With long lines at the polls following record-breaking absentee balloting — allowed because of a new state law, boosted by voters leery of crowded precincts amid an outbreak — Northeast Michiganders were eager to vote but seemed most eager for the politicking to stop and life to quiet down.

Voters inside by and large wore face masks, though social distancing wasn’t always maintained in the long lines. Precinct workers appeared to maintain coronavirus protections, such as wiping down voting booths after each voter.

At Alpena’s Precinct 4 polling station, 18-year-old Jacob VanWagner was neither nervous nor particularly excited as he prepared to vote for the first time.

His mom, Holly Miller, said she’s excited about the end of campaign-related text messages and social media posts.

New Photo by Crystal Nelson Alpena residents Jaime Whaley and Jeff Whaley check in to vote Tuesday at Word of Life Baptist Church in Alpena.

“I’m over it all,” Miller said.

She tries not to think about what comes next after Election Day.

“It’s going to go that way, regardless,” Miller said. “No point in stressing over it.”

Claudine Howard waited in line 25 minutes at St. Anne Catholic Church to make her voice heard.

“If we’re going to keep our constitutionally limited republic, we’d better get out and vote,” Howard said. “That’s the way to keep it.”

News Photo by Crystal Nelson Alpena resident Jim Siegel casts his ballot on Tuesday at Word of Life Baptist Church in Alpena.

“I think everyone should vote,” said Howard, the daughter of an immigrant and a military veteran whose son is currently deployed in a country that’s locked down because of the coronavirus pandemic. “Whether I agree with them politically or not, I still think it’s important.”

Once the election is over, she hopes everything calms down — “I don’t see that, though,” Howard said.

Near the front of the line after a 45-minute wait at the APlex in Alpena, Jason Luther said he waited just as long during the 2016 election.

Democracy is worth it, Luther said.

“I adore our republic,” said Brenda Hatley, waiting behind Luther and stomping her feet to keep her circulation going. “I would like my grandchildren to grow up in a world like I did, and, if I don’t do anything about it, it’s my fault.”

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Haylee Gagnon, left, and her husband, Connor, take their infant daughter, Addison, to vote with them on Tuesday. Haylee said it is the first time she has ever voted and is doing so after being more educated on the candidates and issues.

“Everyone here has got an important opinion,” Hatley said, gesturing to the long line trailing behind her and disappearing around a corner.

Her husband is a veteran who fought for the right of everyone in that line to vote, she said.

After Election Day, Luther hopes “for it to be over,” he said. “Put the dumpster fire out.”

“It’s been a doozie,” Hatley said.

She was concerned the polling place would feel unsafe, but her long wait had been quiet, Hatley said — helped by the fact that nobody was talking politics in the APlex’s long hallway.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz The election turnout in Alpena appears to have been high, as lines like this one seen Tuesday night at the APlex formed down long hallways. For some, the wait to vote was more than an hour.

“It’s kind of a sacred space,” Hatley said. “It’s not where we come to change someone’s ideals and interfere with their vote.”

At the other end of the line, Don Gosselin knew he had a long wait ahead.

“You have no right to comment if you don’t go vote,” Gosselin said, willing to take the long trek down the APlex’s hallways.

He was excited to see younger voters in the long line in front of him, Gosslin said. Young people too often don’t believe their participation matters, he said, believing they can’t sway anything with their ballots.

“They have swayed it by not voting,” Gosslin said.

Just ahead of him, 20-year-old Taylor Lino and 19-year-old Hunter Nichol were prepared to wait to cast their first ballots.

“It’s our right,” Lino said cheerfully.

Many of Alpena’s current voters are from an age group that’s dying off, Nichol observed.

“When the older generation is gone, who’s going to vote?” Nichol wondered. “It’ll be a select few.”

An hour before polls closed, the wait at the APlex was an hour and a half, according to those at the front of the line.

Although most of the voters in Alpena voted for either Joe Biden or Donald Trump, James Borowski voted for neither. He said neither of the candidates represented what he stood for, so he shifted away from the two majority parties.

“I have always been slightly right-of-center, but never voted a straight-party ticket,” Borowski said. “This year, I voted third party, and I think the support for third-party candidates will be stronger this year.”

Many people went to vote as a family. There were brothers and sisters, mothers and daughters, and even one couple who brought their baby to share the Election Day excitement.

Haylee Gagnon, 23, and her husband, Connor, carried their infant daughter, Addison, into the APlex to stand in the long line to cast their vote. Gagnon said she is from Chicago and Tuesday was her first time voting.

She didn’t vote in the presidential election in 2016 because she felt she wasn’t informed enough. Since then, she said, she has been keeping more current on events and issues and was prepared on Tuesday to select her candidates of choice.

“I didn’t want to vote and have no idea on who or what I was voting for,” Haylee said. “My husband talked to me about politics a little more and it opened my eyes about a lot of things, and that is when I began to get more involved.”

Gagnon said her political views didn’t change after having the baby, but she said it has helped her to become more self-aware that the decisions she makes now will impact the baby later.

“I’m definitely more passionate about it because of her,” Gagnon said.

Alpena resident Tori Heath, who makes a point to vote every election, said she was relieved the election was over. Heath said there will be no more commercials, no more text messages.

With her ballot cast, Heath said she is “over it.”

“I’m over it,” she said. “I’m over all the hate on both sides. Honestly, I’m just over 2020.”

Alpena resident Danielle Hauser said Tuesday’s election was no different than any other she’s voted in. However, she said it was important to vote in person because that’s “just the way it’s supposed to be done.”

Now that the election is over, Hauser said she hopes “a lot of this COVID stuff goes away” and that life can get back to normal.

News staff writers Crystal Nelson, Julie Riddle, and Steve Schulwitz contributed to this report.

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