Voters weigh in

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Wednesday, November 9th, and you’re listening to the The World and Everything in It. Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

First up today: Changes to the way we vote.

After the 2020 election, allegations of fraud led to changes in voting laws across the country. Yesterday’s elections put those changes to the test.

We sent reporters to polling places to find out if anyone noticed any differences. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has our story.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: Preston McFarland is a voter in the suburbs of Atlanta.

MCFARLAND: It's just 75 percent of people tend to vote before the election day. The only reason I'm here today is because I moved and I was really busy the past couple of weeks, but I always vote early. It's really easy to vote early in Georgia.

Last year Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a law that restricted absentee ballots and drop boxes. It also put in place a nonpartisan State Election Board to review election workers’ performance.

Many thought the law would curtail voting by minority groups and Democratic voters. But then early voting in Georgia blew way past expectations. According to the Georgia Secretary of State more than two million people had voted as of Saturday, the weekend before Election Day.

In Cumming, Georgia, Carrie Lewis said the changes haven’t affected her, but they did cause her some concern.

LEWIS: I want to make sure that other people are able to vote and to be able to vote the way they're comfortable voting. I don't have a problem with absentee ballots and it worries me that some people do.

Voting in Texas has also changed. Kerri Townsend voted yesterday in the city of Round Rock.

TOWNSEND: I always come in person. I do not trust the mail in ballots after the whole debacle that we had not that long ago. So I refuse to do any mail in ballots. I prefer coming in person, just my preference.

Last year, the state Legislature rolled back pandemic voting accommodations such as drive-thru polling places and 24-hour early voting. Voters have to include more ID information on their absentee ballot, and the state limited who could send out unsolicited applications for mail-in ballots.

Sheila Marshall is new to Texas. She voted for the first time there yesterday.

MARSHALL: I just feel like they're they're kind of making extra steps for voters, which I feel like it's kind of unnecessary.

In Michigan, voters had the opportunity to decide yesterday how elections should be conducted in their state because of so-called “Proposal 2” on the ballot. The proposal would limit the states’ ability to enact stricter voter ID laws. It would also enshrine procedures for early voting in the state constitution.

Nineteen-year-old Samantha Kleis voted or the first time yesterday. Kleis voted for proposal 2.

KLEIS: If it's going to let more people vote and more easily than Yeah, I would, I would support that. It was only with the help of a bunch of people that I was able to come here.

Barb Miller of Grand Rapids voted against the proposal. She believes voter ID requirements make elections more secure.

MILLER: We can't go buy cigarettes, we can't buy alcohol. You know, there’s a lot of things we can’t do without an identification. Can’t get on an airplane can’t get tickets for certain things.

Back in Texas, 60-year-old Cliff Taylor reflected on his voting history, which began when he was 18 years old.

TAYLOR: It is a privilege to vote in this country. Yeah, it's a privilege. You know, some people don't because they don't the thought is that their vote doesn't count. But I'm a firm believer that every vote does count. And I still have faith in in the country.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

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