On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Limestone residents made their voices heard in the ballot boxes spread across the county — waking up early and taking time out of work to eagerly cast their votes to shape the future of their community and country.

For newer residents such as Benjamin Ford, who served 10 years in the United States Army before moving to the city of Athens, the opportunity to exercise his constitutionally protected right to vote was too good to pass up.

“When I was in the military I saw what was starting to happen — and I am voted to make sure that my 3-year-old and 12–year-old don’t have to go and fight in some pointless war that kills more people than it saves,” Ford told The News Courier as he was leaving one of the 25 polling locations in Limestone County. “This is my right to vote and there’s multiple issues on the line, like immigration, abortion and the amount of money we are sending overseas, that I can have a say on.”

By participating in the fundamental democratic process, Ford said he was proud to pick the candidates who will put the constitutional rights and protections of the people he served to protect over their own values.

“Regardless of who you agree or disagree with, to me this election is a choice of whether you want to protect your rights or take away your rights,” Ford said. “I haven’t seen any disruptions in our area in terms of anything bad happening, but we should all feel safe when we go to the polls to vote and know that our votes are going to count.”

Some early reports of malfunctioning voting machines in Limestone were quickly debunked by the Limestone County Probate Office who clarified that due to the immense turnout some machines around the county were simply jammed and were quickly fixed.

Athens Police Chief Anthony Pressnell also worked to calm the nerves of any anxious voters — telling the News Courier that he sent extra patrol to the polling locations within the city’s limits.

“It looks like there’s a big turnout today from what I’ve seen,” Pressnell said. “We are helping out at all the precincts, like at Lindsay Lane where we are helping with the traffic in the area as well.”

For a majority of voters, such as East Limestone resident Biva Murphy, the biggest nuisance on Election Day was simply the long wait in the initial early morning voting lines.

“There was definitely a big turnout of voters today. I waited an hour and a half in line, but it went quickly,” 66-year-old Murphy said. “I knew the line was going to be long, but I stood in line and waited because I think this is the most important election of my lifetime. The safety of everybody voting today and the safety of our world were on the ballots, so I’m happy I voted.”

Athens residents such as James and Janice MacGeen also highlighted the importance of casting their vote in the 2024 General Election.

“Voting is real important and I think the amount of people out here shows how serious it is,” Janice said. “We need people in power who are going to look after us Americans, so hopefully everyone comes out to vote this year.”