What Voting Means to Us: 24 Women at the Polls
Photo: Chuck Grant
Long lines, freezing temperatures, malfunctioning machines, and convoluted ballots would not deter New Yorkers from casting their vote this Election Day. The Cut sent photographer Chuck Grant and reporter Katie Van Syckle to chat with women at polling stations from East 68th Street and Lexington, up to 143rd Street and Frederick Douglass.
The women — some of whom were voting for the first time — discussed gay rights, school loans, the viability of small businesses, Medicare, equal pay, and, of course, their children. Several brought up Roe v. Wade.
Click through to hear what voting meant to these 24 New York women in 2012.
Denise Barbut, Neurologist and Biotech Entrepreneur Is there anything, as a woman, you are thinking about today? I'm not a feminist. I'm a profes...
Denise Barbut, Neurologist and Biotech Entrepreneur Is there anything, as a woman, you are thinking about today? I'm not a feminist. I'm a professor of neurology. I have done pretty well on my own, and I don’t need others to forward my cause for me. I have managed to stand on my own two feet, so those issues are not the top priority for me.
What are the top issues? The country’s economy and security Photo: Chuck Grant
Patricia Stanley, Retired YMCA Employee What are you feeling? I want to give Obama more time, he deserves it I am just hoping that us come out an...
Patricia Stanley, Retired YMCA Employee What are you feeling? I want to give Obama more time, he deserves it I am just hoping that us come out and don’t give up. Don’t say, ‘It doesn’t matter, we have nothing to lose,' because we do.
Who is us? African Americans. I want them all to come out, just like we did before. This is important. Photo: Chuck Grant
Lauren Abplanalp, Communications Director Were there particular issues that brought you to the polls? Absolutely, women’s issues, abortion, how m...
Lauren Abplanalp, Communications Director Were there particular issues that brought you to the polls? Absolutely, women’s issues, abortion, how much control you have over your own decisions. That was probably the most important reason that I voted today.
Do you live here in the Upper East Side? No, I live in Murray Hill but I still have no power. Photo: Chuck Grant
Monee Perry, RCA Records employee What are you thinking about? What am I thinking about? How I’m going to affect change. I have been voting since...
Monee Perry, RCA Records employee What are you thinking about? What am I thinking about? How I’m going to affect change. I have been voting since I was 18 and I turned 35 yesterday... I remember the moment that Obama was elected, the last four years and it was amazing. My dad is 85 and I called him and I was just like we did it dad, you know? We have generations of people that weren’t able to do this--women, black people. It's just an amazing feeling.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Grace Flanders, Public Relations Did you just vote? No, the polls are jammed so there are only two operating right now, so it is not really movin...
Grace Flanders, Public Relations Did you just vote? No, the polls are jammed so there are only two operating right now, so it is not really moving. I have to get to work so I will come back.
Is there anything you are thinking about on this election day? Just trying to balance my social views against my economic inklings. Equal rights and civil rights are most important to me right now. But if I had money to protect, I may be voting the other way. Photo: Chuck Grant
Rosalie Stahl, Homemaker Was there anything you were thinking about in the booth this morning? Like what? Like why am I voting? I will tell you o...
Rosalie Stahl, Homemaker Was there anything you were thinking about in the booth this morning? Like what? Like why am I voting? I will tell you one thing: I am an old, old lady, as you can see, and each time it’s different. I was born and bred here in New York, and I think this is ridiculous. If I came from another place or this was not my first language, I would give up.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Erin Ratner, Lawyer What are some of the big issues for you, going into the booth? Health care, I grew up in New Zealand and universal health car...
Erin Ratner, Lawyer What are some of the big issues for you, going into the booth? Health care, I grew up in New Zealand and universal health care, I think everyone should have it, especially in a so-called civilized country like America. But also women’s issues like abortion and contraception. I want to make sure that, for my daughter, we keep having those things and we don’t get the Court stacked with conservatives.
Is that what you are thinking about, as a female voter today? I don’t really feel that I'm voting as woman. I'm voting as a person. Photo: Chuck Grant
Jacqueline Devomish, Homemaker What do you do for work? I wish I could work. Something will pop up.
Are jobs a big thing for you this year?&nbs...
Jacqueline Devomish, Homemaker What do you do for work? I wish I could work. Something will pop up.
Are jobs a big thing for you this year? I'm 60 and I need to go back to work. I need a paycheck. Thanks to the market crashing, the raising of taxes here in Harlem it is hard for people to exist.
Has it been hard to find work? I think age, more than anything, works against me. Photo: Chuck Grant
Paulina Rogawski, Merrill Lynch Employee Is there anything you are thinking about going into the polls this morning? I don’t know, I am just pret...
Paulina Rogawski, Merrill Lynch Employee Is there anything you are thinking about going into the polls this morning? I don’t know, I am just pretty disgusted. The entire election process in this country becomes absolutely unbearable. The whole process of watching everyone campaign, but also all the negativity and all the ads. What a waste of money.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Sara with Fellini Was there anything in particular you were thinking about as a female voter in this election? No, I think too many people are th...
Sara with Fellini Was there anything in particular you were thinking about as a female voter in this election? No, I think too many people are thinking too much now on 'female' or 'male' issues. But I don’t think it's about that. I think the economy is in such danger that it really doesn’t matter if you are a woman or a man. It is going to be horrible for you no matter what.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Denise Shulur, Patient Advocate at Harlem Hospital Were there any particular issues that really brought you out? There’s a lot. Our job situation...
Denise Shulur, Patient Advocate at Harlem Hospital Were there any particular issues that really brought you out? There’s a lot. Our job situation, just our whole situation that is going on with the economy, is really pressing to me.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Jianna Garcia, Marketing Director at Vita Coco They say the youth don’t have the same energy in this election, do your friends seem engaged? All ...
Jianna Garcia, Marketing Director at Vita Coco They say the youth don’t have the same energy in this election, do your friends seem engaged? All of my friends are extremely engaged. But I think it is very different than when our parents grew up. They had thee mentality of ‘Oh, it will be fine, it’ll work out.’ But we have access to so much more information, and the way the economy is, we don’t know what is going to happen in the future. We have to prepare for things we can’t even anticipate.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Jaqueline Fish, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist What does this election mean to you as a woman? As a woman I was struck by the ballot because ther...
Jaqueline Fish, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist What does this election mean to you as a woman? As a woman I was struck by the ballot because there were many more women on the ballot than men. That was the first time I can remember that.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Carolyn Harman, Opera Singer You just voted for the first time? For the first time, it’s disgusting. I have been in and out of town, and I ...
Carolyn Harman, Opera Singer You just voted for the first time? For the first time, it’s disgusting. I have been in and out of town, and I am a singer and a musician. And my husband died. And I have been the information clerk down at a lesbian and gay center. And I am good, I get them in and out.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Melissa Jesurum, Office Manager, with Naima aned Elijah Is there anything you are thinking about as a female voter today? Women’s rights in the w...
Melissa Jesurum, Office Manager, with Naima aned Elijah Is there anything you are thinking about as a female voter today? Women’s rights in the workplace. Something must be done. It just doesn’t make any sense for a woman to make less than a man for the same job, we pay back the same student loans it makes no sense.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Roberta Arden, Seminary Student Which issues do you care about? Medicare issue is a big one, naturally. If it wasn’t for Medicare, I wouldn’t be ...
Roberta Arden, Seminary Student Which issues do you care about? Medicare issue is a big one, naturally. If it wasn’t for Medicare, I wouldn’t be sitting here. Medicare paid for my surgery, Medicare paid for my scooter. It’s a godsend to seniors and I just think they want to raid the Medicare pot to straighten out the budget.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Dorothy Counts, Retired Physician's Aid Why are you voting today? I am voting for the president because I think he is doing a quite a good job. A...
Dorothy Counts, Retired Physician's Aid Why are you voting today? I am voting for the president because I think he is doing a quite a good job. And I think he will continue.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Erica Duran, Dental Office Employee Why are you voting today? Because it is the American thing to do, and my mom said so. She woke me up to hurry...
Erica Duran, Dental Office Employee Why are you voting today? Because it is the American thing to do, and my mom said so. She woke me up to hurry me up to come vote.
What is bringing you to the polls today? My voice. My voice must be heard with my vote. I don’t want my rights to be taken away. We fought for them a very long time ago, as well as the gay and lesbian community. They have rights too. They should be treated as humans, as equals. Photo: Chuck Grant
Rosario Houck-Gonzalez, Marketing Director at an Insurance Company What are you thinking about going to the polls today? I am thinking about...
Rosario Houck-Gonzalez, Marketing Director at an Insurance Company What are you thinking about going to the polls today? I am thinking about same sex marriage, I am thinking about the economy, I am thinking about healthcare, and I am thinking about how scary it would be in New York if Mitt were to become president.
Is same sex marriage an important issue for you? It is. I have been committed for five years now, and I am engaged. It's definitely a big thing for me. I hope the country gets it together and it becomes a non-issue that every citizen of the United States has the same rights as everyone else.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Charity Phalo, Artist and Teacher I hope that everyone gets out to vote. My boyfriend and I prayed, right before we left, saying hopefully people...
Charity Phalo, Artist and Teacher I hope that everyone gets out to vote. My boyfriend and I prayed, right before we left, saying hopefully people aren’t discouraged this morning because of Hurricane Sandy, the cold, waiting in lines, all that stuff. Hopefully they can just come and vote. Not everyone has that right, so hopefully everyone that does gets out to do it.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Ashley Mungo, Waitress and Student at FIT What voting mean as a young woman? It's a huge thing. I don’t want to be in a binder full of women.
P...
Ashley Mungo, Waitress and Student at FIT What voting mean as a young woman? It's a huge thing. I don’t want to be in a binder full of women.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Rosemary Kaplan, Business Owner I am really concerned about business and my employees--that I can stay in business and keep my employees employed...
Rosemary Kaplan, Business Owner I am really concerned about business and my employees--that I can stay in business and keep my employees employed. So I am concerned about the economy, mostly.
Photo: Chuck Grant
Leonor Rivera, Unemployed/Disabled What were you thinking about going to the polls today? We still need a lot of help. The help that one of the c...
Leonor Rivera, Unemployed/Disabled What were you thinking about going to the polls today? We still need a lot of help. The help that one of the candidates wasn’t going to give the Hispanics or the poor people. I am part of the minority, so I think that we still need people to stand up for us and for the poor people that live in [public] housing.
How does voting make you feel? Like you have power. You have a voice.
More so today than other days? Yes it does, especially for a handicapped person like me. Photo: Chuck Grant
Lynn Gilbert, Retired Photographer What are you thinking about going into the polls this morning? I think it is a very very difficult choice. I a...
Lynn Gilbert, Retired Photographer What are you thinking about going into the polls this morning? I think it is a very very difficult choice. I am voting for Obama, there is no question about it. But I think it is scary because Romney is very sophisticated financiall,y and he probably could make some plans. But I don’t know that they would be that good. Photo: Chuck Grant
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