An early voter waits in line to vote in New York

'My vote matters': New Yorkers explain why they made the extra effort to vote early

During a year of pandemic, protests, natural disasters, and economic uncertainty, Americans are eager to have their votes counted.

"Black folks didn't always have the right to vote," says George McAllister, who was on his way to vote in Rochester, New York. "People have died and marched. Why not use what they suffered for us to have?" As of October 29, nearly two million New York residents had voted early, whether in person or absentee.

In a historic election year, more than 80 million Americans have voted early, the largest early voter turnout in United States history.

Issues such as COVID-19, which has infected eight million people and resulted in the deaths of 228,000 Americans, and racial justice, which has inspired ongoing protests, have motivated many voters to cast their ballots, the most fundamental way to participate in democracy and bring about change. (Counting votes as always been complex—but the rise of mail-in voting makes for a particularly challenging election.)

Lovely and Timothy Granison brought their daughter, Taylor, to the polls in Rochester, New York, to show her the importance of exercising the right to vote.

“I believe that my vote matters because I have a

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