In the shadow of darkness, illuminating Coppell’s Election Day was the red, white and blue lights casting its glow on town center as voters stepped in to cast their ballots.
On Tuesday, Coppell voters went to their local polling site to cast their vote for not only the Presidential election, but the Texas House, Texas Senate, Congress, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives and Coppell ISD voter approval tax rate election (VATRE) as well.
“There are a lot of good candidates and I was so indecisive,” resident Erin Johnson said. “Everybody made good points but it is time for us to come together as one. The U.S. has been going through a lot of things so I am just here to cast my vote to make my vote count.”
VATRE was not approved by district voters. VATRE proposed to add the 3.17 previous voter approved pennies back to the Maintenance and Operation (M&O) tax rate, which will generate $2.4 million for CISD.
“I have very young kids in the district and a huge community of friends with young kids in the district,” VATRE co-chair Jill Hill said. “For the people who have come before us and supported the Coppell schools and the community, I want to do the same for my kids and everyone else that comes after them. To me that means being able to keep our high quality teachers and give them the cost of living raises that they deserve to be able to stay in our district.”
Former Republican President Donald Trump, winning the popular vote in Texas, defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election. Some of the key issues this election were the economy, immigration issues and women’s rights, all of which were at the top of voters’ minds.
“The economy and the border crisis are neck and neck for me,” resident Julie Iniestra said. “It’s been a struggle these four years with prices and my mortgage going up every three months. I was paying $1.87 a gallon when Trump was in office and we have had upwards of $5 here in Texas and that’s just nuts.”
With the projected polls being so close for the presidential election, many voters were indecisive when making a choice.
“I have seen a lot of dirty politics between the two candidates so I am not very happy with the process, but ultimately I had to make a decision,” resident Anand Javvadi said.
While Tuesday was the final day to vote across America, some Coppell residents who had voted early still showed up to make one final push for the candidate they voted for.
“It is unusual for me because I am a Republican and typically Republicans don’t vote early,” Iniestra said. “This year it is different because our country is in a major crisis and I just said ‘Hey, I got to get my vote in as soon as possible.”
Though they may have been indecisive, many voters still made it a priority to make a decision and cast their ballot.
“Back in the old days, African Americans and women in general were not allowed to vote, so I am going to vote every time I can vote if I am qualified, if I am able,” Johnson said. “I am going to vote.”
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