close
close

Guiltandivy

Source for News

    • Lizzo and Harris urge Detroiters to vote early
    Update Information

    Lizzo and Harris urge Detroiters to vote early

    Kathleen William Posted on

    Samuel J Robinson
    | Specially for the Detroit Free Press

    play

    Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris encouraged her supporters to go to the polls on the first day of early voting in Detroit during a campaign speech Saturday at Western International High School.

    Detroit began early voting on October 19th, while most other cities in Michigan will begin early voting on October 26th. Nov. 3 is the last day Michigan voters can vote early in person before the Nov. 5 general election, which pits Harris against Republican nominee former President Donald Trump.

    Harris gave the crowd her typical campaign pitch in a roughly 10-minute speech about getting voters to the polls in the final 17 days before Election Day.

    “Who’s the record-breaking capital?” Harris joked, mentioning North Carolina’s record early voting turnout this week. “We’re going to break some records here in Detroit.”

    And the effort began immediately.

    Local officials, including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, state Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, and council members Latisha Johnson and Gabriela Santiago-Romero, led a group of early voters across the street to the early voting site in Clark Park.

    “Now we have the opportunity to have 16 additional days and have the same experience as Election Day — whatever is most convenient, I think it will work well,” Duggan said in an interview with reporters.

    Sisters Edna Bugh and Flethea Williams came to their first-ever political rally on Saturday to see Harris, walking with the group to Clark Park to cast their votes early.

    “She is for our freedom and for us as women to be able to say what we want to say with our bodies,” Williams said.

    Detroit-born singer Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, took selfies with fans after announcing she had voted early for the Democratic candidate.

    “This is the swing state of all swing states, so every last vote here counts,” Jefferson said.

    Harris is expected in Michigan on Monday, and Barack Obama is expected to campaign for her in Detroit on Tuesday.

    Both presidential candidates are working to win support in a crucial swing state that will help decide the election. Harris, who was in Detroit on Tuesday, returned to events in Grand Rapids, Lansing and Oakland County on Friday. Trump, who spoke to the Detroit Economic Club last Thursday, also held an event in Oakland County and a rally at Huntington Place in downtown Detroit on Friday evening.

    Some Harris supporters came to the event more nervous than excited. Santiago-Romero, who represents majority-Hispanic Southwest Detroit on the City Council, told the Free Press she wasn't sure Harris' impulse was more than just internet memes.

    More: Harris and Trump, stumped in Michigan, each tout a new chance for peace in Gaza

    More: Silent mic, “Black Girl Magic,” screaming baby: 1 day in Michigan as Trump and Harris promote it

    “There was no real momentum, it was the excitement that came from social media, which came from news, but at the end of the day, memes don't get votes,” she said.

    She's noticed four Trump signs in her neighborhood, but Santiago-Romero says, “In the Southwest, people don't show you with their signs, they show you with their voices.”

    Harris is also expected to hold voting events with former President Barack Obama on October 24 in Georgia and with Michelle Obama in Michigan on October 26. While both campaigns appealed to black men, Santiago-Romero said she believes the Harris campaign could do more to reach Spanish-speaking voters.

    “I feel left out,” Sergio Martinez of the immigrant rights nonprofit Michigan United said in an interview after Harris' remarks. “For her to choose Western International High School for this speech and not address our immediate needs…The impact of her statement can send ripples.”

    Martinez, an undocumented immigrant who has lived in the country since he was 5, cannot vote, but said he showed up Saturday wearing a Kamala shirt to remind voters of the threat he faces if the Former President Donald Trump returns to the White House.

    “Trump wants to deport me,” Martinez said. “You’re in southwest Detroit, Madam Vice President – ​​say something.”

    Samuel J. Robinson is a freelance contributor to the Free Press. Reach him on X: @samueljrob.

    Tagged:

    LEAVE A RESPONSE

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Kathleen William
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like

    ads