MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Election Day voting is underway in much of the country. Supporters of the Republican and Democratic tickets both know that the presidential race will come down to what happens in seven swing states. This includes Georgia, where we find Georgia Public Broadcasting's Grant Blankenship. He's at a polling station in Macon, Georgia. Good morning, Grant.
GRANT BLANKENSHIP, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: So I understand that you're at a polling station in a county that went for Biden in 2020. Tell me why you picked this place.
BLANKENSHIP: Yeah, so I'm kind of concentrating on the south side of Macon, Georgia. This is a part of the city that's really struggled economically for decades. And so my guess is, if these economic arguments that both candidates are making are, you know, picking up any steam, finding any ground with people, it's going to be a place like this, that - where people are receptive to it.
MARTIN: OK, well, so tell me what you're seeing. So first of all, what's the atmosphere like, and then tell me what the voters are telling you.
BLANKENSHIP: Well, so the lines are steady. During early voting, there were, at times, lines out the door at polling areas. But today, it's not that, but it's steady - it went in, went out. It's excited. Poll workers here are happy that things seem to be going smoothly so far. And it's secure. There's both plainclothes and uniformed law enforcement on site at the polling places I've been to so far, just sort of ensuring that things are safe.
MARTIN: OK. So based on your conversations with voters, any indication about how people in this particular area are feeling about the candidates?
BLANKENSHIP: Yeah, well, so in early voting, the conversations were definitely more about reproductive rights and people talking about their support for Kamala Harris in that venue. Today, so far, things have shifted towards the economy, and that's definitely true for people like Brian England (ph), who was the first voter in his polling area this morning at Beulah Missionary Baptist Church.
BRIAN ENGLAND: I'm going to work (laughter). That's why I'm here at 7 o'clock. It's 'cause I have to be at work at 7:30, so - I want to see our border fixed. It looks like we've got a flood of illegal immigrants coming into this country undocumented, and that's causing a lot of issues with jobs and crime and everything else in this world. So...
BLANKENSHIP: And then, you know, there are these voters who are kind of a mystery after you hear what they have to say, like Mary Woodard (ph), also at that same polling area.
MARY WOODARD: People are crossing who they normally vote for. I'm worried about women's rights, the right to bear arms, the right - freedom of speech. All of that is possibly taken away.
MARTIN: Hm. That is a mystery. I'll be curious...
BLANKENSHIP: Yeah (laughter).
MARTIN: ...If we can figure that out. All right. So both Vice President Harris and former President Trump have spent a lot of time in Georgia. According to the polls, they are virtually tied. Just based on what you've been hearing, do you have a sense of the issues that could tip the election either way?
BLANKENSHIP: Yeah, I mean, as I said, during early voting, it was definitely reproductive rights. If anybody volunteered an issue, it was going to be that. But today, the economy seems to be the thing. I spoke to another family - a young family who said they were married during the pandemic. The only economy they've known is sort of like the very end of the first Trump administration and through Biden, and they're worried about inflation. It's tough to raise three kids right now, they said.
Marion Simmons (ph) of Macon is a voter here at Bruce Elementary School. He voted for Kamala Harris as the change candidate for the economy.
MARION SIMMONS: We got to get the country back the way it was - good leader. Yeah - somebody who's going to take care of us - not theyself (ph). Donald Trump, he want to take care of his self (ph).
MARTIN: OK. Sounds pretty sure - well, you've got a lot to keep your eye on Grant.
BLANKENSHIP: (Laughter).
MARTIN: That is Georgia Public Broadcasting's Grant Blankenship. Grant, thanks so much for your reporting. Stay there. Keep us posted.
BLANKENSHIP: Sure thing. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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