by Shiyang Yi Boston University News Service
People swarmed into the polling ward inside Wang YMCA of Chinatown to vote for the midterm election on the morning of Nov. 8. According to a staff member working at the Wang YMCA center, more citizens came to vote today than in the last two weeks because two sites were combined into one.
Volunteers outside the Chinatown polling station. Photo by Shiyang Yi
The senior population living in the Chinatown and Downtown neighborhoods are the majority coming to vote in the Chinatown polling station on 8 Oak Street. “Most people who come to vote at the site are elderly,” said a 67-year-old Asian volunteer outside the ward who wanted to be mentioned as “Mr. Yu.”
As a retired Boston citizen who previously worked in community service, Mr. Yu volunteered at the ward, intending to increase voter participation and equity in the community. “We’re sending out brochures guiding people to vote and, more importantly, hoping more people act their right as citizens to vote.”
Mr. Yu also pointed out two issues that are important to his vote: regulations of the pension system and the healthcare system. “People always examine personal interests before making a voting decision. For other senior citizens and me, pension plan and community healthcare service are my major considerations,” said Mr.Yu.
A sign with “Yes on 1” in front of the entrance of Wang YMCA of Chinatown. Photo by Shiyang Yi
John Zhang, a 70-year-old citizen who has continued to vote for over 30 years, shared his prediction on today’s election result: “I think Healey-Driscoll will win. That’s my prediction because she has good name recognition, and I keep seeing posters with her name everywhere.”
Kathryn Barry, a lawyer living in the Chinatown neighborhood, also expressed her leaning toward Healey-Driscoll before walking into the ward. “I think she did a really good job as Attorney General. You know, she’s shown that she’s willing to fight for our state, you know, take on the Feds when necessary,” said Barry.
Posters for Healey-Driscoll on the streetside. Photo by Shiyang Yi
According to Barry, Question 1 pertaining to the millionaire tax is what she was concerned about the most, and she thought there is a lot of reform needed on the tax issue. “It’s common sense that those who make more should pay more. But our tax laws are just really outdated…We haven’t looked at the tax code since the 80s. So it’s like kinds of stuff obviously need to be updated.”
Although Barry’s work schedule delayed her voting until the last day, she made it a priority to find time and cast her ballot.”I just got busy. And I realized that I had forgotten completely about mailing in the ballot or early voting, but I knew I needed to vote. I knew I wanted to vote.”
