The 2024 election season has felt rough, according to several Alachua County voters who headed to the polls on Tuesday, with the presidential race, Florida Amendment 4 and Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) on top of their list of priorities.  

Gainesville voter Geoff Combs said it feels like the election season hasn’t ended in nine years.  

“I’m used to it being in waves—every two years, every four years for presidential elections,” Combs said. “I just want it to kind of cool down again. I think that a lot of people are tired of it, and I hope that doesn’t affect future elections.” 

Combs said he’s ready for a break and worried about the country’s trend, especially concerning what he described as a right-wing takeover.  

“The needle has been moved so far on the other hand, I’m making voting choices that I’m pinching my nose to do, which I don’t feel I dealt with as much in previous elections,” Combs said.  

The presidential ticket occupied the top place for many voters. Several said that’s the one item they want to go their way—with Florida’s Amendment 4, concerning abortion rights, occupying a close second place.  

For both Paul Korman and Steve Norflus, outside Westside Park and the Hilton UF, immigration marked the top issue and gives weight to the presidential selection.  

Korman said that’s the one issue he hopes goes the way he’d like. 

“It’s changing the fabric of our society,” Korman said. “Which is OK, but it ought to be done by our wants and needs and not by somebody else’s.”   

Norflus said the entire election process has not been something to be proud of. He referenced personal attacks, overall animosity and a lack of understanding by the general public.  

“You can’t even have a conversation with someone who feels on the other side of the aisle from you,” Norflus said. “They look at you as the enemy.”   

Two other voters, Joseph McConville and Lena Abbott, said they don’t understand how the election seems so close.  

“I’m a Democrat voter, so it’s just like ‘why is it so close,’” McConville said. “It feels like everything is a little crazy.” 

Locally, McConville said he hopes to get Gov. Ron DeSantis out of GRU by eliminating the governor-appointed GRU Authority.  

GRU rates have been insane, McConville said, and while he said the authority probably hasn’t existed long enough to make a difference in rates, he never liked the idea to begin with and is happy to get rid of the authority.  

“I forgot what normal election bills are like because I’ve lived here for 10 years,” McConville said. “So hoping that gets under control.”   

Combs said there’s been a “wild amount” of state interference locally, especially with the GRU Authority. He said the ballot referendum is about deciding which level of government should control the utility.  

He said he wants local politics to stay local. Combs said the Republican Party often speaks strongly against government overreach, but he said it is the one overreaching in this case. Whether it’s ironic or tragic, Combs said he’s not sure. 

Abbott said each election, of the two or three she’s voted in, feels like an all-or-nothing proposition: If our side wins, we’ll fix it all, but if we lose, everything is lost.  

And when officials do take office, she said it feels like they don’t fix the problems—especially when considering incumbent candidates already in office.  

“It feels like instead of actually fixing problems, they just keep using it as leverage,” Abbott said. 

Locally and nationally, it’s the same way, she feels. As a downtown bartender, Abbott said the open container conversations, streatery and parking have all been top issues for her. But those issues have had a lot of back and forth talk and votes by the Gainesville City Commission.  

She mentioned the importance of, and support for, Alachua County’s at-large district referendum. But Amendment 4 is the item she wants to go in her direction.  

“That one’s by far the primary driver for me voting,” Abbott said. “I can’t see that not pass.” 

Gail Fanucci at Precinct 50, Westminster Presbyterian Church, said the slate of Florida constitutional amendments were the most important issues.  

She said they can also be the most confusing. She spoke with friends about the items to understand what was actually at stake, noting that the ballot language can be confusing. She said Amendment 4 and the presidential race are the two items she wants to go her direction.  

Another similarity with other Election Day voters: a love for Election Day.  

“Oh, I love Election Day voting,” Fanucci said. “I don’t know; there’s just something about it. I just have to do it on Election Day.”    

Several day-of voters mentioned the need for a national Election Day holiday, including McConville, Korman and Norflus.  

Korman said a monthslong election season leads to shenanigans; Norflus said he believes early voting is a ploy by both parties.  

Combs said he alternates between Election Day and early voting depending on timing, but he’d like to see similar policies to Colorado with lots of early voting to get ahead on counting.  

For Abbott, using Election Day means she gets more time to decide between candidates. Sometimes candidates will change their rhetoric closer to Election Day as they try to win voters, and sometimes verbal slipups will cause her to switch her vote late in the process.