{"id":4186,"date":"2020-11-03T16:06:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T20:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=4186"},"modified":"2020-11-03T17:17:07","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T21:17:07","slug":"what-does-hamtramck-think-of-the-national-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/what-does-hamtramck-think-of-the-national-election\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does Hamtramck Think of the National Election?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Simon Albaugh<\/p>\n

Today is Election Day in Hamtramck. People from all over the city will be going to their precinct to cast a ballot for the next President of the United States, the next leaders who will support the work of Local, State and National Government, along with a number of proposals to guide the decisions of each government.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, the Yemeni American News reached out to people throughout the city to understand their thoughts on the decision that\u2019s about to be made. People\u2019s attitudes range from disengagement to full-on challenges to this country\u2019s direction. But for one shop owner, he says he\u2019s almost sure he\u2019s not going to vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m about 70% sure that I won\u2019t even bother,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a system in place, he says, that doesn\u2019t allow the president to make the radical changes that are needed for this country. For him, the president doesn\u2019t matter. One of the challenges he sees is the broad network of interests across the United States. He says there can\u2019t possibly be a perfect candidate because so many people hold so many complicated priorities.<\/p>\n

In the past three elections, he\u2019s leaned toward Democratic Candidates because of the historical achievements being worked toward. He wanted to have a first President who was African American and a first President who was a woman. This time, there isn\u2019t much to look toward for him.<\/p>\n

At the end of the conversation, he adds, jokingly, \u201cMay God\u2019s Mercy help us tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sitting in one of the restaurants, another person who emigrated from the former Yugoslavia is anxious about how people may respond to the election results tomorrow. He says that he\u2019s seeing much of the same issues with the conflict that ravaged the country during the 1990s. \u201cIt was because of Nationalism,\u201d he says. \u201cThe same kind that we see in many Trump Supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n

He describes his politics as leaning toward Democratic Socialism. Something he saw a lot of when he lived throughout Europe. \u201cIf you want to de-radicalize a country, you need to make sure their needs are met,\u201d he says. In his view, the challenges of Nationalism in the United States has a lot to do with the 2008 financial crisis, in which many still haven\u2019t recovered financially.<\/p>\n

The man in the Caf\u00e9 isn\u2019t anxious for the future, though. He says he\u2019s been seeing promise in the young people to change the system as they need. \u201cIt\u2019s an uphill task to come together and to reverse all of the policies that this government has done,\u201d he says. \u201cBut for the sake of themselves, for the sake of their future, and for the sake of their children\u2019s futures, it needs to be done. It can be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At one of the many convenient stores around Hamtramck, a worker says that he\u2019s made his plan to vote. He\u2019s leaning toward Biden and Senator Gary Peters. His main worry, though, is a peaceful transition of power. \u201cWe need someone else to make sure that power is either peacefully maintained with Trump, or peacefully transitioned to Biden,\u201d his coworker says.<\/p>\n

The coworker says that he\u2019s frustrated with the political parties in the United States. For him, there just isn\u2019t enough nuance in each political party. \u201cThere\u2019s black politics, and there\u2019s white politics,\u201d he says. \u201cMe, I\u2019m conservative on some things and I\u2019m liberal on others. We need more grey politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Voters wait in line at Precinct 2 to cast their Ballot (Nov. 3, 2020 Simon Albaugh)<\/em><\/p>\n

People interviewed for this story asked to remain anonymous. Many said they feared backlash from work, or for their business. Others said they just didn\u2019t want the attention. In a city that is home to a majority of people who follow the Islamic Faith, political discourse can be a little more difficult to fully participate in as Anti-immigrant sentiment oftentimes puts an unfair challenge on people\u2019s political beliefs.<\/p>\n

Back in 1999, an outside group filed a complaint against City of Hamtramck for what they saw as a failure in preventing voter intimidation as people forced women wearing hijabs to present their IDs to them because of anti-immigrant sentiments. The complaint has long been resolved, but some people still believe the sentiment in the city remains.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The City of Hamtramck’s Voter Precinct Locations (Source: The City of Hamtramck Website)<\/em><\/p>\n

Polls throughout the United States Close at 8pm tonight. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there\u2019s likely to be no mathematically certified election results tonight. The Associated Press, one of the wire services that is among the most trusted in the journalism industry, states that they do not announce a candidate\u2019s winning the election until \u201cthere is no available path to victory for their opponent.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have been some elections that the Associated Press never published a winner, like the hotly contested results between former Vice President Al-Gore and President George W. Bush. For most municipalities, the election results just won\u2019t be known for the coming days.<\/p>\n

In Detroit and Hamtramck, groups are holding rallies to make known how they feel about the election being called by a candidate prematurely. Tomorrow, Detroit-based groups will hold a march that will call for no election results being published until all ballots are counted. In Hamtramck, a similar event calling for the same goals will happen on Thursday.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, after you\u2019ve made sure your vote is counted, election officials ask for people to be patient for the results. If a candidate says they\u2019ve won, it’s important for people to check multiple sources with conflicting viewpoints.<\/p>\n

The Yemeni American News will keep looking at results. Once there is a reliable percentage of voters counted on certain issues, we will make sure to report the results.<\/p>\n

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