With steady foot traffic at many local polling places, Pima County’s Election Day voter turnout was strong and included many first and second-time voters.

More than 70,000 people visited Pima County vote centers today, according to Pima County Communications Director Mark Evans, who told KVOA that despite emailed bomb threats to both the Pima County Elections Department and Recorder's Office, this is the smoothest election he's seen in his decade working elections with the county.

The line at First United Methodist Church, the closest voting center to the University of Arizona campus, remained constant throughout the day, with a heavy concentration of students eager to cast their ballots.

UA student Joo Kang, called Donald Trump his candidate of choice, adding that he found Harris’ foreign policies to be “foolish.”

“I think right now with how big our inflation is, we should be focusing on our own country and our own people and caring about the safety of our own people right now, rather than spending billions upon billions of dollars,” Kang said. “I'm a minority and I feel that my voice actually matters, because for the first time in a while people are focusing on the attention of minorities and what they say about the country and what will make it and what will make it great.”

The Associated Press called the race in Trump's favor early this morning.

Ryan Spencer, also a UA student, took issue with the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying that he can’t trust someone who wouldn’t stop his own supporters from causing harm. A Democrat, Spencer said he hopes Trump would prove him wrong if he wins the race.

“I don't want to look at it from a super pessimistic lens,” he said. “I hope that all of my perceptions of him were completely wrong, and I hope that he somehow does a 180 and flips his character and becomes a better person. Overnight.”

Ethan Neirink, who voted for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, told Tucson Spotlight that he wasn’t a huge fan of either candidate, but it came down to character and ideology.

“I couldn't really bring myself to vote for somebody who is kind of a bad sport and seems to be pretty angry at a lot of his opponents,” Neirink said. “I don't really believe in a lot of the stuff he says. A lot of things he says, they sound great in theory, but I think it's just kind of like a showmanship thing.”

Student Paige Cherry also cast her vote for Harris, saying she wants her younger siblings to have reproductive rights and other freedoms promised under a Harris-Walz presidency. She said the candidates’ age also played a factor in her decision.

“I feel like we need more younger, newer people in office, only because we need to stop letting people who are 70 years and above run,” Cherry said. “I can tell (from) when he started his campaign versus now, his health is also seeming to decline.”

Hundreds of people were still in line when the polls closed at 7 p.m., with campaign staffers calling in celebrity reinforcements to make sure that people stuck around.

Patrick Robles, Southern Arizona lead for the Harris-Walz campaign, FaceTimed with comedians Billy Eichner and Maya Rudolph hours after the polls closed. They pleaded with students to stay strong and told them it would be worth the wait to cast their vote.

Over at the Pascua Yaqui Tribe’s Richey Resource Center, near Grant and Fairview, voter Monique Jefferson said she wants to see inflation and prices decrease.

“I want to see change in things that are going on in the country right now,” she said.

Gregory Blomtaho said he thinks that the local and congressional offices are more important than the race for president.

The tremendous voter outreach efforts this campaign cycle weren’t lost on voters or volunteers, who noted its impact at the polls.

“I have never seen the volunteer mobilization like I have this year,” said Susan Cline, a poll worker at the Donna Liggins Recreation Center. “I think it’s breaking records for voting protection turnout,” 

Alexis Alvarez, Pascua Yaqui Tribal planning assistant, said this election is especially important for Native Americans.

“A lot of our people don’t feel like their voice matters, or their vote matters,” Alvarez said. “We’re here to change that for them.”

Over at Armory Park, voter Sandra Jordan was heartened by the atmosphere, as she made her way in to cast her ballot.

“I had never been to Armory Park Center before and there are lots of people in there playing games and showing how great our community is,” Jordan said.

Jordan was hopeful for a Harris-Walz victory, saying that she’s excited for what that could mean for the country.

“I think that the Harris campaign has been very strong and positive and I’m looking forward to seeing some positive changes,” she said. “(Voting is) our responsibility, I mean, we can’t just let people decide things for us, it’s our responsibility as citizens.”

Krystallyn Jodie said reproductive freedom is her primary reason for voting in this year’s election.

“I saw in the news, someone suffered a miscarriage and the medical staff was unable to do anything,” she said.

Jodie was also excited to cast her vote for Congressman Raul Grijalva one final time.

“I know that he’s going through some health issues right now, so I know he won’t be running in the next election,” she said. “But he’s always been really good. I’ve always seen him out there, supporting Tucson and its surroundings.”

Adrian Muñoz, also known as DJ Motion, was spinning records at Armory Park earlier in the day, making his way over to the west side’s Fred Archer Neighborhood Center before the polls closed, as part of the Harris-Walz campaign’s “DJs at the polls” events.

“You can tell the difference with the people when they come in, it’s a lot more relaxed,” he said. “They don’t expect it but when they come in, they’re dancing.”

Hundreds of Tucsonans turned out to watch parties for the Democratic and Republican parties, with Hotel Congress staying busy late into the night, as Democrats from Pima County and beyond waited for results to drop.

Over at the Republican watch party at the Viscount Suites Hotel, supporters chanted Trump’s as early results dropped in his favor.

“My brother in law died of fentanyl,” said Trump supporter Robert Hatch. “He took drugs that were brought over the border and died.”

Twenty-year-old Zane Lewis works for the conservative group Citizens for Free Enterprise and has been active with the Trump campaign the past couple of years. He said he expects the vote will fall in Trump’s favor in what he says will be an epic victory. 

“I like his immigration policies and the fact he puts America first,” he said. “He puts America first with his tariffs, economic policies and his willingness to stand up to China and other foreign countries.”

UA student Kang said that regardless of who wins, he thinks the benefit to voters will be the same.

“What people are missing is that Republicans and Democrats both want the same thing: We both want to make this country a great place for everybody to live, not just me, not just you. But every one of these students here,” he said. “I'm not gonna go around demonizing people for their beliefs if they voted for Kamala because … if they think Kamala will make the country a genuinely better place, then who am I to say otherwise?”

Tucson Spotlight staffers Isabela Gamez, Olivia Krupp, Angelina Maynes, Susan Barnett and Caitlin Schmidt contributed to this story.

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