San Francisco, California – Underneath a gold-leaf dome in downtown San Francisco, the standard procession of wedding 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 motive: Californians had arrived in droves to take part 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 the Bay Space dwelling.
She was born in close by Oakland. Raised in neighbouring Berkeley. And in San Francisco, she constructed a status as a prosecutor that noticed her rocket up the political ladder.
First, she was elected 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 called a Democratic stronghold, a part of the “blue wall” of states that constantly vote for the social gathering.
And because the most populous state within the nation, California boasts a whopping 54 Electoral Faculty votes. Al Jazeera spoke to voters exterior Metropolis Corridor on Tuesday to know 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.
However the wider common election likewise weighed closely on Rimi’s thoughts.
“In any respect ranges — federal, state and 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 lots of my Muslim, Sikh, non-white, non-male, non-Christian people who have to be protected on this nation.
“What’s at stake is the basic rights of each human being on this world that generally we are likely 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 recognized for nativist rhetoric.
When requested why sure voters within the US don’t see these elementary rights, Rimi was unequivocal.
“You need to give and attribute loads of that to white supremacy. It could not look white all the time, 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 dwelling 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 “shield Black and girl management” this election cycle.
Melanie Mathewson, 26, political marketing consultant
The choice to finish the Supreme Court docket precedent Roe v Wade in 2022 was a distinguished theme on this yr’s presidential race.
On one hand, former President Trump campaigned on how his choices whereas in workplace helped pave the best way for the repeal of federal protections for abortion care.
“For 54 years, they have been attempting to get Roe v Wade terminated. And I did it,” he mentioned in January.
Against this, 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 ladies’s rights,” she mentioned. “I’d like to have kids someday, and I need to be sure that, irrespective 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 grow to be a frequent matter within the Trump marketing campaign.
“Whether or not I’ve kids who’re transgender or I’ve kids who’re homosexual, I would like them to really feel comfy and guarded irrespective of the place they stay on this nation, not simply in California,” Mathewson mentioned.
“I’m additionally very involved about my Black and Brown mates and my mates who’ve immigrant dad and mom who will not be residents, who’re simply attempting to make their manner.”
Christian nationalism, she added, was serving to to form lots of Trump’s insurance policies.
“With the opportunity of Christian nationalism changing into the best way 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 have been prime of thoughts for Maddie Dunn and Matt Fitzgerald, who hoped Election Day would convey excellent news for small companies.
They hoped that poll initiatives in San Francisco would end in decrease taxes and allowing charges for native corporations.
The town’s inhabitants plummeted by almost 65,000 residents throughout 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 received loads 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 enterprise proprietor, and the downturn left her fearful.
“This is a matter you can actually see daily: 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 sluggish margins,” she mentioned.
Each she and Fitzgerald, nevertheless, indicated that they might throw their help behind Harris, who has promised to spice up start-ups, regardless of scepticism from the proper.
“She understands how necessary small companies are to our communities. And along with her financial plan, when it comes all the way down to it, she has the approval of specialists,” Dunn mentioned.
Fitzgerald, for his half, warned that Trump represented a menace to US democracy, pointing to his actions on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol.
“I feel the candidates couldn’t be extra completely different,” he mentioned. “I imply, you’ve got 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 town authorities estimated that homelessness impacts no less than 8,323 residents — a probable 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 primary motivation for her vote. She indicated that she can be supporting progressive candidate Aaron Peskin in his race for mayor.
“Tenants are 64 p.c of town,” Fieber mentioned. “I feel should you stabilise their housing, it has a profound impact on the working class and the flexibility of individuals to stay within the metropolis. So we want candidates which might be gonna shield tenants.”
She defined that prime housing costs have been forcing important staff like nurses and lecturers out of town.
When requested which candidates had put ahead platforms to deal with the problem, 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 throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, to permit for outside recreation. Residents like Kelly hope it stays closed, notably 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 that the stakes are larger than simply the destiny of a street.
“What sort of a metropolis will we need to be? Will 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 the whole lot else?”
He credited outgoing President Joe Biden with taking some steps to deal with the local weather disaster.
“Joe Biden was capable of, by the Inflation Reduction Act, create one of many greatest items of local weather laws. And we’re seeing loads of renewable power come out of that,” Kelly defined.
However he warned that continued activism can be essential to preserve the problem on the forefront of nationwide coverage, irrespective of the result on Tuesday.
“I feel we’re a part of a coalition that’s going to place stress on Kamala Harris to try 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 would possibly spark if he refuses to simply accept a defeat at Harris’s arms.
“I’m involved concerning the potential for violence,” Kelly mentioned. “If the election turns into form of contested, there’s a good likelihood that the Home of Representatives and the Supreme Court docket would conspire to provide the election to Trump, regardless of him shedding the votes within the Electoral Faculty.”
