These Bucks County voters share a polling place, but their views on Election Day are a world apart
The polarity on the nation was on full display Tuesday as voters took to the 2022 midterm elections.
Conservatives saw out-of-control crime, soaring inflation, and said there are real problem when it cost $50 to fuel a truck. Liberals saw threats to democracy, free elections, and reproductive rights of women as driving issues that need solutions and protection now.
"Have you been to the supermarket recently?" said Dennis Dupree, a marketing and sales specialist. "Inflation is everything."
Standing behind Dupree at the Scottsville United Methodist Church, Neal Kiner voted in order to defend the U.S. Constitution.
"Our democracy is at risk, and we must elect candidates who will protect our elections and protect democracy," said Kiner, a retired civil servant. "We could so easily descend into fascism."
Located in Lower Southampton, Scottsville United serves as the polling place to an evenly split electorate, with 347 Democrats and 344 Republicans, according to the state voter rolls.
In this community of ring-road single family homes, 85% are white and the average person earned about $38,739 last year, according to the U.S. Census. One in three have attended college.
Neighbors here, as in many parts of the U.S., are afraid to talk with one another about their country, said Maryanne Jaxheimer, a retired hair stylist who voted Tuesday.
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"I'm voting to keep our country, to keep our freedoms," said Jaxheimer, who described herself as a Christian conservative. "This is all very, very scary. These candidates are going to suppress our freedoms."
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Her neighbor, Alicia Clayton said she could not support any candidate who would strip away a women's right to reproductive healthcare.
"Nothing else comes close to that, for me, right now," Clayton said. "I want that right for myself, and for my daughter, and all the women of this country."
A similar scene played out inside Walter S. Miller Elementary. The school serves as the poling place for 436 Democrats and 435 Republican voters in Middletown, according to the latest registration data from the Pennsylvania Department of State.
Most who vote here are white, lower- to middle-income high school graduates, according to the U.S. Census.
The median income is $30,634 per year in this corner of Levittown. One in four have a college degree and 8% fall below the poverty line, according to government estimates.
"All the homes around here use heating oil, and it's costing us $800 to heat your home." said Keith Hyde, a retired member of the Armed Forces. "It's ridiculous, and no one is doing anything about it."
Phil Ranalli said the Democrats just didn't care about real issues that affect people every day. People can't afford food and are struggling to fill up the gas tank, he said. "The economy is in tail spin and people around here are on fixed incomes. Democrats want to talk about other things, but that's not the main issue."
Yet, the economy was not the main issue for Ranalli's neighbor, Megan Amati. "This is about a women's right to control here own body. We always knew that some of these candidates wanted to take away that right and now they could do it," Amati said. "It could happen. It's very real."
If men got pregnant, America would have no debates about reproductive healthcare, said Lisa Rink, who came to vote with two of her three children.
"Let's take away the reproductive health care of men," said Rink. "Let's see what happens then."
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County voters head to polls with differing agendas
