Local voters share their perspectives and priorities ahead of election day

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- With the midterm election just one day away, residents are preparing to head to the polls. While some have already cast their ballots, others are planning to make their voices heard on Nov. 3. 

Emerson Kretzer, a local voter and community member, decided to vote early on Oct. 23 before leaving town for a trip. 

Kretzer said he wanted to make sure his vote counted, especially with the direction he feels the country is heading. 

“I think we really need to change what we have now; we are not going in a very good direction in our country and we need to change directions,” he said.  

Some of his biggest concerns include the rising cost of living, the ongoing war and getting the country back on track. 

For Kretzer, voting is one way to have a say in what is happening around him.  

“Don’t stay home, get out and vote because, like I said before, we need to have every vote count,” Kretzer said.  

Unlike Kretzer, Chris Gilmore is still waiting for Election Day to cast his ballot. He plans to head to the polls on Nov. 3. 

“I think because of voting you can send the right message on the way that you want the country to go,” he said.  

However, he believes local elections deserve just as much, if not more, attention than national elections.  

He hopes voters will pay closer attention to the decisions being made in their own communities.  

One issue that stands out to him on the ballot is Amendment 6, which deals with the referendum process.  

“Get out and vote because that’s the only way you can make things happen is by letting them know the way you want things to go in the area that you live in,” Gilmore said.  

Serena Wilson is also planning to vote on Election Day.  

"We deserve to have a decent president. We have ran into a couple of issues in the previous years to where the president that was sworn in, had to be sworn out," she said.

She hopes people come out and vote on the day of election and make their voices heard.

Wilson also encouraged voters to remain calm and not become upset if the election results do not turn out the way they hoped. 

As Election Day approaches, residents have different reasons for heading to the polls, but they share one common message: voting is an opportunity to make their voices heard.