Christina Moody
Christina Moody’s boyfriend pushed her awake and drove her with a sense of urgency over to Irving School to cast votes in Tuesday’s primaries for president and for the Democratic nomination for the 17th State Senate District seat.
Moody’s boyfriend, who declined to give his name or have his photo taken because he said “I look for missing persons, and I can’t do that if people know what I look like,” had already been by the school once that morning.
He had registered recently to vote online as a Democratic voter. However, when he got to the school the election poll workers said that he was listed as nonaffiliated. Nonaffiliated registrants are not allowed to vote in primary elections. “They said this happens a lot, that the computer makes a lot of mistakes,” he said. “I honestly don’t get what unaffiliated even means!”
Because of the discrepancy, he said he would not be able to vote until November. “They told me it’s too late,” he recalled. “Everything they can do to discourage you, they’ll do,” he contended.
Moody had stayed home that morning because she said she was feeling sick. After hearing about the issue with his voter registration, her boyfriend returned home and said “Get up! My vote has to count!”
Moody was not thrilled. “I’m living up to my name right now,” she joked.
She voted for Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential primary; her boyfriend said they were just looking for someone to beat Trump. In the Democratic primary for state senate, they went for Jorge Cabrera over Justin Farmer.
“I see him on foot, taking action,” he said of Cabrera. “I saw him get Maced once, at a protest, while helping up some Caucasian people who had been pushed over. When he did that he was saying, I don’t care what color you are, I’m here to help.”
Rafael and Rosa Arrivera also faced disappointing news after arriving at Irving.
When Rafael Arrivera pulled into the school’s parking lot, he said he was voting for Biden on the grounds of “lack of insanity.” He had yet to decide who to vote for in the state senate primary.
However, when he got inside the building, he was told that he could not vote because he had too recently changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. In Connecticut, there is a three-month waiting period for officially switching parties.
His mother, Rosa Arrivera, was able to vote. She went with Biden and Cabrera.
Jennifer Desroches was also eager to show her support for Cabrera. “I voted for him last time around,” she said, referring to two years ago when the candidate faced current incumbent Republican State Sen. George Logan and lost by 77 votes. “He does a lot of work for the community. He came to my door and talked to me. Any questions he couldn’t answer at the time, he got back to me about.”
As for the presidential primary, she said she was voting for Biden. “I don’t care if it’s Joe Schmoe,” she said, laughing. “Just not Trump!”
Jerry Borrelli, on the other hand, proudly announced that he was “voting Republican.”
“I think they’ve gone too far this time, the Democratic Party,” he said. “There’s too much lawlessness… and then the guys who are trying to reverse that end up looking bad.”
“This is not the America I want for my children and grandchildren,” he continued.
He said that if the Republican party does not win more seats in the General Assembly, “Connecticut is done,” adding, “That’s why General Electric left Connecticut.”
Borrelli also shared that he is in “several groups,” some on Twitter, whose members agreed that they plan to move out of Connecticut if more Republican candidates are not elected to the state’s House and Senate in the near future.
Patricia Martin was, like Borrelli, hoping for change. “I’m looking miracle,” she said. Unlike Borrelli, Martin, who works at a funeral home in Derby, said that she was planning to “vote progressive across the board.” For her, that meant Sanders and Cabrera.
Martin asserted that she was looking for candidates who prioritized accessible education, affordable housing, and job creation.
“I voted for Bernie because I think Biden’s got a little bit of Trump in him,” she said. “Not a lot. But a little!”
Martin’s husband and young grandchildren had accompanied her on the ride over to the school. Her husband, however, did not plan to vote. When asked why, he responded, “No reason.”
Patricia Martin shook her head. “I always vote,” she stated. “I always say if you don’t vote, you don’t have a voice. No vote, no voice.”
