San Francisco, California – Beneath a gold-leaf dome in downtown San Francisco, the same old procession of marriage ceremony events tiptoed out of Metropolis Corridor with freshly minted marriage licences.
However there was a rival line stretching down the steps for a distinct purpose: Californians had arrived in droves to participate within the pivotal 2024 United States election.
This yr’s presidential race was wealthy with symbolism for the San Francisco Bay Space. One of many two main candidates, Democrat and Vice President Kamala Harris, considers it house.
She was born in close by Oakland, raised in neighbouring Berkeley and, in San Francisco, she constructed a fame as a prosecutor that noticed her rocket up the political ladder.
First, she was elected the town’s district lawyer, serving in Metropolis Corridor from 2002 to 2011, steps away from the regulation college the place she acquired her diploma.
Later, she grew to become the state’s lawyer common after which its senator within the US Congress.
California is named a Democratic stronghold, a part of the so-called “blue wall” of states that persistently vote for the celebration.
And because the most populous within the nation, the state boasts a whopping 54 Electoral School votes. Al Jazeera spoke to voters outdoors Metropolis Corridor on Tuesday to grasp what was motivating their votes this election cycle.
Anjali Rimi, social service employee
Standing within the shadow of Metropolis Corridor’s towering 94-metre (307-foot) dome, Anjali Rimi hoped to encourage different voters to re-elect Democratic Mayor London Breed to a second time period in workplace.
The broader common election, likewise, weighed closely on Rimi’s thoughts.
“In any respect ranges — federal, state and the town of San Francisco — what’s at stake is democracy,” Rimi informed Al Jazeera.
“What’s at stake is the lives of immigrants. What’s at stake is the lives of minority-religion individuals, like myself, or a lot of my Muslim, Sikh, non-white, non-male, non-Christian of us who must be protected on this nation.
“What’s at stake is the elemental rights of each human being on this world that generally we are inclined to not see proper right here in the US of America. And therefore, this election is historic on so many fronts.”
Rimi’s phrases echoed critics’ issues about Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate and former president identified for nativist rhetoric.
When requested why sure voters within the US didn’t see these basic rights, Rimi was unequivocal.
“It’s important to give and attribute quite a lot of that to white supremacy. It could not look white at all times, however privilege and people who have a place proceed to need to conquer and lead and brutalise this world, Rimi mentioned.
“Therefore, we don’t see the struggles of these which might be on the margins — the many people who’ve come to this nation to make it our house and are simply attempting to stay a contented and peaceable life with our households however nonetheless have a connection again to our homelands.”
She added that she hoped to “defend Black and lady management” this election cycle.
Melanie Mathewson, 26, political marketing consultant
The choice to finish the Supreme Courtroom precedent Roe v Wade in 2022 was a distinguished theme on this yr’s presidential race.
One one hand, former President Trump campaigned on how his choices whereas in workplace helped pave the way in which for the repeal of federal protections for abortion care.
“For 54 years, they had been attempting to get Roe v Wade terminated. And I did it,” he mentioned in January.
In contrast, Harris has campaigned on restoring entry to reproductive healthcare. “When Congress passes a invoice to revive reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the US, I’ll proudly signal it into regulation,” she informed a marketing campaign rally earlier this yr.
That debate helped encourage Melanie Mathewson’s vote within the common election.
“What’s driving me on a federal degree is girls’s rights,” she mentioned. “I’d like to have youngsters at some point, and I need to ensure that, regardless of the place I stay or the place they select to stay, they’ve entry to no matter healthcare that they want for his or her our bodies.”
She additionally gave a nod to the anti-transgender, anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric that has regularly change into a subject within the Trump marketing campaign.
“Whether or not I’ve youngsters who’re transgender or I’ve youngsters who’re homosexual, I would like them to really feel snug and guarded regardless of the place they stay on this nation, not simply in California,” Mathewson mentioned.
“I’m additionally very involved about my Black and Brown good friend and my pals who’ve immigrant dad and mom who usually are not residents who’re simply attempting to make their method.”
Christian nationalism, she added, was serving to to form a lot of Trump’s insurance policies.
“With the opportunity of Christian nationalism turning into the way in which that we rule our nation if Trump wins, I’m afraid that there’s not going to be freedom of faith, freedom over our our bodies,” she mentioned.
Maddie Dunn, 23, and Matt Fitzgerald, 28, campaigners
The shuttered storefronts that line downtown San Francisco had been high of thoughts for Maddie Dunn and Matt Fitzgerald, who hoped Election Day would deliver excellent news for small companies.
They hoped that poll initiatives in San Francisco would lead to decrease taxes and allowing charges for native corporations.
The town’s inhabitants plummeted by almost 65,000 residents through the COVID-19 pandemic, and companies took a punch in consequence.
“San Francisco’s had the slowest COVID restoration in North America,” Fitzgerald mentioned. “We’ve acquired quite a lot of issues right here in our downtown, with empty workplace areas, closing small companies and issues like that.”
Dunn defined that her father was a small-business proprietor, and the downturn left her frightened.
“This is a matter that you may actually see everyday: How nicely is your nook retailer doing? Or your espresso store? And in San Francisco, the reply is that companies are recovering, however they’re nonetheless struggling from decreased foot site visitors, actually gradual margins,” she mentioned.
Each she and Fitzgerald, nevertheless, indicated they might throw their help behind Harris, who has promised to spice up start-ups, regardless of scepticism from the appropriate.
“She understands how essential small companies are to our communities. And along with her financial plan, when it comes right down to it, she has the approval of consultants,” Dunn mentioned.
Fitzgerald, for his half, warned that Trump represents a menace to US democracy, pointing to his actions on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the Capitol.
“I feel the candidates couldn’t be extra totally different,” he mentioned. “I imply, you may have one candidate, our former president, who actually tried to overthrow our democracy on January sixth, and you’ve got a candidate who’s pro-democracy, who’s pro-women’s rights, and is pro-LGBTQ rights.”
This election, he added, might be “an enormous fork within the street”.
Jennifer Fieber, 51, member of San Francisco Tenants Union
For many years, the San Francisco Bay Space has been within the grips of a housing disaster.
Housing costs are unaffordable for a lot of residents. Rental prices have ticked up. And a January 2024 report from the town authorities estimated that homelessness impacts at the very least 8,323 residents — a possible undercount. Greater than 20,000 sought help for homelessness over the course of a yr.
Jennifer Fieber, a member of the San Francisco Tenants Union, pointed to the disaster as the principle motivation for her vote. She indicated she could be supporting progressive candidate Aaron Peskin in his race for mayor.
“Tenants are 64 p.c of the town,” Fieber mentioned. “I feel should you stabilize their housing, it has a profound impact on working class and the power of individuals to stay within the metropolis. So we’d like candidates which might be gonna defend tenants.”
She defined that prime housing costs had been forcing important staff like nurses and academics out of the town.
When requested which candidates had put ahead platforms to deal with the difficulty, Fieber responded: “Truly, I feel that they’ve been ignoring it to their detriment.”
That features on the nationwide scale, she added. “I help the Democrats, however they don’t actually have a housing coverage.”
Joshua Kelly, 45, stay-at-home dad
For homemaker and stay-at-home dad Joshua Kelly, the roadway that strains San Francisco’s Pacific Coast was a motivation to get out the vote.
That four-lane street, often known as the Nice Freeway, was closed through the COVID-19 pandemic, to permit for outside recreation. Residents like Kelly hope it stays closed, significantly because the freeway faces the ravages of local weather change.
“Our plan [is] to show a coastal freeway that’s falling into the ocean right into a park and promenade for the entire metropolis,” Kelly mentioned.
He argued the stakes are greater than simply the destiny of a street.
“What sort of a metropolis will we need to be? Can we need to be a metropolis that acknowledges and embraces local weather change and plans for it?” Kelly requested. “Or will we need to be a metropolis that prioritises polluting, climate-change-causing automotive journey and the comfort of that above every little thing else?”
He credited outgoing President Joe Biden with taking some steps to deal with the local weather disaster.
“Joe Biden was in a position to, by means of the Inflation Discount Act, create one of many largest items of local weather laws. And we’re seeing quite a lot of renewable power come out of that,” Kelly defined.
However he warned that continued activism could be essential to maintain the difficulty on the forefront of nationwide coverage, regardless of the end result on Tuesday.
“I feel we’re a part of a coalition that’s going to place stress on Kamala Harris to do this, if she is elected as nicely. And if Trump will get in, he’s going to push fossil fuels. He’s going to finish subsidies for renewable power. He’s going to ship us backwards.”
Kelly additionally feared the violence Trump may spark if he refuses to simply accept a defeat at Harris’s palms.
“I’m involved concerning the potential for violence,” Kelly mentioned. “If the election turns into form of contested, there’s a good probability that the Home of Representatives and the Supreme Courtroom would conspire to present the election to Trump, regardless of him dropping the votes within the Electoral School.”
