Voters Declare Their Disgust, Disdain and Dismay as They Choose Their President, Donald Trump

By the tens of millions, Americans went to the polls Tuesday to exercise a right this nation has prized for 238 years — the right to elect our government, a right secured by traitors to the Crown and born of bloodshed and sacrifice.

We are a house divided against itself in so many ways. Majorities are slim and difficult to secure. Millions believe the system through which we choose our leaders is broken, even "rigged." Nevertheless, we go to the polls seeking change. Demanding change. And yet one person's change for the better is a road to damnation and ruin for their neighbor.

Fear and disgust motivated voters to get to the voting booth this time as much as belief and inspiration. In far too many elections, Americans looked at their choices and said "what's the difference?" In Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, however, the Democrats and Republicans offered two starkly different people with dramatically differing visions for the country.

Those competing visions terrify substantial portions of the populace.

In Clinton, we had history in the making, the first female presidential nominee of a major party, on the heels of the first African-American president. And yet she's the experienced government hand, a serious policy person, and the ultimate insider's insider viewed with skepticism by a significant portion of the electorate. In Trump, we had a policy neophyte, a septuagenarian businessman with 1950s ideals, and an authoritarian bent who'd never run for public office. A billionaire who'd never lived outside the lap of luxury, he'd nonetheless positioned himself as the anti-establishment candidate and captured the hearts of middle Americans who feel the system has shafted them time and again.

As the clock passed midnight in New York, where both Clinton and Trump were hosting campaign parties, a victor had yet to emerge. Michigan, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were too close to call. On Monday night, Clinton hosted a final campaign rally on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, but the cradle of American democracy did not give her a clear and early win. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin fell to Trump, and by 3 a.m., Clinton conceded defeat.

Patch took to the streets Tuesday and asked people to share the thinking behind their votes. Some voted with their gut. Others, their heart. Still others held their noses and chose the least objectionable name on the ballot. At last count, 59 million people cast their lot with Trump, and 59.1 million favored Clinton.

Far more states and electoral votes tilted toward Trump, however.

Trump appealed to the disaffected working class in a way no other candidate has in a very long time.

Union plumber Mark Simon, 46, of New Lenox, Illinois, exemplified this. He went against the recommendation of his union leaders and proudly voted for Trump.

“I am not ashamed,” Simon said. “I voted for Obama because they told us we’re supposed to, and I’ve hated the last eight years. Nothing’s gotten any better.”

Simon said he identifies more easily with Trump, who seems to be “more of an American, an everyday person.”

“He knows about money. He obviously knows how to make it. And he’ll do that for our country.”

With reporting by Sherri Lonon in Florida, Lanning Taliaferro in New York, Mera McKenna in Michigan, Alison Bauter in Massachusetts, Scott Anderson in Wisconsin, Lauren Traut, Joe Vince and Lorraine Swanson in Illinois, Autumn Johnson, Renee Schiavone and Alexander Nguyen in California, Chris Mosby and Rick Uldricks in Ohio, William Bornhoft in Minnesota.

SEE ALSO: Full Presidential Election Results As They Come In

'Discord and Degradation'

In Florida, an important state up for grabs until the very end, Rita Bell was among the first voters to turn out to a small neighborhood precinct in Lutz, Florida. The 78-year-old retired school teacher from New York City voted for the first time when John F. Kennedy was running. All these years later, the daughter of German immigrants finds herself overwhelmed by the vitriol of this election season. In all her years of voting, she said, she cannot recall an election “when there was such discord and degradation.”

“I am truthfully upset by the way people are acting,” said Bell, whose husband was home ill and had cast his ballot by mail. She was quick to explain why she had not chosen to follow the same path this year.

“I wanted to be here,” she said.

Sandy Lane, in Danvers, Massachusetts, told Patch her first vote for a president also went to John F. Kennedy in 1960. She recalled the excitement and enthusiasm she felt when she cast that vote. That feeling wasn't there when she cast her ballot this time around.

"It's just name calling. ... I got to get this over with," Lane said, laughing. "I don't want to hear from either one of (the presidential candidates) anymore."

'Inspiring' to Vote for Clinton

Every presidential election makes a mark on history. Some deeper than others. This one was felt deeply by many women who'd only ever seen a man's name at the top of the presidential ticket.

Faith Allen, a graduate from Wellesley College, walked hand-in-hand with her 6-year-old daughter Ainsley Allen toward the voting booths Milford, Massachusetts, on Tuesday. She was confidently headed to cast her vote for Clinton, and she’s been “with her” from day one.

“If I cannot shed tears in the voting booth, I will be happy,” she said. “This is a vote for her, not against someone else.”

Clinton's campaign slogan "I'm With Her" struck a chord with many women.

"It is inspiring to be a woman voting for Hillary Clinton," Wendy Nield, 46-year-old business owner from West Hollywood, California, told Patch. "For me, it is the idea that we were told as girls growing up that we could be whatever we wanted to be, but that wasn't necessarily true until now.

"Now it feels possible."

Graca Clifford, a naturalized American citizen from Brazil living in Manhattan, said she voted for Clinton because she is a "nasty woman," like Clinton.

“I always think women have a deeper vision of the future than men do,” Clifford told Patch.

To Clifford, being a "nasty woman" means "not being afraid to take challenges and try something new without fear."

Clifford’s husband, John Clifford, voted for Clinton as well.

“Voting for the first woman president will break down barriers so we can eventually vote for the second,” he said. “Hillary also knows a thing or two about what it’s like to actually be president."

Forty-three men have held the office of president, including Clinton's husband.

"It's an incredibly important moment for me as a woman and it's very emotional as well," Michelle McDonald, of Dublin, California, said on Tuesday. "As women, we have waited a long time to see someone in the White House who looks like us, has experienced the world as we have and cares about the things we do. And the impact of that should not be underestimated. Our daughters deserve to have this barrier taken down and I'm incredibly proud that we are on the verge of making that happen. It wasn't easy. It won't be easy going forward. But it's history and today I'm beyond thrilled."

History was on the mind of Chappaqua, New York, resident Mary Refling, whose Election Day outfit paid homage not only to the suffragettes who fought for women's right to vote, but also to the strong women in her own life — including hat, belt and shoes from her nieces.

"This is an historic election," said the adjunct professor of languages. "Everything I'm wearing today represents a strong woman in my life. This pin is for my mother, who sold jewelry door-to-door to put food on the table. The ring is from my grandmother, the skirt handed down from my sister."

Men Who Listen to Mom

Even some men felt the power of womanhood in this election. Or maybe motherhood is the better term.

Dejon Boddie, 22, ran into the Lee Road Library in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, another battleground state crucial to both Clinton and Trump's designs on the White House. Boddie was urgent to cast his vote and, more pressingly, find a bathroom. He was able to do his civic duty and his personal duty in one surprisingly quick stop.

“The lines here were small. I got in and out, it was great,” he said. “I voted for Hillary Clinton. My mother supports her and I try to listen to my mom.”

As the father of two daughters, ages 14 and 21, Trump’s attitudes toward women concern 50-year-old Keith Carthans, who cast his vote for Clinton at the Worth Township Hall in south suburban Chicago.

“Trump’s chauvinism toward women is despicable,” Carthans said. “I want my daughters to be able to look up to the president."

Even with the historic nature of Clinton's candidacy, however, sentiments like these seemed outnumbered by those expressing disgust and dismay at the entire campaign.

Disrespect figured prominently in some voters' motivation, too.

Take Stephen Marty, 20, of Massapequa Park, New York, for one, who walked into his local polling place chanting "Vote Trump, vote Trump."

"I love Trump and I don't like Hillary," Marty told Patch. When asked why he doesn't like Clinton, the Farmingdale State College student replied, "we're not supposed to have a girl running the country, so I don't think it's going to work out very well. And she's also, like, dying. She's going to die soon enough. She's pretty old."

Clinton's health and unmanly "lack of stamina" were Trump staples on the campaign trail.

'Becoming a Laughingstock'

Treigh Mulvaney, a 47-year-old San Diego, California, woman who works in construction sales, likened this election to a "boxing match." She said that's nothing to be proud of, either.

“I think it’s unfortunate that it’s made other countries — I have friends in Canada and Europe and we’ve kind of becoming a laughingstock because of how atrocious it’s been. But I think this election has been who you hate the least. I voted for Hillary. I think that she’s more stable of the two," Mulvaney said. "I think if Donald won, he’d probably put good people in place but I just don’t respect him as a person. So for me, a lot of it came down to temperament."

Dearborn, Michigan, home to Ford Motor Co., is the birthplace of the American automobile, as red-white-and-blue a community as can be found in America. Trump has singled out Ford in economic plans that would subject automakers to steep tariffs if they move manufacturing operations to other countries, particularly Mexico, where Ford is moving its small-car production.

Dearborn resident Lee Jacobsen owns his own auto parts manufacturing company, Jacobsen Industries, which employs about 140 people. He voted, reluctantly, for Trump. “Both candidates are despicable,” he said. “He’s in it for the country. Hillary is in it for herself.”

Trump’s focus on manufacturing tipped the scales for Jacobsen.

“Corporate taxes are close to 40 percent,” he said. “If we can get taxes down to 15 percent 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 percent, then I'll buy a new forklift and he won't have to drive around the clunker anymore.”

Also on Patch: Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump: Track Live Results

Next door, in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, a Muslim woman told Patch she wasn’t thrilled with either candidate, but voted for Clinton.

“Donald (Trump) has not been quiet about his views on immigration,” she said. “How is America great if you get rid of the multicultural people? Blacks, Muslims and Mexicans? There won’t be anything left.”

'All The Things You Don't Want Your Kids to Be'

A teacher in suburban Chicago, who knows immature behavior when she sees it, told Patch the candidates should both be ashamed.

Becky Valentino, 46, remarked on the malicious tone of the campaigns as she cast her vote in New Lenox, Illinois, on Tuesday.

“It’s been overwhelming and immature,” she said, with her husband Keith chiming in about the bullying from both sides. “All the things you don’t want your kids to be, these two were.”

Keith Valentino, 45, said he voted in favor of “immediate change,” though he declined to disclose his candidate of choice.

“I wasn’t thrilled about either of them, though.”

The campaign season — which featured almost two dozen candidates among the major and third parties — began almost two years ago. This grueling slog has taken a toll on the American psyche. It's no exaggeration to say the campaign rhetoric made people sick.

Ken Yorgan of Wisconsin, as a doctor of chiropractic in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, aligns the spines of patients to achieve relief and wellness. On a sunny Tuesday morning, Yorgan wore a light jacket, donned a baseball cap and went to the polls, happy that the 2016 election season is nearly over.

"It strikes me as the bitterest and most spiteful election I have ever been witness to, and I'm very glad today is the last day of it," he said as he was on his way into his neighborhood polling place. "And I hope that it doesn't start up again for a long time."

Yorgan's first election came during the era of Eisenhower. This time around, Yorgan stated he was initially a Bernie Sanders supporter, but swung his support to Hillary Clinton when she became the Democratic nominee. Much like Yorgan's healing practice, he hopes Clinton will work to heal the wounds of a deeply fractured electorate.

"I hope that we have less involvement in foreign wars, and hope that more attention is paid to the environment and I'm hoping for more advancements in human rights," he said. "I'm hoping that she and the administration will address the prison-industrial and military-industrial complexes."

The negative campaigning and nasty undercurrent of this year's election might have disgusted many voters, but Sue Douvan, a 73-year-old retired school teacher from New Lenox, Illinois, sees this as a teaching moment for the country.

"The American people learned more than they ever had about how the government is being run," she said. "And it's ridiculous. … (Elected officials in power) are taking advantage of any situation, and they get away with it."

A longtime Republican, Douvan voted for Trump because she believes he will change the "business as usual" atmosphere in Washington, D.C., by building a cabinet of savvy and smart advisers. One of Trump's strengths, she said, is that he surrounds himself with the best people, even individuals who don't see eye-to-eye with him.

"I think he's the only one who will make a dent of the problems we have," Douvan said.

As far as the mean-spirited nature surrounding this year's election, Douvan said Trump had to go negative to match Clinton. She doesn't believe her candidate is a saint, either. But he's results-minded, and she believes that's what the United States needs right now.

"He may be a pervert, but he's smart enough to run things," Douvan said.

In the land of Reagan Democrats in south suburban Chicago, two older woman who had just cast their ballots stood chatting in the parking lot of the Worth Township Hall in Alsip. Neither wanted to give their names, but they had plenty to say about the presidential candidates.

“This has been a long drawn out battle,” one of the ladies said. “Trump would hire the right people. Not a clique. The Democrats are just a big clique."

“I voted for Trump,” her friend replied. “It’s something new, something different.”

A Vote for Neither

For some, the choice boiled down to choosing neither Trump nor Clinton.

Amanda Greene, a 32-year-old from Lakeville, Minnesota, voted Tuesday for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and his running mate, Bill Weld.

When asked how she feels about this year’s election, Greene told Patch, “It's like a scary movie that you're being forced to watch and you can't wait for it to end but then again you don't want it to end because the ending is the scariest part.”

Israel Gonzalez, 42, of Levittown, New York, was pragmatic about the tone of the election. Gonzalez did not vote for a particular candidate, but rather stressed that he voted against Clinton.

“The tone is the tone of the country,” he said. “It reflects the way the country is.”