Three Trips, One Vote: A Journey on Election Day 2020

Ally Turk of Felicia Hodges’ Fall 2020 photojournalism class captured the experience of one young voter in the town of New Paltz on election day. Photos and Captions by Ally Turk.

Nov. 3 was a day full of anxiety and excitement for Marc Thurston, 21, as well as the rest of the country. Thurston, an international relations student at SUNY New Paltz, walked the mile between his house and his polling place, enjoying the weather and looking forward to casting his ballot.
Thurston arrived at the New Paltz Reformed Church to find nothing out of the ordinary. There were no signs stating the church was a polling place, and no people around to direct him anywhere. “There’s nothing here, where do I go now?” Thurston asked himself after checking all four doors outside of the church.
Thurston circled the building while a poll watcher drove into the parking lot. After flagging the poll watcher down he asked if he was in the wrong place. The poll watcher was just as confused as Thurston, and gave Thurston the address of the New Paltz Middle School, telling him he can go there to vote instead.
Thurston drove the few minutes from his house to the middle school, still excited to vote. Once arriving at the middle school, Thurston experienced citizens outside with flyers explaining some of the local laws that people will encounter on the ballot. After listening to the people outside, he walked inside, sanitized his hands, put on his gloves and was ready to vote.
Once arriving inside, Thurston was quickly turned away and told that he couldn’t vote anywhere except his official polling location. “But the poll watcher directed me here,” Thurston told them. A poll worker called the board of elections, and let him speak to someone who confirmed that his polling location at the church was open. “They were really rude,” Thurston said as he made the trek back to the church.
Once Thurston was back at the church he realized that his polling location was at the education center of the church just down the street, even though the official address he was given was for the church itself. “I feel a little stupid but I also think there should be signs on the church,” Thurston said. After spending almost two hours trying to find his polling location, Thurston was finally able to cast his vote.
Thurston and his girlfriend, Rebecca Kavaler, at his house watching live coverage of the election.