Camp Curtin Middle School, a Harrisburg polling place
A steady stream of voters filed into Camp Curtin Middle School, one of Harrisburg’s busiest polling places on Tuesday.
All across the city, polling places opened at 8 a.m. for the 2024 general election, and by 10 a.m. around 200 people had voted at Camp Curtin.
While in Harrisburg city, voters tend to lean Democratic, a mix of both residents supporting Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump cast their votes on Tuesday.
Italian Lake-area resident Christine Myers said she voted for Harris, citing democracy, women’s health care and voting rights as important issues to her.
“I never would’ve voted for Trump, but I think she’s going to be a good president for all people,” she said.
Several other voters similarly said that they voted for Harris both out of a dislike for Trump, but also out of support for Harris’ policies and platform.
“I think she’s great for the country, and I can’t stand the other option,” said Nick Finniff.
Trump supporters also showed up on Tuesday motivated by issues like immigration and the economy, among others.
Republican Brendon Booz said that he was voting for Trump to get the country “back on track, as opposed to losing it forever.”
He said that, while he cast his vote, he doesn’t fully trust the election process.
Another voter, who asked that her name not be used, voted for Trump, but said that she wrestled with the decision for quite some time. She said that she doesn’t agree with Trump on every issue, noting that she is pro-choice, but didn’t trust Harris.
“It was a lot of back and forth,” she said. “It was a lot of endless nights. I think a lot about the future.”
DJ Wiskay outside Second City Church
While people came and went at Camp Curtin, a DJ, hired by nonprofit DJs at the Polls, played music. DJs at the Polls is a national organization that hires local DJs to play in urban areas with large numbers of underrepresented voters.
DJ Wiskay of Lebanon was set up at Second City Church in Midtown, one of three locations he planned to visit on Tuesday. His presence, he said, was just to encourage people to vote, no matter which party they voted for.
“I’ll play anybody’s [song] request, but they have to vote first,” he said.
Voter Zora Bullet went with a friend to help him vote in Midtown, but planned to vote for Harris later at her Allison Hill polling place.
“I’m for women,” she said. “Women have a tendency of getting things done. I have confidence that things are going to get turned around. She’s a true leader.”
Bullet said she was confident that Harris would win the election.
On the other side, first-time voter Larees Brooks said she was confident that Trump would win.
“We are going to win, the numbers say we are,” she said.
However, voter Arthur Smith, a “conservative Republican” who voted for Harris, said he believes it could go either way.
“I see it as a toss up,” he said.
In Harrisburg, the polls are open until 8 p.m.
As of Monday, Dauphin County officials said that over 37,000 mail-in ballots had been received.
“My staff has tirelessly prepared for this election for months and, with the help of more than 1,200 poll workers, we are ready to run a successful election day,” said Dauphin County Bureau of Registration and Elections Director Chris Spackman, in a statement on Monday.
For more information about voting and election results in Dauphin County, visit their website.
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