By Ben Lefkowitz and Aidan Brennan
LYSANDER, N.Y. (NCC News) — The 2026 midterm elections brought voters of all ages to the Lysander Auditorium in Baldwinsville. For some, it was their first time casting a ballot.
Lucas Clay, a junior at Le Moyne College, did not vote in the 2024 presidential election but decided to cast his first ballot this year. Clay admitted he felt nervous about the voting process.
“The process, like putting the ballot in the machine, I didn’t want to mess things up,” Clay said.
Bradd Walker has served as Lysander’s polling manager for the past three years and has worked elections for more than 18 years. His advice to first-time voters like Clay is simple: Don’t overthink it.
“Relax, you’re one and three hundred and thirty million, don’t get too uptight, but absolutely vote,” Walker said.
Walker’s nearly two decades of election experience has given him a firsthand look at voter turnout over the years. For Walker, greater participation means a clearer picture of where Americans stand.
“The more people you get to vote you get the true mood of the country,” Walker said. “The fact that so many people are voting right now, compared to other midterm elections, is awesome.”
But while voters continue to make their voices heard, some believe the country is more politically divided than ever. First-time voters like Clay are entering a political landscape that longtime voters say looks vastly different from when they first cast their ballots.
“I think this country is so divisive right now, and I have never seen it like this. When I voted for my first presidency, you had two sides, but we were all still Americans,” one voter said.