When you arrive at the John Chavis Community Center, one of the first faces you see is Ren Pridgeon. He is a volunteer with the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association and beams when he tells you he has been hailing the polls in Raleigh for 48 years.
“I took part in the elections for the first time when I was 22 years old and I just turned 70 last month. I still do it,” Pridgeon told NC Newsline.
Pridgeon has served in many positions throughout Wake County’s election cycles, including as chief judge in his precinct, but on this day he served as an observer and encouraged people to exercise their right to vote.
“It is a privilege to be able to do this. I’ve seen a lot of things happen in my years, and a lot of people have gone through a lot, so that we could be here, so that we could vote,” Pridgeon explained.
“People like me, when I vote, it’s for my children and my grandchildren, because there are so many things on the ballot this time: reducing lunches, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, affordable housing. All those things are discussed.”
Pridgeon said he would like to see more young adults line up this Election Day and exercise their right to express their vote and their choice.
Pridgeon, an unaffiliated, pro-life minister, wore a “Kamala” t-shirt and hat Tuesday afternoon.
“I don’t vote for a party. I vote as the best candidate. And I see her as the best candidate. I don’t like the negativity thrown into the race. I really don’t like swearing. I don’t like all that,” he said.
At 70, he said he was also moved by the issue of reproductive rights this election.
“Because all I can think about is my 16-year-old granddaughter. “If she was abused or raped, she should have done it and her parents should have the choice to not continue or stop,” he said. “I also know that circumstances dictate actions. And because of certain circumstances, women should have the right to the actions they choose.”
Pridgeon says experience has taught him that we may not know the winner of the presidential election tonight.
“I’ve seen so many presidential elections. And they used to be fast, but there are so many different parameters now, especially, especially with mail-in ballots. And what happened in western North Carolina [with Hurricane Helene] that will delay some of the counts.”
But Pridgeon said he is hopeful, always hopeful about democracy. And with any luck, Pridgeon will go to the polls again in 2026.
“I’m trying to earn another two years, then I’ll have fifty [years]. Then we pray about it.”
The polls close tonight at 7:30 PM. Eligible voters can find their polling location on Election Day on the State Board of Elections voter locator page. Voters who requested an absentee ballot but did not mail it in should drop it off in person at their county elections office by 7:30 PM tonight, or simply throw it away and vote in person at their local precinct.
