Jamaican woman in NY ensures entire family votes in US elections

Jamaicans in New York have been streaming to the polls to vote for the next US president.  

In the northeast Bronx, which has a high concentration of Jamaicans, polling places are seeing a high turn out.  

At PS 78 on Needham Avenue, the lines inside the polling stations were long, but voters said the lines were moving quickly.  

Yvonne Simons, who was outside the polling station, said that she was waiting on her grandson whom she took to the polling station.

"I said to him, listen, anybody don't vote in the house, don't ask me for a dollar," she said.

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Simons said that she and her husband did early voting and that her son, who is registered to vote in the Bronx although he has moved to New Jersey, voted earlier at PS 78.  

"I voted for my preferred candidate because this election is so very important. My hope is that the candidate for whom I voted will come out the victor," she told The Gleaner.  

Michael, who did not want to give his last name, also voted at PS 78 this morning.  

He said that it was very important for him to vote because this election is crucial for the country's future.  

Michael, who stopped on his way to vote, said that he was confident that the candidate he voted for will win.

"I believe that there is a need for a change " he said.  

Elsewhere in the Bronx, on City Island, Crafton Kelly and Patricia Surgean voted as the polls opened.  Kelly told The Gleaner that while the lines were long, voting was smooth as the lines moved quickly.

- Lester Hinds