City Hall

Nov 8, 2022

Alan Nego (left) speaks with a poll worker at City Hall during Election Day on Nov. 8, 2022. (Roos Verbrugh for Golden Gate Xpress)

The voting booths at San Francisco’s elegant City Hall were packed with voters throughout Tuesday’s rainy day. San Francisco voters seemed optimistic about this year’s midterms.

Other voters were voting in San Francisco for the first time.

Eric Nielsen submitted his first ballot in the city today. He noted that this ballot was much different than in Madison, Wisconsin, where he previously registered to vote. One key difference is that there were a lot more referendums on the San Francisco ballot, compared to the “two or three” in Madison.

“I think there was a lot of good things on the ballot that needed to be addressed,” Nielsen said. “I didn’t have too much information to go with, but I did my research and made sure to make the correct choices for me.”

Michael Ramos, who works in campaign services, stressed the importance of voting for anyone who is eligible.

“It’s not the only thing that people can do to enact change in the community, but it is one of the more tangible things,” Ramos said. “Voter frustration sometimes comes from the fact that people are letting the results obscure the fact that the process is important. So, even if your candidate isn’t the one that wins, I believe that engaging in this civic duty is an important one for everybody.”

Voter Thomas O’Neil believes that people need to be more engaged in local and nationwide political affairs and that it’s important to study the candidates and measures on the ballot.

“I think [voters] should be well versed,” O’Neil said. “Everybody can vote along party lines, but it’s doing them and everybody a disservice if they’re not educated.”

As San Franciscans took selfies in front of the “I voted” wall, voters stressed the importance of creating change through civic duty.

The general feeling from voters at City Hall on Tuesday was optimistic about the large ballot and encouraging toward eligible voters to cast their ballots to ensure their voice is heard.

Leave a Comment

About the Contributors

Jack Davies, Sports Editor

Jack Davies (he/him) is a journalism major in his final year of school. He is minoring in international business. He loves to watch sports and write about them, but also has an interest in potentially traveling the world as a salesman. He grew up in Napa Valley, California, and moved to the East Coast when he was 11 years old. He started his college career at Santa Barbara City College, where he wrote for The Channels publication as a sports writer. In his free time, he likes to play sports, explore the Bay Area, hang out with friends, listen to music, play video games and watch TV. After graduating, he wants to write for a sports publication and travel the world.

Joshua Carter, Editor-in-Chief

Joshua Carter (he/him) is the editor-in-chief for Golden Gate Xpress. He transferred from CCSF as a creative writing major but quickly switched to photojournalism with a minor in geography once he landed at SF State. Joshua spent six years in the Navy, served as photo and nonfiction editor at Forum literary magazine, interned as an editorial intern at Alternative Press, and is striving to be a groundbreaking filmmaker and multimedia journalist. In his free time he listens to audiobooks, falls into wiki holes for hours, and performs with his punk band.

Roos Verbrugh, Contributor