Roughly 244 million Americans are eligible to vote this year and those registered in Franklin County came out in swarms to cast their ballots in what pundits are calling the most important election in the nation’s history.

Greenfield City Clerk Kathy Scott said voter turnout, due to early voting and mail-in ballots, was already at 26% before the polls even opened at 7 a.m. at Greenfield High School. She said the 76% in 2020 was a record for the city.

“That’s the highest voter turnout Greenfield has ever had in an election, ever,” she said near the handful of concrete barriers the Department of Public Works placed in front of the entrance to prevent anyone from ramming a vehicle through the doors, given the current toxic political climate. But Scott said people had remained cordial and respectful Tuesday morning.

“Greenfield voters, Greenfield citizens — they’re great,” she said.

Electioneering laws prohibit anyone from wearing overtly political attire within 150 feet of polling locations during voting hours.

“We’ve had people who have had to turn their shirts inside out, take their buttons off, hats,” Scott explained.

Greenfield resident Deb Parks, who said she is an Independent, cast her ballot for Donald Trump in the presidential race.

“I want the border closed,” she said. “I just don’t want them to be able to come out like they did. I like immigration but you’ve got to do it the right way.

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“We’ve already got a housing situation that we’re in trouble with. It has to be done right,” she added. “If it’s not, you’re going to have trouble. I think something bad’s going to happen. We’ve already got terrorists in the country — all over.”

Parks also said she voted for Republican candidate John Deaton over incumbent Elizabeth Warren for U.S. Senate.

“I think he’ll do us good, because Warren’s not doing anything for us,” she said. “And I voted for her when she first went in, but she’s not doing anything.”

Parks said she voted for one Democrat — her cousin, Greenfield resident Scott Cote, who ran unopposed for reelection as the Franklin District’s register of deeds.

John Haletsky said he makes it a point to vote in every election and he cast his ballot for Kamala Harris in the presidential race because “there’s so much at stake” this time around.

“I think she’s a good person. I think she will do good for the country and she is fair and honest,” he said. “She’s been a [California] attorney general, [U.S] senator, prosecutor — all these things are important.”

Haletsky also said Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is “a breath of fresh air.”

Lilah Culver said the first election she was eligible to vote in was 2020, when she voted for President Joe Biden. On Tuesday, she voted for Kamala Harris.

“Obviously, Trump is Trump,” Culver said. “I believe that we are ready for a woman president. I love what she believes in, what she stands for and, let’s be honest, we cannot have four more years of that man.

“I believe she stands for making the country more united again, really uniting us. I think we’re very divided right now, by hate,” she continued. “So I think she really just wants to, really just kind of unite the country again and really help the American working people.”

Karen Downs also said she cast her ballot for Harris, with women’s reproductive rights and education funding being crucial issues to her.

“I have watched Trump’s rallies and listened to the hate, and I’ve listened to some of Harris’ and realized there’s hope,” she said.

In Orange, Russell “Rusty” Olari said he voted for Trump because he likes his border policy and believes the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East would not have happened if the former president was still in charge. Olari also said he voted for incumbents Warren and Jim McGovern, U.S congressman in the 2nd Congressional District, because he approves of the job they are doing. He said no one should complain if they aren’t willing to vote.

Barbara Simonelli said she is not particularly political but she appreciates the right to vote more now that she is older.

“I voted for Trump because he got shot at, so he might have gotten straightened out a little bit,” she said. “My prayers are the United States will never become divided states. This is a young country. It’s not even 300 years old.”

John Washiek voted early in the morning at 62 Cheney St. and provided a ride to his 20-year-old granddaughter, Jenna Dunphe, at around 1:30 p.m. so she could cast a ballot in her first election. Dunphe said she voted for Harris, as abortion access is a critical issue to her.

“I feel good. I was nervous, but also excited,” she said. “I was excited to vote for the first time.”

Washiek said he voted Democrat down the ballot.

“First of all, I don’t vote for somebody that has a ‘concept of a plan,’” he said, referencing Trump’s response when asked about health care during a presidential debate. “And he spreads fear. It’s all about fear. And direct questions he won’t answer — he evades.”

Rick Beaupre visited Franklin County Technical School in Turners Falls to vote for Harris, who he thinks is more in tune with matters important to young people.

“The other guy’s the worst thing to ever happen to the world, and will continue to be if he’s elected,” he said.

Beaupre also said Harris and Walz are, like him, gun owners and will protect gun rights. He said he is baffled as to why Trump is hailed as a champion of the Second Amendment. Beaupre also voted for Warren.

“She’s been awesome,” he said. “She’s just someone that believes in things that I believe in. She does the right thing, or she tries to, anyway.”

Kaia Jackson voted for Jill Stein because of the Green-Rainbow Party nominee’s pro-Palestine stance in the ongoing conflict. She also partially blames the Democratic Party for the bloodshed. She said she knew Massachusetts would vote Democratic and her vote would not be needed to give the state’s electoral votes to Harris.

Jackson went to the polls wearing a keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headdress that has come to symbolize pro-Palestinian solidarity.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.