San Francisco, California – Under a gold-leaf dome in downtown San Francisco, the usual procession of wedding parties tiptoed out of City Hall with freshly minted marriage licences.
But there was a rival line stretching down the steps for a different reason: Californians had arrived in droves to participate in the pivotal 2024 United States election.
This year’s presidential race was rich with symbolism for the San Francisco Bay Area. One of the two major candidates, Democrat and Vice President Kamala Harris, considers the Bay Area home.
She was born in nearby Oakland. Raised in neighbouring Berkeley. And in San Francisco, she built a reputation as a prosecutor that saw her rocket up the political ladder.
First, she was elected the city’s district attorney, serving in City Hall from 2002 to 2011, steps away from the law school where she received her degree.
Later, she became the state’s attorney general and then its senator in the US Congress.
California is known as a Democratic stronghold, part of the “blue wall” of states that consistently vote for the party.
And as the most populous state in the country, California boasts a whopping 54 Electoral College votes. Al Jazeera spoke to voters outside City Hall on Tuesday to understand what was motivating their votes this election cycle.
Anjali Rimi, social service worker
Standing in the shadow of City Hall’s towering 94-metre (307-foot) dome, Anjali Rimi was hoping to encourage other voters to re-elect Democratic Mayor London Breed to a second term in office.
But the wider general election likewise weighed heavily on Rimi’s mind.
“At all levels — federal, state and the city of San Francisco — what’s at stake is democracy,” Rimi told Al Jazeera.
“What’s at stake is the lives of immigrants. What’s at stake is the lives of minority-religion people, like myself, or many of my Muslim, Sikh, non-white, non-male, non-Christian folks who need to be protected in this country.
“What’s at stake is the fundamental rights of every human being in this world that sometimes we tend to not see right here in the United States of America. And hence, this election is historic on so many fronts.”
Rimi’s words echoed critics’ concerns about Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate and former president known for nativist rhetoric.
When asked why certain voters in the US do not see those fundamental rights, Rimi was unequivocal.
“You have to give and attribute a lot of that to white supremacy. It may not look white always, but privilege and those that have a position continue to want to conquer and lead and brutalise this world, Rimi said.
“Hence, we don’t see the struggles of those that are at the margins — the many of us who have come to this country to make it our home and are just trying to live a happy and peaceful life with our families but still have a connection back to our homelands.”
She added that she hoped to “protect Black and woman leadership” this election cycle.
Melanie Mathewson, 26, political consultant
The decision to end the Supreme Court precedent Roe v Wade in 2022 was a prominent theme in this year’s presidential race.
On one hand, former President Trump campaigned on how his decisions while in office helped pave the way for the repeal of federal protections for abortion care.
“For 54 years, they were trying to get Roe v Wade terminated. And I did it,” he said in January.
By contrast, Harris has campaigned on restoring access to reproductive healthcare. “When Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” she told a campaign rally earlier this year.
That debate helped inspire Melanie Mathewson’s vote in the general election.
“What’s driving me on a federal level is women’s rights,” she said. “I would love to have children one day, and I want to make sure, no matter where I live or where they choose to live, they have access to whatever healthcare that they need for their bodies.”
She also gave a nod to the anti-transgender, anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric that has become a frequent topic in the Trump campaign.
“Whether I have children who are transgender or I have children who are gay, I want them to feel comfortable and protected no matter where they live in this country, not just in California,” Mathewson said.
“I’m also very concerned about my Black and Brown friends and my friends who have immigrant parents who are not citizens, who are just trying to make their way.”
Christian nationalism, she added, was helping to shape many of Trump’s policies.
“With the possibility of Christian nationalism becoming the way that we rule our country if Trump wins, I’m afraid that there is not going to be freedom of religion, freedom over our bodies,” she said.
Maddie Dunn, 23, and Matt Fitzgerald, 28, campaigners
The shuttered storefronts that line downtown San Francisco were top of mind for Maddie Dunn and Matt Fitzgerald, who hoped Election Day would bring good news for small businesses.
They hoped that ballot initiatives in San Francisco would result in lower taxes and permitting fees for local companies.
The city’s population plummeted by nearly 65,000 residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, and businesses took a punch as a result.
“San Francisco’s had the slowest COVID recovery in North America,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve got a lot of problems here in our downtown, with empty office spaces, closing small businesses and things like that.”
Dunn explained that her father was a small business owner, and the downturn left her worried.
“This is an issue that you can really see day to day: How well is your corner store doing? Or your coffee shop? And in San Francisco, the answer is that businesses are recovering, but they’re still struggling from decreased foot traffic, really slow margins,” she said.
Both she and Fitzgerald, however, indicated that they would throw their support behind Harris, who has promised to boost start-ups, despite scepticism from the right.
“She understands how important small businesses are to our communities. And with her economic plan, when it comes down to it, she has the approval of experts,” Dunn said.
Fitzgerald, for his part, warned that Trump represented a threat to US democracy, pointing to his actions on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol.
“I think the candidates could not be more different,” he said. “I mean, you have one candidate, our former president, who literally tried to overthrow our democracy on January 6th, and you have a candidate who is pro-democracy, who is pro-women’s rights and is pro-LGBTQ rights.”
This election, he added, will be “a huge fork in the road”.
Jennifer Fieber, 51, member of San Francisco Tenants Union
For decades, the San Francisco Bay Area has been in the grips of a housing crisis.
Housing prices are unaffordable for many residents. Rental costs have ticked up. And a January 2024 report from the city government estimated that homelessness affects at least 8,323 residents — a likely undercount. More than 20,000 sought assistance for homelessness over the course of a year.
Jennifer Fieber, a member of the San Francisco Tenants Union, pointed to the crisis as the main motivation for her vote. She indicated that she would be supporting progressive candidate Aaron Peskin in his race for mayor.
“Tenants are 64 percent of the city,” Fieber said. “I think if you stabilise their housing, it has a profound effect on the working class and the ability of people to live in the city. So we need candidates that are gonna protect tenants.”
She explained that high housing prices were forcing essential workers like nurses and teachers out of the city.
When asked which candidates had put forward platforms to address the issue, Fieber responded: “Actually, I think that they have been ignoring it to their detriment.”
That includes on the national scale, she added. “I support the Democrats, but they don’t really have a housing policy.”
Joshua Kelly, 45, stay-at-home dad
For homemaker and stay-at-home dad Joshua Kelly, the roadway that lines San Francisco’s Pacific Coast was a motivation to get out the vote.
That four-lane road, known as the Great Highway, was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, to allow for outdoor recreation. Residents like Kelly hope it remains closed, particularly as the highway faces the ravages of climate change.
“Our plan [is] to turn a coastal highway that’s falling into the ocean into a park and promenade for the whole city,” Kelly said.
He argued that the stakes are bigger than just the fate of a road.
“What kind of a city do we want to be? Do we want to be a city that acknowledges and embraces climate change and plans for it?” Kelly asked. “Or do we want to be a city that prioritises polluting, climate-change-causing car travel and the convenience of that above everything else?”
He credited outgoing President Joe Biden with taking some steps to address the climate crisis.
“Joe Biden was able to, through the Inflation Reduction Act, create one of the biggest pieces of climate legislation. And we’re seeing a lot of renewable energy come out of that,” Kelly explained.
But he warned that continued activism would be necessary to keep the issue at the forefront of national policy, no matter the outcome on Tuesday.
“I think we’re part of a coalition that’s going to put pressure on Kamala Harris to do that if she is elected as well. And if Trump gets in, he’s going to push fossil fuels. He’s going to end subsidies for renewable energy. He’s going to send us backwards.”
Kelly also feared the violence Trump might spark if he refuses to accept a defeat at Harris’s hands.
“I am concerned about the potential for violence,” Kelly said. “If the election becomes sort of contested, there is a good chance that the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court would conspire to give the election to Trump, despite him losing the votes in the Electoral College.”
