This is an article from the Fall 2024 Civitas Examiner (Volume 1, No. 2) and was written by one of our students, Augustus F. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Civitas other than respect for the value of open dialogue. To read more Civitas Examiner stories or to submit your own, click here.
November 5th, 2024. I’m on my way to school, and I notice something different. “Yes on 3” signs popped up—seemingly overnight—purposely in front of every “No on 3” sign on my route. We would later find out that Amendment 3 passed statewide by a margin of 1.6% (less than 100,000 votes). However, in Franklin County, it failed by 10.42% (about 12,000 votes). Here’s my account of Election Day in Franklin County and its most contentious topics.
To many, Amendment 3 wasn’t about abortion. Instead, it was framed as allowing “child sex-changing surgeries.” There was a clear effort to undermine reproductive rights’ popularity by falsely creating a fallacy of equivocation. Nowhere in Amendment 3 is there any mention of allowing minors to undergo gender-affirming surgery. Regardless, I spoke with “No on 3” electioneers in Washington Ward 1, one of Franklin County’s most left-leaning jurisdictions, where 67.29% voted for Donald Trump. Each “No on 3” electioneer said that Amendment 3 “absolutely” allows for such conditions. A few minutes after the interview, I witnessed a mother storm out of the polling place screaming at the electioneers. Before she and her husband got into their car, I ran over and got the chance to talk to them. Here’s what she has to say:
“No, I think that’s ridiculous. They can’t even give a kid tylenol at school without calling their parents; they’re not gonna change their sex at school…We have a trans child; we know the process it takes to get them to point A to point B. Sex change isn’t even on the table. It wasn’t even discussed…It’s not a thing [on the ballot].”
Only in Pacific’s 3rd district did “Yes” on Amendment 3 gain over 50% of the vote. The margin?
12 votes. Supposedly, there was a man holding a huge cardboard cutout resembling a human fetus at a Union polling place. Witnesses report the man was continuously snacking on chips while waving the sign.
Another main divide was the hopeful Democratic candidates, primarily: Ray Hartmann, Lukas Kunce, Crystal Quade, and Kamala Harris. The picture to the left is of Washington 1. Ray Hartmann’s best performance (33.53%) was a tie between Washington 4 and Pacific 3. In total, he received 26.36% of Franklin County’s votes. Lukas Kunce performed the best out of the Democrats, having received 30.23% of all votes. He received the best performances in Pacific 3 (37.81%) and Washington 4 (37.25%). Crystal Quade got 25.28% of the total vote and did best in the same two districts (around 32%). Interestingly, some high schoolers mentioned they thought Kamala Harris would win the national election. While they overwhelmingly voted for (or supported) Donald Trump, they “were sure she would win.” In Franklin County, Kamala Harris got 26.50% of the total vote. Her best performances were in Washington, Pacific, and Union, where she had around 30% of the vote.
I interviewed people at 3 polling places: Washington 1, Washington 4, and Gildehaus. At Washington 4, a notable amount of people emphasized having a moral and empathetic conscience as being necessary in their interviews, most likely as a dig at Donald Trump. Is it a coincidence that the only polling place that is a public library is the most Democratic-leaning district (or one of them)? There was a noticeable difference between Washington and Gildehaus. I picked Gildehaus because it aligned most similarly with the rest of Franklin County’s voting (high 70% for Trump). There, no one wanted to go in-depth and mainly said Conservative talking points. Many of those interviewed appeared to have their mind made up on candidates but not necessarily issues. I asked one man a question asking what he thought about the Electoral College. He responded, “I don’t know much about that whole politics side. I’m more about God and Jesus, that’s the only thing we need in this world.” Support for absentee voting appeared to be about half-and-half. Above all, Franklin County voters prioritized responsibility, compassion, dedication to the American people, and practicing what they preach. They talked about dignity.
