“Voting is how we participate in a civic society - be it for president, be it for a municipal election. It's the way we teach our children-in school elections-how to be citizens, and the importance of their voice.”
--Loretta Lynch
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Filipinos are very much involved in the US Midterm Elections for the reason that they, too, will march to the polling precincts six months from now to elect their senators, representatives, governors, mayors, and council members in May 2019.
Some of the those who cast their votes in the rainy and windy morning on November 6, 2018 were members of the Filipino community in the state of New York.
Carmen, 67, born in Davao City in the Philippines, said she voted for the Republicans “because I don’t want my benefits to be delayed if the Democrats will win and allow more illegal immigrants to come in.”
Victor, 60, of Nueva Ecija, said: “Of course, I voted for the Democrats because that will benefit a lot of my kababayans. Also I don’t want to lose my healthcare benefits.”
Healthcare is one of the key issues in the midterm polls.
A major Republican victory would likely lead to the final nail in the coffin of the Affordable Care Act otherwise known as "Obamacare", the healthcare law introduced by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.
Republicans have so far failed to repeal and replace Obamacare, but Congress and Trump have made changes to it.
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Former Vice President Joe Biden declared in his final pitch a day before the US Midterm Elections: “The very character of our nation is on the ballot on Tuesday. The rest of the world is looking.”
By the time this article comes out, the United States will have a new set of 435 members in the House of Representatives and 35 members in the Senate as the Americans concluded the 2018 US Midterm Elections.
In New York City where I monitored and covered the polls, voters across the state decided on candidates for governor, senator, attorney general, state legislature and 27 seats in the U.S. House.
New York has more than 12 million registered voters with Democrats outnumbering Republicans by more than 2 to 1.
Polls opened at six o’clock in the morning and closed at nine o’clock in the evening.
Unlike in many other states where millions of votes have already been cast as of this writing, New York did not have early voting, though many have mailed in absentee ballots.
Some of the most watched races in today’s midterm elections involved incumbent Republican members of congress fighting an unusual number of Democratic challengers.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a very popular Democrat, was seeking a third term and Republicans and Democrats battled over the makeup of the state’s congressional delegation as the caustic election midterm election campaign reached its climax.
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The 2018 US Midterm Elections on November 6, 2018 was the second elections in the United States that I officially covered as a journalist.
I was also privileged to cover the 2016 US Presidential Elections and was assigned through the approval of the Board of Elections in the City of New York in Brooklyn.
Normally accredited journalists are not allowed to take photos within the poll sites, but with a written permission from the Board of Elections in the City of New York, we were able to observe the poll right inside the precincts, take some photos and interview the voters and poll officials.
The Board of Elections in the City of New York, headed as president by Maria R. Guastella, is equivalent to the Commission of Elections (Comelec) in the Philippines.
It is an administrative body of ten commissioners, two from each borough upon recommendation by both political parties and then appointed by the City Council for a term of four years.
The commissioners appoint a bipartisan staff to oversee the daily activities of its main and five borough offices.
The Board is responsible under New York State Election Law for the following: Voter registration, outreach and processing; Maintain and update voter records; Processing and verification of candidate petitions/documents; Campaign finance disclosures of candidates and campaign committees; Recruiting, training and assigning the various Election Day officers to conduct elections; Operate poll site locations; Maintain, repair, setup and deploy the Election Day operation equipment; Ensure each voter their right to vote at the polls or by absentee ballot; Canvassing and certification of the vote; Voter education, notification and dissemination of election information; and Preparation of maps of various political subdivisions.
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