WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2022) As voters around the United States went to cast their ballots at polling stations Tuesday, Marty, a long-time public protester, stood outside the White House holding a sign with the message "Hate won't make America great."
Marty, 80, said he began holding the sign outside the White House regularly following the emergence of former US President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. However, Election Day is a special day to protest outside the presidential residence.
"I've been doing this for four years," Marty said. "Almost every day coming down here is special, because it reminds me of my right to do this ... But today, expressing our opinion in a democracy like ours means Election Day, means voting, means that these people who will be elected today are truly representative. They are us. They act for us."
Coming to protest in front of the White House on Election Day was "essential," with the sign taking on a particularly special message while the nation casts its ballots, Marty said.
Marty, a DC resident and son of immigrants, said his attitude toward democracy and its importance was shaped by his experience as a child seeing the defeat of Nazi Germany and learning from those who remembered its rise. Democracy cannot be taken for granted or considered trivial, according to Marty.
"I want to be here, because I can try to make a difference," Marty said.
Throughout Election Day, voters nationwide will vote in races for Federal and statewide positions, determining whether Democrats keep their House and Senate majorities or Republicans win control of the chambers.
Republicans are slated to obtain a majority in the House, while the fate of the Senate hinges on the outcome of several particularly competitive races.
The outcome could impact the work of US President Joe Biden in the second half of his term, with a Republican House or Senate able to impede the administration's policy agenda on issues such as abortion, gun control and Ukraine aid.
