Adams County voters left with a craving for unity following Tuesday’s election

QUINCY — With a voter turnout rate above 70 percent, Adams County residents showed up en masse this Election Day to exercise their right to vote in the general election. 

Some were more hopeful than others, but the overall mood of the day was that people were tired of today’s political climate. Unity was what they craved the most, but for each person who felt hope, there was another who felt uncertain that unity would be arriving any time soon.

‘Nobody’s been able to stand up to that’

Trina Hardcastle works at the airport part-time as she looks for a full-time job, but one day, she hopes to open up her own business. 

“Hamburger, Italian sausage, tomatoes, Colby jack cheese, my Italian seasoning… I put paprika in it — because paprika brings out the flavor of the meat — garlic, pepper, and some other seasonings that I grind up,” she said as she shared a photo on her phone of a meal she made recently.

She wants to own a restaurant and donate half of the proceeds to the homeless.

“That’s been my dream since I was five.”

It’s been a while since she voted, but this time there’s a candidate that excites her. 

“The racism and the hatred — it seemed like nobody’s been able to stand up to that,” she said. “Finally somebody’s running that I’m going to vote for, that I feel is going to do good for this country.”

‘That’s America’

On November 5 of 1968, Richard M. Nixon defeated Hubert H. Humphrey — and Lyndle Wedding voted in his first presidential election. He was 21 at the time, and most of his friends had been drafted in the Vietnam War.

He served as an election judge more than half a century later to the day, ensuring folks were able to successfully cast their vote in this year’s election.

He considers the greatest accomplishment of the United States to be “securing freedom for the rest of the world.” Security was his number one issue when choosing a candidate this year. 

The selfless act of providing a sense of security to others is something Wedding considers to be part of the American spirit. He seemed moved when he said that Karl Anderson — a Quincy man who drove a semi-truck full of donated goods to flood victims after his family was trapped on the side of a mountain in North Carolina following tropical storm Helene — was a testament of that spirit. 

“(Anderson is a) hero,” Wedding said. “That’s America.”

His biggest concern during every election is uneducated voters and disinformation.

“Go out and find information,” Wedding said. “You can’t sit back and just say, ‘Well I saw it on TV.’ Nope. That’s not how the world works.”

‘Pure evil’

The issues of abortion and the border crisis were enough to bring 37-year-old Jessica Baldwin out to vote for the first time. 

“I (didn’t) really care about politics a lot until (these) past couple of years when Trump was previously in office,” she said. “That’s who I voted for.”

Baldwin’s husband is a “big Trump supporter.” She said politics are difficult for her to keep up with, but that he often explains things to her.

It was also 26-year-old Emileigh Massingill’s first time voting. 

“I’m not a big fan of — I mean, (Kamala) is just pure evil,” she said.

“I feel like Trump is going to make the world safer for our children, for the next generation. Especially with the border, he’s going to be putting it back up, and hopefully some of this human trafficking, drug crime, hate crime really comes to an end.”

Massingill, a mother of three, also expressed concerns over the war in Gaza and the conditions children were experiencing there, while Baldwin expressed concerns over America’s inability to protest peacefully.

“We all need to unite together and find a positive way to do that, not burning buildings down and setting things on fire,” she said. “And if we don’t get our way, not lashing out or showing what you stand for by hurting other people.

‘I feel a lot of uncertainty about what’s going to happen’

Katie Stegner’s teenagers, 14-year old Abby and 15-year-old Alex, reminded her that they’d be able to vote in the next election as they walked into their polling place Tuesday afternoon. 

“They’ll be in college,” Stegner said as she gave a melancholic laugh.

Intelligence was the biggest quality she looked for in a candidate when deciding who to vote for this year. She’s looking forward to the disappearance of all the TV ads and yard signs, but she’s not so sure about what else comes after Election Day.

“I feel a lot of uncertainty about what’s going to happen in the next couple days or weeks,” she said. “I honestly believe, no matter which way (the election) ends up going, there’s going to be a lot of division and things happening that I think are going to make it very difficult to move past the election.”

‘You don’t see people being respectful to anybody’

Both of William D. Chezem Sr.’s grandfathers fought in the Korean War in the 1950s, and by the early 2000s, it was Chezem’s turn; he was deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

“It means something to me as a military vet — respect,” he said.

It’s a value that he said has diminished over the years. 

“You don’t see it anymore. You don’t see anybody being respectful to anybody.”

The economy was his most important issue when choosing a candidate. His mother-in-law, Sherrie Llohman, said that a candidate who could promote unity was the most important for her and that she’d like to see the values of Lincoln and Kennedy back in American politics. 

A new president-elect will have been announced by the time Chezem and his family celebrate Veterans Day on Monday. He believes the country is on course for another Civil War.

“I love history,” he said. “But I don’t want history to repeat itself.”

‘You have to vote’

Katsuko Hicks moved to the United States 47 years ago from Okinawa, Japan. Before she left, her uncle gave her a message she’d never forget.

“‘You have to vote.’”

Hicks came to Quincy after marrying her husband, and now has several children and grandchildren. She’s been a housekeeper for nearly 35 years. 

She’s 80-years-young and under five feet tall, and her smile is as infectious as her joy.

‘There are so many worries’

CJ Sapp, 20, and Quinn Guthrie, 19, voted in their first presidential election on Tuesday. Being young often comes with an exuberantly optimistic spirit, but being young in America in 2024 is a different story — one that seems to come with a certain, unavoidable sense of dread and defeat.

“There are so many worries,” Sapp said. “But a lot of it is out of our hands.”

Retaining bodily autonomy and access to reproductive healthcare was the most important issue for her. She said that the possibility of having a woman president, and one who’s under the age of 65, gives her hope. 

The war in Gaza was the most important issue for Guthrie.

“But that doesn’t really matter to either candidate,” Guthrie said.

“I’m not hopeful at all.”

‘It’s just been a struggle’

The economy was the number one issue for Casey Doellman. 

“It’s just been a struggle trying to keep food on your table,” he said.

The pursuit of the American Dream is still possible, he said, but it’s going to be harder. People are going to have to work harder, too. 

Doellman doesn’t remember the country ever being as divided as it is right now. He doesn’t remember how it got as “nasty” and “ridiculous” as it is right now, either.

“I’m hopeful that things can change… We figured it out before, right?” he said. “We just (have) to figure out how to be Americans again.”

‘Everyone wants to be valued’

It’s been a season of walking “on eggshells” for Latorya Dial, who did not wish to be photographed. She said people have either been too afraid to say anything or far too comfortable saying whatever’s on their minds without any consideration for others.

As she left her polling station Tuesday night, she wasn’t hopeful or anxious. She was simply drained. 

Everyone yearns to return to a version of America with less division, but Dial said that it’s difficult to move past some of the hurtful things she’s heard others say this election season.

“You can’t unsay it,” she said. “We can’t unhear it.”

She was asked if there was anything Americans could unite behind.

“Everyone wants to be happy. Everyone wants to be valued. Everyone wants that,” Dial said. “We all want that, even if it isn’t for ourselves. We want it for our family. We want it for our children.”

She was then asked if the “American Dream” was still achievable, if it was ever possible or if, perhaps, it’s just been an ideal this whole time.

“That depends on who you ask.”