Voters streamed in and out of Esperanza Charter School in Mid-City at a steady clip as the mid-morning crowd cast ballots in the presidential election on Tuesday (Nov. 5).

One of those voters was Antoinette Andrews-Meredith, an Irish immigrant who has lived in the United States for more than two decades and became a citizen two years ago. She grew teary as she talked about casting a ballot in her first presidential election, accompanied by her husband and teenage daughter, the latter of whom wore white in a nod toward the women’s suffrage movement.

Andrews-Meredith pointed out the contrast in recent years between the erosion of reproductive rights in the United States and the expansion of abortion access in Ireland. She said she was voting for her daughter’s rights. “It’s about time a woman took over the reins,” she said. 

Like Andrews-Meredith, many voters who spoke to Verite News said they were mainly concerned about women’s rights along with local propositions regarding affordable housing. Nia Falls, who lives in New Orleans East, said she is excited about what Harris can do for women. 

“Time to make a change,” Falls said. “Time to make a difference. It’s time to get more Democrats in there, to get state laws to protect women’s rights, juvenile rights, especially just to make a difference, to change the world.”

Trump’s frequent verbal attacks against women and minorities have mobilized many New Orleans voters against him. On the national level, some said they came out to prevent the re-election of former president Donald Trump.

“Everything about Donald Trump brought me out of my house, everything,” said 7th Ward resident Elise Russell. “Everything he said is the reason why I left my house so early to come and vote…We can’t have him as the president.”

Others, like University of New Orleans student Sirius Pope, are worried about how proposed policies against transgender people outlined in Project 2025, a political roadmap created by a right-wing think tank, could affect their access to hormone replacement therapy should Trump win.

PHOTOS: New Orleans gets out to vote

  • Polling location at Engine House 4 in New Orleans East on Tuesday, Nov. 5th, 2024.
  • Voters line up to vote at Engine House 4 in New Orleans East on Tuesday, Nov. 5th, 2024.
  • Charles Johnson, a first time poll worker, checks voters in at Engine House 4 in New Orleans East on Tuesday, Nov. 5th, 2024.
  • Polling location at Engine House 4 in New Orleans East on Tuesday, Nov. 5th, 2024.
  • Elise Russell attended the March on Washington as a college student and voted at Benjamin Franklin High School in Gentilly. “We can't have him [Donald Trump] as the president,” she said on Tuesday, Nov. 5th, 2024.
  • Wayne LeBlanc, a retired contractor, goes to vote at Benjamin Franklin High School in Gentilly on Tuesday, Nov. 5th, 2024.
  • Juliette Austin grew up in the 7th Ward and voted at Corpus Christi-Epiphany community resource center on Tuesday, Nov. 5th, 2024. She's shown here in a photo while Dessalene Carter, a poll volunteer, checks the voter roll. “I don't think the country needs another four years of Donald Trump and his craziness,” Austin told Verite News in an interview.
  • Carl Harper at Corpus Christi-Epiphany Community Resource Center in the 7th Ward on Tuesday, Nov. 5th, 2024.

“I could not imagine [it] being taken away from me at all, and that, just like scares me to death,” Pope said.

Some, like 7th Ward resident James Johnson, expressed disappointment with both candidates but said he is voting to protect others, especially regarding reproductive rights. Kamala Harris has made abortion rights a cornerstone of her campaign. 

“I don’t feel excited,” Johnson said. “I really feel like the candidates are two sides of the same coin, but I also don’t want to be ignorant and complacent. So I think my excitement really comes from the fact that we all individually have a voice.”

Although Louisiana’s eight electoral votes usually go to Republican presidential candidates, the majority of New Orleanians typically vote for Democratic presidential candidates. Fabian Harper, a business owner in Gentilly, said the outcome of the popular vote still matters nationally. 

“I think popular vote matters in the sense that it tells or it signals which way the country is more preferably attuned to, all right,” Harper said. “Now, at the same time, our vote does matter locally. So based on those social issues that affected our local economy and our local population, I think it’s going to matter a lot.”

Harper and other local voters said ballot propositions like the Housing Trust Fund were important to them, because of the current lack of affordable housing in the city and a growing population of unhoused people. The fund itself would allocate 2% of the city’s budget towards affordable housing measures.

Another proposition on the ballot would add a worker’s bill of rights to the city’s charter. The addition, supported by a coalition composed of workers, organizers, and the New Orleans Health Department, would establish a right to a fair wage, union organizing, health care, paid time off and a safe workplace. Matthew Raetz, a 7th Ward resident, said he supports that proposition.

“It’s tough out here, trying to work and make a living,” he said, “and I think that if we put some [money] back into that, then we’ll see…the community start to flourish a little more.”

Polls close at 8 p.m. Click here to find your polling location. For more information on 2024 elections, visit Civics 504, our guide to democracy and elections.

Michelle Liu and John Gray contributed to this report.

Most Read Stories

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.

Creative Commons License