These issues prompted Monmouth, Ocean voters to go to the polls

Five minute read

Ava Garcia drove from her Toms River home Tuesday morning to pick up her boyfriend, Joseph Ricci, from Stockton University. They drove to the Bayville section of Berkeley, where Ricci voted, and then to Toms River High School North, where Garcia cast her vote.

The first-time voters then celebrated with a breakfast together.

“I said, 'Let's make it a date,' so we'll do that,” said Garcia, who is 19.

“An election date,” said 20-year-old Ricci, who is studying hospitality – he wants to become a restaurateur – and sees the economy as the most pressing problem.

Scenes like this occurred all along the Jersey Shore on Election Day. More than a third of the voters the Asbury Park Press met at polling stations in Toms River and Freehold Borough showed up in pairs – husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, boyfriends and girlfriends. The “bring a friend” theme may be a sign of the urgency of this election, with the US presidency at stake between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

At the Freehold Borough Fire House on West Main Street, Kelly Guerra showed up to vote with her 25-year-old daughter, Neesa Mackey-Guerra.

“It’s a family affair,” Mackey-Guerra said.

“One of the main issues for us is definitely women's rights and our everyday rights – our right to be able to make the decisions that we want to make,” Kelly Guerra said.

They also expressed concern about the overheated tone of political rhetoric in the run-up to the election.

“It’s a little scary,” Kelly said. “We want to be safe and vote without being harassed or forced to do so.”

Another voter in Freehold, Troy Thorpe, wasn't afraid to persuade his mother to exercise her right to vote.

“I got my mom voting because every vote counts,” said Thorpe, who pushed his mom, Cora Thorpe, to the vote.

Troy Thorpe, a Manalapan resident, cast his vote in that city at 6:15 a.m. and said there was a 20-person line at that early hour. Then he picked up his mother.

“I voted for the right person who I thought would get America back on its feet,” he said, adding of his mother: “I have to make sure she votes for the right person.”

Some important issues arise

The nearly two dozen people interviewed Tuesday by the Asbury Park Press cited one of a handful of issues that matter most to them: immigration, the economy, bodily autonomy and concerns about increasing incivility.

Levin Tigno, who immigrated to Toms River from the Philippines 18 years ago, said immigration is at the top of his list because “I want people to at least be vetted.” I don't let anyone into my house that I don't know. It's better if people are checked. It can’t be a jack-of-all-trades.”

Isamar Correa, who teaches middle school Spanish in Asbury Park and brought her 2-month-old son to the Freehold Fire House to vote, said, “We have to stand up for our rights. I grew up in Puerto Rico, I'm proud of my culture and I think it's important that we use the rights we were given.”

Ralph Silvestri of Toms River, who showed up to vote with his wife, said: “We want stability back in our government, we want honesty and we want to stop the back and forth… the name calling, the meanness that goes back and forth.” in this choice from one side. I want our president to have the opportunity to reach across the aisle and get input from both sides.”

Ashlynn Selleck-Pascavage, a 21-year-old Toms River resident who voted for the first time, said, “It's really about supporting the rights of others and the right to bodily autonomy.”

Longtime Toms River resident Alan Reifenheiser, who was accompanied to the polls by his wife Barbara, said “the border is an issue” and called for strong leadership in the department.

New Jersey Elections 2024: Ocean and Monmouth County Voters Approve

Residents of Monmouth and Ocean counties are speaking out about the election.

Harassment Concerns

Several of the people interviewed said they went to the polls concerned about harassment and unrest at polling stations – and were relieved that everything seemed peaceful and orderly.

“We take our responsibilities as American citizens very seriously and vote every year; “It was a little scary this year, but we voted,” said Vicki Warnock, who voted in Freehold with her husband, Patrick. “There's a lot of disagreement, there's a lot less conversation, it's a lot harder to believe everything you read, and there's a lot more at stake for our children when it comes to the direction this country is going to go.”

She added: “I would like to see both parties work together for the good of the American people – all people, all colors, all races, all creeds, all backgrounds, and I don't think they are doing that.”

Perhaps the most visible sign of what was at stake Tuesday was the sight of 97-year-old World War II veteran Bernard Weinstein, hunched over a walker and inching across the parking lot to the Freehold Fire House to cast his ballot .

Weinstein, who served in the Navy as an 18-year-old at the end of the war, pointed to Richard Nixon's resignation as a lesson about the importance of character in public office.

“I vote whenever I can because if you don’t vote right you could have a real idiot in office,” he said. “There’s someone running for office just for the second time, that’s bad news — bad news.”

As he walked out after voting, some new voters noticed his hat that said “World War II Veteran” and thanked him for his service. He thanked them for their vote.

Jerry Carino is a community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues of the Jersey Shore. Contact him at [email protected].

Five minute read

Some important issues arise

Harassment Concerns

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