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While early voting continues in many parts of the country, let's head to Florida. It may not be a key swing state in this presidential election, but voters there are still focused on the contest and on some big ballot measures, like one on abortion. NPR's Ashley Lopez talks to early voters in Florida about their decisions.
ASHLEY LOPEZ, BYLINE: For many past election cycles, one of the most closely watched parts of the country was Florida's I-4 corridor. It's politically mixed and stretches from Orlando down to Tampa. Along that stretch is Haines City, which is where Marisol Lopez voted during one of the first days of in-person early voting. She had her mind made up on the presidential election and two big ballot measures in the state.
MARISOL LOPEZ: I just don't want Trump to be president again (laughter), honestly - yeah, pretty much. And, you know, I support abortion, and I'm pro-choice, and marijuana - pretty much those three things.
A LOPEZ: Florida currently has a six-week abortion ban, one of the strictest bans in the country. Lopez says she supports a ballot measure that, if passed, would allow abortions until fetal viability, which is usually around 24 weeks.
M LOPEZ: I'm terrified. You know, it's never been good when we're, you know, stopped from being - making choices on our bodies. And I have two girls, so that's very important for me.
A LOPEZ: Cristela Bradley in Lake Alfred is also in favor of abortion rights and is backing Vice President Harris as well. But she says she doesn't support a proposed amendment legalizing recreational marijuana.
CRISTELA BRADLEY: I'm just tired of smelling it. I don't want to smell it when I'm at the grocery store. I don't want to smell it when I'm out anywhere. That was a huge issue for me.
A LOPEZ: Teresa Ford also voted early in Lake Alfred. She, however, voted for Trump.
TERESA FORD: I just can't - I think that if it doesn't turn out Trump winning, I think we could be in big trouble as a country.
A LOPEZ: And while Ford didn't vote for the ballot measure enshrining abortion rights in the state's constitution, she did end up voting for the recreational marijuana measure, even though she has mixed feelings about it. Mostly, she says, she hopes it generates more tax revenue for the state.
FORD: Now, you know, I'm a little apprehensive, but I still voted yes because I think it will make a lot of money for hopefully the right reasons.
A LOPEZ: Ballot measures can be kind of a wild card in elections, not just because some issues cut across party lines. They're also known to make it hard to predict who is going to vote. But in Florida, a lot of voters said their biggest motivation to vote this year was what most voters in the country are focused on, issues like the economy and democracy. Hector Caban in Orlando, who voted for Trump, says the national debt and high prices are his main issues.
HECTOR CABAN: Yeah, I'm paying more for gas, paying more for - definitely food. You know, insurance, obviously, is a big deal around here in Florida.
A LOPEZ: Andre Agrand has bigger-picture worries. This voter in Orlando was an independent voter for many years. And this year he's backing Harris.
ANDRE AGRAND: I look at the values this country has to offer. And the values that would be one of them, as I said, is to respect the Constitutions.
A LOPEZ: Agrand, who is Haitian, says he also hasn't liked how Trump has talked about immigrants, including his comments about a Haitian community in Ohio. He says he also made his decision by thinking about which candidate would best represent this country's values in the long term. And while Trump is largely expected to win the presidential race in Florida, the fate of the state's ballot measures may be tougher to predict. Ashley Lopez, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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