Norwood’s residents braved the first chill of fall on Tuesday, Nov. 3, to cast their votes on Election Day 2020. Despite the convenience afforded by early voting this year, there was a clear driving force behind a solid local Election Day turnout that saw long lines meandering through parking lots, and pouring out onto nearby streets. That driver? The pandemic.

 

“COVID has leaped over all my other voting issues,” said Jan Vanlier, 55, an executive assistant. “My mental and physical health can’t take another four years of this.” It’s a sentiment that has spread aggressively throughout the Bronx, as the borough consistently maintains the city’s lead in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths.

 

Since March, almost one percent of Bronxites have been hospitalized due to the coronavirus. That’s double Manhattan’s COVID-19 hospitalization rate, which, at 0.5 percent, was the lowest of all five boroughs. The Bronx also has the highest rate of deaths at 0.3 percent, compared to Manhattan at 0.15 percent, according to data from the city’s health department.

 

“We were really hit hard by this pandemic,” said Tracy Moore, 29, a contract administrator who provided personal protective equipment to Montefiore Hospital during the city’s lockdown. “We’re really underserved in the Bronx, and I don’t think either party addressed those systemic issues,” she added.

Despite this, Moore said she felt a sense of obligation to those who have been left jobless by the pandemic. “I had to exercise my right to vote because we can’t leave the underserved to fend for themselves,” she said.

 

The Bronx unemployment rate jumped from 5.5 percent in March 2020 to 24.9 percent in July, according to New York State Bureau of Labor Statistics. In September, that rate, while still high, fell to 18.8 percent.

 

Yet, despite the downward trajectory in the unemployment rate, Ruben Perez, 38, a self-employed tax consultant and an undecided voter, fears another COVID-19 lockdown, ushered in by a new administration, would harm business. “There’s been a lot of talk about re-closing and reopening the economy, and you can tell I’m not okay with re-closing it,” said Perez. “There has to be another way to do this.”

 

Mariah Soto, 29, a nurse at Montefiore Children’s Hospital, has worked non-stop throughout the pandemic, and hopes her vote will help move the country out of the crisis. “I feel a little emotional today,” said Soto. “This vote is extremely important for this community. I think we need better leadership addressing COVID-19.”

 

After casting her vote at PS 94 Kings College polling station, Soto felt a bit more optimistic, “I feel good,” she said. “I’m hoping for the best.”

 

Before polls officially opened on Election Day, 153,079 Bronxites had taken advantage of early voting, according to the New York City Board of Elections. However, despite the record early voting turnout, and the chilly temperatures, David Agront, 31, Democratic coordinator for PS 94 Kings College polling station, said people were still lining up at 5 a.m. on Election Day to be first to vote when the doors officially opened an hour later.

 

“We had a line all the way through the schoolyard going down to Gun Hill Road,” he said. “Because of social distancing, we can only bring in some voters at a time, but it’s been going good so far.”

Aside from the pandemic, voters also expressed their thoughts on the outcome of the election, and what the future may hold. “I feel excited now,” said Antonio Ware, 35, a fashion consultant and first-time voter. “I feel like my vote really matters, but I’m wondering, am I voting for the right person? Am I making the right decision? Am I messing up?”

 

Sky Jimenez, 21, another first-time voter and college student at Fordham University, admitted feeling concerned over potential, post-election rioting and unrest. Yet, she said she felt the need to show up.

 

“I work in Soho, and I’ve been seeing all of the boarding-up and everything that’s been going on to prepare for the election,” she said. “It’s nerve-racking.” But, despite her anxieties, Jimenez felt this election was too important to sit out. “I’m thinking about my friends who aren’t citizens,” she said. “I’m thinking about my gay friends, my LGBTQ friends, friends that are immigrants and part of DACA. I don’t want their rights taken away.”

 

Meanwhile, after casting her ballot, Cora Knight, 60, walked out of the Glad Tidings Assembly of God polling station on Van Cortland Avenue, feeling wonderful but cautiously optimistic. “What we have seen these last four years has been tumultuous, and I’d like to see something different,” she said. “Civil unrest, health care, the pandemic, I’ve got my fingers crossed, even though I can’t cross them anymore.”

 

“We don’t have to make America great again,” she added. “America is already great. What we need to do is build on our greatness.”