Griselda Soto had a ready answer when asked why she voted today: “I was just happy to be here and vote for the next president,” she said.
Sporting an “I Voted” sticker on her forehead outside a polling station in Chula Vista City Hall, the 43-year-old accountant from Bonita said she filled in the oval for Vice President Kamala Harris. “What’s most important is I want to be able to make my own choices and not have the government dictate what I do, especially because I have four daughters,” she said.
As for the many local races on her ballot? “I’m just so stoked about the presidential race, everything else is just like…I’m not going to remember,” she said.
It was a common theme Tuesday morning as a steady stream of voters joined a long line snaking through the grounds of the Chula Vista civic center. Virtually every voter named the race between Harris and former president Donald Trump as a top priority. Some struggled to identify local races that mattered to them.
“Before I had kids, the local stuff was more important and I did my research,” said Mary Campbell of Chula Vista as she settled her 2-year-old daughter, Nora, into a stroller. “This year I was busy and didn’t have time.”
But Campbell said she made time to dash over to City Hall and wedge in a vote for Harris before Nora’s nap. She also marked yes on several local school bond measures and skipped voting for everything else.
“I feel really strongly” about the presidential race, she said. “I have two daughters, ages two and five. I would never want them to be involved with a person like Trump. That’s enough for me.”
Daniel McClain, a 36-year-old camp staffer at a local YMCA, said the presidential race also mattered most to him. He voted for Trump. “It’s been kind of wonky the past four years,” he said, citing an economy that “tanked” and the rising cost of living.
“It’s harder to pay for things,” he said. “Inflation is eating into my finances.”
When it came to local races, “I don’t pay attention,” McCain said. Though, he acknowledged he did vote yes on Measure G, a countywide sales tax hike earmarked for transit projects. “Our transit is garbagio,” he said. “I don’t mind paying a few extra pennies if it goes for transit or public programs.”
Not all voters ignored local races. Melissa Gutierrez, a 33-year-old cashier at Costco, and her husband, Alex Gutierrez, a security officer at a casino in Jamul, said they took time to research every item on their ballot before voting.
“We spent some time educating ourselves,” Melissa said. “My husband helped me read through all the propositions.”
Both Gutierrezes cast votes for Harris. But they said they also made sure to weigh in on local issues. “We voted yes on the [tax and bond measures] that would improve our community,” Melissa said. That included three local school bond measures, a Chula Vista sales tax hike to pay for infrastructure and Measure G.
They also voted an enthusiastic yes on Proposition 33, which would enable local jurisdictions to enact rent control policies. “Our rent [on a one-bedroom apartment in Chula Vista] went from $1,300 to $1,500” in the past year, Melissa said. “We love it here, but it’s too much.”
Manuel Lopez, a 32-year-old customer service representative for IKEA, said high rent topped his priority list, too. Lopez said he moved to Chula Vista from Imperial Valley a month ago and was still having sticker shock over his rent.
“The rent is too damn high,” he said. “Rent control…interests me a lot.”
Lopez said he voted yes on local tax and bond measures because “it goes to the community.” But the main reason he awoke at 7 a.m. (“that’s early for me”) to ride his electric scooter to the polls?
“I don’t want Trump to be president,” he said. “That’s a big one for me.”