rhetoric coming from Donald Trump and the Republican Party that has been really kind of scary for me, especially as a young person,” he said, specifically mentioning the issue of abortion access.
The state — and fate — of democracy in America is also Lugo’s biggest concern, with the climate crisis also on his list.
– Academic Frank McDuffie –
Frank “Bishop” McDuffie, 72, is the director of the Laurinburg Institute, a historically Black prep school founded by his grandparents 120 years ago to provide education to African American students during segregation.
Among its famous alumni is jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie.
McDuffie says the most important thing in casting a ballot is providing “opportunity” in the future.
“We can’t go backwards. We can only grow forward,” he told AFP.
His biggest fear is that the country will go “backwards in ignorance.”
– Law school student Kamaaria Mackins –
Kamaaria Mackins, a 25-year-old law school student, says she is most concerned with finding a candidate who “aligns with my values and my belief system.”
The young Black woman said she feared her own generation was going “downhill.”
“I feel like there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed so that our next generation that steps up, they have the tools that they need to succeed and be leaders of our future,” Mackins said.
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