As interviewees were sought on the sidewalks of the village, some people turned down comment on the election between Republican former president Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, but most were willing to talk.

“I’d like to maintain my mental health. I don’t talk about politics outside of me and my voting booth,” one man said, declining to be interviewed by the Enterprise.

Laurie Hall said women’s reproductive rights and preserving the freedoms Americans enjoy are key issues for her.

“I would hate to see our hard-fought-for rights lost,” she said, saying that the Equal Rights Amendment proposal on the back of the ballot is important to vote on, too.

Sue M. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

She said she doesn’t always vote for her political party — it’s more about electing the right person.

“I’m worried about what’s going to happen after the election, no matter what,” Hall said. “I hope that civility and respect for people’s individual opinions will prevail, even though I know it won’t.”

She said violence is not a political solution, and she’s scared seeing her country turn into one of the ones she feels sorry for, which she reads about in the newspaper.

A man who didn’t want to be named said women’s rights to not have the government make decisions for them and “having someone who isn’t crazy” are important issues for him. He said it is hard to vote for the economy because he doesn’t believe either candidate will do well on that front. In any case, he hopes every accepts the results, no matter what.

Phil Gallos said there’s some hyperbole around the election, but that it is important.

Elijah Betts (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

“There are people on both sides of the issue who say if we don’t choose this person it will be the end of the world,” Gallos said. “It may not be the end of the world, but if it goes a certain way, it’s certainly going to be the end of our government as we know it.”

He said there’s a need to improve the country — it has had horrible errors built into it from the beginning — but that disruptions can cause more harm than good.

“When you talk about revolution, no matter what kind of words you couch it in, lots and lots of people are gonna be at the painful end of that,” he added.

Gallos gave the example of getting rid of the Department of Education, which has been proposed. Trump has said he would eliminate the DoE and move education to the states. Gallos said this would result in a massive number of layoffs and hurt the economy.

Sue M., who didn’t want to give her last name, said affordable housing is an important issue for her in the election. She just moved to town from Florida. Here, she was able to find an apartment easier than she did in Florida.

Terry Reed (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

She also said she’s interested in what happens around the school system. She’s retired from years of teaching and on Monday, she landed a substitute teacher job with the with Saranac Lake Central School District.

Sue said she hopes people will support a female president.

Peter Dupree had more local concerns.

“Priorities? Anything that improves our local way of life up here is it,” Dupree said.

“And to keep these little guys going and happy,” he added, pointing to his 4-year-old grandson smiling and pushing a shopping cart through the parking lot.

John and Caroline Hastings (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

His hopes for the country after the election were simple: “Peace, man. Period.”

Jennifer Scofield said she knows things will be crazy after the election, regardless of who wins. But she also said people will probably calm down after a bit.

Terry Reed said abortion and women’s rights are important issues for her. She also hopes for more affordable groceries in the future, and for forgiveness for some school loans.

“I know people who have been really struggling, paying their school loans and they graduated from years ago,” Reed said.

John and Caroline Hastings are from New York City and on vacation in Saranac Lake.

Murphy Stringer (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

“To forget about the election,” John said.

He said he’s looking for good governance and less divisive rhetoric our of the election. Caroline said she wants “adult supervision,” a return to more mature democracy and for people to look beyond political affiliation.

Mike Navarra, who was walking his dog Sandy, said he’s hoping for a consolidated effort to help all Americans after the election, for new beginnings and eliminating old rhetoric.

He hears people say they can’t afford to live, but he said it’s always been that Adirondackers have to work two or three jobs.

“Americans are being fooled by politicians,” Navarra said. “Both sides are manipulative.”

He said it’s better to work together than be divided.

Murphy Stringer said he wants to see less instability after the election. The country is pretty divided, and he sees this election widening that divide.

Whoever wins, he wants inflation to go down and for a solution to the border crisis.

“Hopefully we can figure something out … no matter which way it goes,” he said. “Whether its home them, shut it down or open it up.”

Elijah Betts said he doesn’t follow politics much, but he will be voting today.

“I heard Trump was a good president, and I haven’t heard too much about Kamala being a good candidate,” Betts said.

When polls open at 6 a.m. today, these people and many more will be able to have their say in who will lead America for the next four years.

Laurie Hall (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Mike Navarra and Sandy (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)