Local voters say a lot is on the line this November

Mar. 30—Marco Notaro's main concern heading into the 2024 presidential election is a big one.

He's concerned the outcome of the election will decide the future of Democracy in America itself.

"There are a lot of other policy issues that are certainly important that have to be considered but that really kind of guides everything else," Notaro said.

The 30-year-old Town of Lewiston resident, who is a registered Democrat, said he's become increasingly alarmed by concerning trends within the Republican party as a whole and is especially disturbed by the conduct of the party's presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump.

Those "trends" include hard-right party members who are actively working to undermine voting rights while continuing to inaccurately portray the 2020 presidential election as "rigged" or "stolen" in favor of Democratic President Joe Biden.

As for Trump, Notaro said he described the former president's candidacy as a "non-starter" and said he believes Trump has shown he has "authoritarian tendencies" that should be of concern to voters all across the country.

Notaro said it was "horrifying" to hear Trump's reference during a campaign rally last week to a "bloodbath" that the former president suggested would follow if he failed to secure the White House in the November election.

"I think that's harmful and that's something I'm very concerned about in this election, that people become desensitized to his inflammatory language and normalization of political violence," he said.

Notaro said his vote for Biden in this year's race has never been in question. He said he's generally pleased by what the president has done in several areas, including efforts to address climate change, support for the American Rescue Plan and securing passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.

"I think he has tried to do more things than he's often given credit for within the constraints that he has," Notaro said.

As an employee of a large national housing agency, Notaro said he views housing and expanding affordable housing options for Americans as an important issue that warrants more attention moving forward. He noted that the cost of homes has skyrocketed in recent years, making it much more difficult for people his age to afford the "American dream" of home ownership.

"That is something that is increasingly out of reach for a lot of young people my age," he said.

While the age of the candidates has become an issue in the race, Notaro said it's not a huge issue for him and there are more important things to consider this year.

"Is the candidate committed to the Constitution? Are they committed to the sanctity of elections? Are they committed to democracy? To me. those are more important questions than questions about their age," he said.

Dylan Speidel, an 18-year-old Lockport native who is stationed with the U.S. Navy in South Carolina, said he would not be averse to considering a third-party candidate for president if one presented itself this year. At this point, he said he intends to cast his first vote in a presidential election for former President Donald Trump because he thinks he's a better choice than Joe Biden.

"I'm not limited to one candidate. I try to be open-minded and listen to what everyone's saying. I'm interested in the best candidate and I think at this point that's Donald Trump," he said.

While he recognizes the two main presidential candidates are up in years, Speidel said he believes Biden has more often presented himself as the less competent of the two, saying he's concerned by the current president's issues with "stumbling, misremembering facts, details and names." To Speidel, Biden's demeanor and presentation are signs of a man in "clear cognitive decline."

"It doesn't seem like he's at that level of cognitive ability and fit to be the leader of the free world," he said.

Speidel said he's most concerned about what he described as the immigration crisis at the southern border,

He said he's also not pleased with the current administration's involvement in the affairs of foreign countries and in providing financial support to those countries that he believes could be put to better use addressing America's problems at home.

"It seems like the American people have been put to the wayside in favor of other people, from foreign countries and foreign interests," he said. "I believe the American government should put their American citizens first, I believe the American people and the American voters should be the top priority of the administration."

Speidel said he believes Trump would be a stronger representative of America's interest on the global stage and demonstrated in his first term in office as president that he was more adept at guiding a stronger economy, lowering crime and dealing with foreign affairs.

"I didn't get the chance to vote for Trump before, I would have if I would have been able to. I like what he was doing before. I like what he's doing now," he said.

"I think he did a fantastic job as president with what he was given," he added.