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| A Day for Decisions | A Day for Decisions |
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| Dispatches from across the country by New York Times journalists chronicling the thoughts and mood of American voters. This collection will be updated throughout Election Day. | Dispatches from across the country by New York Times journalists chronicling the thoughts and mood of American voters. This collection will be updated throughout Election Day. |
| 8:29 a.m. | Robert Richardson walked out of a county government building in this small town east of Raleigh with his “I Voted” sticker, and its stylized American flag, affixed upside down on his camel-colored work coat. He put it on that way on purpose, he said, as a universal sign of distress. | 8:29 a.m. | Robert Richardson walked out of a county government building in this small town east of Raleigh with his “I Voted” sticker, and its stylized American flag, affixed upside down on his camel-colored work coat. He put it on that way on purpose, he said, as a universal sign of distress. |
| Race relations in 2016, Mr. Richardson said, are “the worst I’ve ever seen them.” Muslim refugees, he said, are coming to the country “unvetted and uninoculated,” and he wondered if it was part of a Muslim plot to take over the world. He thought the billionaire activist George Soros might be inciting the violence at Trump rallies. Democrats like Donna Brazile seemed to be blatantly cheating this election season, he said. | |
| It felt like the fix was in in America in 2016. “I think it’s already been rigged and the people out here’s been just going through the motions,” he said, nodding toward his polling place. | It felt like the fix was in in America in 2016. “I think it’s already been rigged and the people out here’s been just going through the motions,” he said, nodding toward his polling place. |
| But like millions of worried, anxious Americans, he voted. Mr. Richardson, 56, a white Southern Baptist, owned a flooring company for decades until the recession dried up the work. He closed it in 2010. He says he was a registered Democrat his whole life until this year, when he switched to the Republican party. | But like millions of worried, anxious Americans, he voted. Mr. Richardson, 56, a white Southern Baptist, owned a flooring company for decades until the recession dried up the work. He closed it in 2010. He says he was a registered Democrat his whole life until this year, when he switched to the Republican party. |
| He voted for all of the Republicans on the ticket, including Donald J. Trump. Political correctness, he said, and the Democrats’ focus on social issues — like whether transgender people should be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice, a big issue in North Carolina this year — seemed to him like a calculated diversion from matters of substance. And though Mr. Richardson had his reservations about Mr. Trump, he believed that as an unconventional candidate, he might shake the country out of its funk. | He voted for all of the Republicans on the ticket, including Donald J. Trump. Political correctness, he said, and the Democrats’ focus on social issues — like whether transgender people should be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice, a big issue in North Carolina this year — seemed to him like a calculated diversion from matters of substance. And though Mr. Richardson had his reservations about Mr. Trump, he believed that as an unconventional candidate, he might shake the country out of its funk. |
| “I think this will be our last chance to get somebody in there to shake it up enough to get people to pay attention,” he said. — RICHARD FAUSSET | “I think this will be our last chance to get somebody in there to shake it up enough to get people to pay attention,” he said. — RICHARD FAUSSET |
| 8:02 a.m. | Several dozen people lined up early at the Coral Gables Public Library in a well-to-do suburb just south of Miami, some of them still debating who to vote for. “I think it’s going to be one of those impulse things,” said Michael Lopez, a cybersecurity consultant. | 8:02 a.m. | Several dozen people lined up early at the Coral Gables Public Library in a well-to-do suburb just south of Miami, some of them still debating who to vote for. “I think it’s going to be one of those impulse things,” said Michael Lopez, a cybersecurity consultant. |
| The voter in front of him in line, Lauren Meter, said she had been undecided until Monday night, when she listened to a speech by one of the candidates. “I think a lot of people are going to vote for Trump but they don’t want to say,” she said. “Up until last night, I was going to throw my vote away and vote for a third-party candidate.” | The voter in front of him in line, Lauren Meter, said she had been undecided until Monday night, when she listened to a speech by one of the candidates. “I think a lot of people are going to vote for Trump but they don’t want to say,” she said. “Up until last night, I was going to throw my vote away and vote for a third-party candidate.” |
| Both declined to reveal their choice. | Both declined to reveal their choice. |
| For Adam Hall, 45, this election was only his second time voting outside the Republican party for president. “That is a big deal to me,” he said, showing his voter registration card. | For Adam Hall, 45, this election was only his second time voting outside the Republican party for president. “That is a big deal to me,” he said, showing his voter registration card. |
| “For a long time, I thought I was going to vote for him, but the Khan attacks changed it for me,” he said, referring to Mr. Trump’s criticism of the parents of a Muslim soldier killed in Iraq. “It really seemed like a choice between two people who were both flawed, and both have a lot of problems,” he said. — FRANCES ROBLES | “For a long time, I thought I was going to vote for him, but the Khan attacks changed it for me,” he said, referring to Mr. Trump’s criticism of the parents of a Muslim soldier killed in Iraq. “It really seemed like a choice between two people who were both flawed, and both have a lot of problems,” he said. — FRANCES ROBLES |
| 7:41 a.m. | When she submitted her ballot at 7 a.m., voting for the first time as a United States citizen, Madelin Jimenez had one final question for the poll worker. “My sticker?” she asked. | 7:41 a.m. | When she submitted her ballot at 7 a.m., voting for the first time as a United States citizen, Madelin Jimenez had one final question for the poll worker. “My sticker?” she asked. |
| She planned to put it next to her American flag and the certificate of naturalization that she received in April. | She planned to put it next to her American flag and the certificate of naturalization that she received in April. |
| “I love this country,” Ms. Jimenez said. She was born in the Dominican Republic, and after moving to New York, she was determined to become a citizen as soon as possible, after five years. And for one reason: “To vote,” she said. “Democratic.” | “I love this country,” Ms. Jimenez said. She was born in the Dominican Republic, and after moving to New York, she was determined to become a citizen as soon as possible, after five years. And for one reason: “To vote,” she said. “Democratic.” |
| If she needed any other reminder, her 8-year-old son, Daniel, who attends Washington Heights Academy, the school where Ms. Jimenez voted, gave her some advice. “No Trump, Mommy,” he said. She wondered why her son, so young, would say that. “He told me, ‘l have a problem, I am Latino,’” she said. | If she needed any other reminder, her 8-year-old son, Daniel, who attends Washington Heights Academy, the school where Ms. Jimenez voted, gave her some advice. “No Trump, Mommy,” he said. She wondered why her son, so young, would say that. “He told me, ‘l have a problem, I am Latino,’” she said. |
| Amid other voters speaking English and Spanish in the school’s gymnasium in the heavily Dominican neighborhood, Ms. Jimenez, a home health aide, felt emboldened by the experience. “If you don’t vote, you don’t count,” she said. — LIZ ROBBINS | Amid other voters speaking English and Spanish in the school’s gymnasium in the heavily Dominican neighborhood, Ms. Jimenez, a home health aide, felt emboldened by the experience. “If you don’t vote, you don’t count,” she said. — LIZ ROBBINS |
| California, Maine and Massachusetts have marijuana legalization initiatives on the ballot that seem likely to pass. Arizona and Nevada are also voting on recreational marijuana, with polls showing Nevada voters evenly split. Read more from Thomas Fuller » | California, Maine and Massachusetts have marijuana legalization initiatives on the ballot that seem likely to pass. Arizona and Nevada are also voting on recreational marijuana, with polls showing Nevada voters evenly split. Read more from Thomas Fuller » |
| Voters across the United States will also decide the fate of a variety of ballot measures, from raising the minimum wage to restricting gun purchases to reinstating the death penalty. Massachusetts will also decided whether to have more charter schools. Read more » | Voters across the United States will also decide the fate of a variety of ballot measures, from raising the minimum wage to restricting gun purchases to reinstating the death penalty. Massachusetts will also decided whether to have more charter schools. Read more » |