LANCASTER, Pa. — Tuesday marked day four of protests in Lancaster, and the men and women who took part say they want change.
“It’s not easy being 11, 10 years old walking down the street going to the store and wondering if you're going to get shot,” said Carlos Jimenez of Lancaster.
They stood in solidarity over the death of George Floyd, who was killed after Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes.
Tuesday afternoon, they hoped more than their voices could invoke a change; they believe people’s votes could also make waves.
“Hopefully, everybody here will vote,” added Jimenez. “I am big on voting. It gives us a voice. I hope people take more into consideration than who they vote for. You know, this has to be more than just circling in the box. This has to be what do we want for our town? What do we want for our city? What do we want for our kids? What do we want for our lives?”
“It’s so important, I think, nowadays that's like the biggest change you can make is with your vote,” said Tijen Waxmen, who drove to Lancaster from Hershey.
The protest took place just a block from the county government center, which served as a polling place for city residents. Though, those on the board of elections were not concerned the protest would disrupt the voter experience.
“We want people to be involved,” said Commissioner Ray D’Agostino. “That's the great thing about America. It's great thing about being a democracy.”
The past few days of demonstrations may even have helped the county's numbers.
“There were protesters out here. They were peaceful, and somebody came into the building and got stacks of voter registration forms and were handing them out,” explained D’Agostino.
While many voters made a trip to their local polling place, tens of thousands avoided the polls altogether. D’Agostino said the county saw a record number of mail-in ballots with about 49,000 people who returned theirs.
Meantime, many voters wore masks and maintained their social distance.
D’Agostino said Lancaster County saw some issues with ballots. The commissioner said some ballots could not be scanned; although, he did not clarify how many. D’Agostino said, when that happens, the ballots are placed in a locked emergency box which is transported to the county government center to be scanned. He assured voters of the process's integrity.