Syracuse, N.Y.(NCC NEWS) — At 11:30 a.m. today, people were lined up at the entrance of the gym inside St. Joseph’s Parish Center to cast their votes for the 2022 Midterm Elections. The people who go in and out of the polling site have different beliefs, but talking to voters reveals something that can be agreed on: that people should exercise their right to vote.
Michael Chericola lives within walking distance of the polling site and firmly believes that everyone should fulfill their civic and personal duty of voting for their optimal construction of their government:
“People who don’t vote, they end up losing their rights,” he said.
Chericola, along with other voters, called for people to step up and vote. Local retiree Donna Gataletto votes on every midterm and presidential election day. She wants to “keep our democracy going,” by voting among her concerns related to the subject.
When asked how important she believes it is for the people to be represented by their government, she responded: “150%, very important”.
Gataletto realizes the privilege she has with her ability to vote:
“A lot of countries fight to have the right to vote, we have the right to vote and a lot of people are lazy and just assume things will go the way they want,” she explained.
Polls close later tonight and registered voters are strongly encouraged to make it to a polling site to cast their vote. While people are voting for the results they are hoping for, everyone is called to vote so they can realize and appreciate the rights they have been given as a citizen of the United States.
Jaden Gerard: In Onondaga County and the rest of the United States, people are lining up to cast their vote for this year’s Midterm Elections. There are plenty of sites located around Onondaga County, including Saint Joseph’s Parish Center in the Town of Camillus. Navy retiree Micahel Cericola strongly believes that people must exercise their right to vote.
Michael Cericola: There’s a lot of places here in America where I’ve seen numbers were only 20 percent of the people vote, that’s 80 percent of the people that’s not getting their say in the government. So they really need to, everyone needs to step up so we can get a true and accurate count of who needs representation.
Gerard: Although nationwide midterm election voter turnout has been higher than 20 percent in recent years, according to Census data, his point still stands. Local retiree Donna Gataletto puts the voting rights U.S. citizens have into perspective and believes this should be motivation for people to vote.
Donna Gataletto: A lot of countries fight to have the right to vote, we have the right to vote and a lot of people are lazy and just assume things will go the way they want.
Gerard: Gataletto doesn’t feel sympathy for those who complain about the state of the country when they don’t try to make a difference themselves through voting.
Gataletto: When they don’t vote they feel like well, you know, I don’t like the way things are going but then I’ll say, even my own friends, did you vote? No, what’s the point?
Gerard: Although people here in the Town of Camillus and around Onondaga County may have different political alignments and beliefs, one thing that everyone can agree on is that we as people, should exercise our right to vote and be represented in our government. From the Town of Camillus, for Democracy in Action, I’m Jaden Gerard.
