2016 Presidential Election: What Metro Detroiters Said About Election

Updated. METRO DETROIT, MI — The Presidential Election is here (there's no turning back now!) and I'll be on the move updating you with the sights and sounds of the election in the Tri County Area from the moment the first polling station opens until...we have a new President! Until tomorrow - sleep tight and don't let the election jitter bed bugs bite!

FYI: For a crash course in all things election, check out 2016 Election Guide: Trump, Clinton in Swing State Michigan, Local Races.

Polling place stop No. 1, 7 a.m.: Royal Oak High School (1500 Lexington Blvd., Royal Oak). By 7 a.m., the line stretched roughly 80 feet outside of the high school doors. It turns out that was an 80 foot line of tight-lipped voters, as only one person was willing to share their personal political thoughts. Arturo Vecchi of Royal Oak was standing in line as the Michigan sun came up. He declined to give his age, occupation or political persuasion, but was happy to give clues about who he's voting for, "I'm going to vote for someone who will set a trend." The second piece of information Vecchi disclosed with a smile, "That person has long hair."

Polling place stop No. 2, 8:56 a.m.: Dearborn High School (19501 Outer Drive, Dearborn): As I hurried up the steps to Dearborn High School, I turned towards the young woman next to me: "What are your thoughts on the election?" She stared at me blankly, "I don't have any thoughts."

Thankfully, a group of twentysomethings eating doughnuts nearby did have thoughts. Even better, they wanted to share. As we started talking, they immediately giggled and nominated their friend, a lawyer, to speak for them. "He's a lawyer, he can talk for us." The young lawyer stepped forward, licking doughnut residue off of his fingertips, ""Why do you always say that? Yeah, I'm a lawyer!"

When asked what's the most important issue as a Michigan voter, he immediately spit out, "The economy."

Anonymous lawyer: "Michigan always has a worse economy than many other states when it comes to unemployment."

Girl in the group of twentysomethings piped up: "I second that."

Why is the economy worse here than in other states? Anonymous lawyer: "It's a lack of strong leadership. Not because of the citizens." As for which presidential candidate will help the economy, the anonymous lawyer scoffed, "I'm not a fan of either candidate."

Dearborn resident Lee Jacobsen, owner of Jacobsen Industries, does have a favorite candidate and a strong interest in the economy, "I voted for the candidate who will make America great again. I own a manufacturing company and have 140 employees. We make auto parts. Corporate taxes are close to 40%. If we can get taxes down to 15% like Trump says then the companies fleeing America will flee back to America. One of my employees is a forklift operator and I told him if taxes go down to 15% then I'll buy a new forklift and he won't have to drive around the clunker anymore."

Another issue that strikes a chord with Jacobsen? "The military. We're not respected in the world anymore. Both candidates are despicable but Trump is less despicable. He's in it for the country. Hillary is in it for herself."

Polling place stop No. 3, 10:23 a.m.: Annapolis High School (4650 Clippert St., Dearborn Heights). The rain has started but a few sprinkles won't dampen this election day parade. A Muslim woman wrapped in a headscarf with her two young children scooted out of Annapolis High School. "I personally don't see a good candidate although I voted Democrat," she told Patch. "Donald (Trump) has not been quiet about his views on immigration. How is America great if you get rid of the multicultural people? Blacks, Muslims and Mexicans? There won't be anyone left."

I next met Angela, a woman in her 40s with blue lipstick, "I don't think either Trump or Clinton should be president. The next president should be the Speaker of the House. What's his name? Handsome. Two kids. Loves his wife."

Paul Ryan? She shook her head "No, the Speaker of the House. What's his name?"

Our conversation soon turned to the biggest political issue in Michigan. "Our governor is the biggest issue," Angela passionately said. "He should be prosecuted for what he did to Flint. A lot of people from the outside cities are moving back to Dearborn and Dearborn Heights now because of the water. Detroit has the best water in the country."

A wolverine (thankfully not the wild kind, in this case a University of Michigan student) walked up to Annapolis High, pulling at his Wolverine sweatshirt. When asked to sum up the election in one word, the 22-year-old quipped "Ridiculous."

Off to Detroit!

Polling place stop No.4, 12:26 p.m.: Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (5050 St. Antoine St., Detroit) A gentleman with a Ranger hat was standing outside of the main doors with his grandsons, who he sternly/lovingly referred to as "Captain Destructor" (a sixth grader) and "Major Disaster" (a second grader). The Ranger asked not to be named, but is a member of the church, and had volunteered to help out and be on the scene from the moment the polls opened.

Has there been any voter intimidation? The Ranger told Patch: "We had a fool cussing and ask me 'You got guns out here?' I said 'Yeah.' He was a racist and looking for trouble. That's the intimidation. I politely told him I was going to have a Vietnam flashback on him if he didn't stop." The Ranger nodded to his "Ranger" hat, "I call this my crazy hat. People usually know not to start anything with me when I wear this hat. I jumped out of a perfectly good helicopter in Vietnam like I was jumping out of bed. You don't mess with me. He called the police and there were four cop cars out here."

The rest of the day has been cop car-free. The Ranger went on, "95% of the people are decent." When asked what the biggest issue was in Detroit he said "Unemployment. We need jobs."

Polling place stop No. 5, 1 p.m.: Spain Elementary School (3700 Beaubien St., Detroit) "I'd like to see more jobs," a security guard and mother of three told Patch about what the next president could do to help Detroit. "The recreation centers are abandoned. There's nothing for kids to do. The parks aren't safe or they don't have swings. The safest park is Belle Isle because there are State Police. At other parks stuff happens. People get snatched and jumped." She sighed, "This election is stressful. Hillary and Trump are the worst."

In an exciting development, I got to meet the recently elected Vice President of the Fourth Grade at Spain Elementary School. She won her school election the other day, and was voting with her mom today. From one politician to another, she suggested the next president "Gather some food and give more help to the school."

Onto Macomb County!

Polling place stop No. 6, 2:35 p.m.: Lake Shore High School (22980 E 13 Mile Rd., St. Clair Shores) An enthusiastic election inspector said despite being trained to expect the unexpected, the day has been calm. When asked to sum up this election in one word she huffed "Ridiculous." Note: "Ridiculous" must be trending, as this is the second "ridiculous" election sum up of the day.

A St. Clair Shores man, fresh from casting his vote, offered his analysis of the candidates, "She's a scammer and he's a hypocrite. I voted for Trump."

So did a happy 19-year-old girl, who practically came skipping out of the entrance doors. "I was mocking everyone who was into it (the election) and then three days ago I decided to vote for Trump." She shrugged her shoulders and skipped off.

Polling place stop No. 7, 4:45 p.m.: Northfield Hills Baptist Church (1800 W Long Lake Rd., Troy) No lines. No voter intimidation. No drama. That's according to the co-chair of the election inspectors of this precinct. When asked if Patch could use her name, she placed her hand over her name tag and said "You can see it but don't use it." So far, the precinct has processed 700 voters and expects a total of 1,000 by the time the polls close.

Polling place stop No. 8, 6:19 p.m.: Pierce Elementary School (1829 Pierce St., Birmingham) Some 1,156 Birmingham residents and counting have walked through Pierce Elementary School since the polls opened, according to volunteers.

What do the people of Birmingham think is the most important issue in America? A 23-year-old Birmingham man smiled, "On a federal level I want to say the economy. I'm 23-years-old and I'm concerned every freaking day about Social Security and Medicare spending. The biggest issue on a state level is our roads are (expletive). Our (auto) insurance is way too high. Insurance is a scam."

The young man is invested in this election. Literally - to the tune of around $1,000. When asked if he had any election predictions, the young man chuckled, "I dabble in the stock market. There's a website called Predict.com and I've got $100 on Trump winning Ohio and money on Hillary winning Pennsylvania. I had $750 on Tim Kaine being vice president but last night I panicked and sold at a marginal loss of $350."

One hour left of voting! To Rochester I go.

Polling place No. 9, 7:53 p.m.: (826 Ludlow Ave., Rochester) Election night '16 ends in Rochester! And regardless of tonight's outcome, a Rochester woman told Patch "We'll have a decision and will be a better America. This election did not demonstrate who we are as Americans."

As for the biggest issue facing Michigan, she said "Our education system. I have three kids and they're in college and have graduated. We're setting up the next generation and we've cut so drastically that we've lost imagination. We can add and subtract but those are the nuts and bolts. We need the arts otherwise we won't think outside of the box."

Many residents feel just as strongly, as the Rochester community is turning out in huge numbers. Terri Brady, the chairperson of the precinct, told Patch "The constituents are energized. Our precinct has had over 50% turnout in person and one of the highest absentee ballots in decades." Despite the sky-high influx of voters, the day was uneventful and Brady credits the city clerk's office. "They're very professional and as taxpayers we get every bit of our money out of the city clerk's office." As the last voters raced in, Brady said "Everyone is ready for the next phase."

People of Metro Detroit, thank you for such an exciting election day! Now bring on the results.