The Presidential Primaries have moved beyond New Hampshire. They’re just the first taste of the 2020 election cycle which is likely to be contentious and divisive regardless of who wins. I used my opportunity to talk to those at the polls holding signs to see if they saw any chance for unity in America’s future. Here’s what they had to say:

Ed Martinez, “I think two years we’re gonna see a lot more unity after they see that Trump isn’t what everyone said he was. He wants the best that anybody can want for our nation.”

Tina Craig, “The division is not working. The division is breaking up families, it’s breaking up communities. It makes me very, very sad that we have such an incredibly divisive person running our country who just rips the other side apart.”

Frank Evetts, “You know they say Trump caused all this but actually it started with Obama. These people here- you can see them waving to us. Some people are nice. Some people are bad. I mean I wouldn’t do that to an opposing candidate but that’s what they do! The democrats seem to just hate Trump.”

Mike Tullan, “We need grassroots organizations that are getting the right information out to people. There’s so much misinformation right now and, you know, there can’t be unity when people aren’t looking at the same facts. You know I really hope we can put someone in office who is fighting for everyone and I don’t see that right now.”

Raven McAuliffe, “The division definitely existed before Trump but he’s made it a lot worse for us, kind of pushing the Republican party so far right. And other candidates in the Democratic party have also worked at that division too by pushing the party so far left. So hopefully putting someone more moderate in the Presidency will help bring both of the parties closer to the middle by giving the some common ground, something to work together on.”

One thing that most of the people interviewed agreed on was that they saw the media as playing a role in the disunity that’s occurring.

28-year-old Sarah McCarthy has been found dead after the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office put out a call to help locate her that circulated on social media. McCarthy had last been seen leaving work at the Fairgrounds Pizza and Pub just before midnight Friday night (2/14). She had been planning to meet a friend in Conway, New Hampshire. Shortly before 1pm on Sunday her vehicle was located by a driver who spotted it in the Ossipee River. Authorities believe she was speeding and failed to navigate a turn in the road. Sarah had called her family and friends shortly before leaving for Conway, they told authorities she had sounded disoriented at the time. The incident remains under investigation.

New Hampshire’s House Executive Departments and Administration Committee voted today (2/13/20) to approve the advancement of a bill that would ban the state from utilizing facial recognition technology. HB1642 is a bi-partisan bill that prohibits New Hampshire as well as its counties, cities or towns from using any form of facial surveillance technology. It would render evidence collected using such technology illegal and allows for punishment of public employees who violate the ban. The law comes amid worldwide debate surrounding such technology’s use by governments and companies.