GROSSE POINTE PARK, Mich. -- Two Black women voting for the first time in their suburban Detroit district say they were concerned about voting in an overwhelmingly white area, but the experience went surprisingly well.
Mother and daughter Chay and Theresa Pettaway, whole live in Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., say voting on Tuesday (Nov. 3) went smoothly for them at the suburb's Lavins Activity Center.
“This experience was actually really good compared to when I first registered to vote,” Chay Pettaway said. Her first voting experience occurred in Saginaw, an industrial town about an hour and a half north of Detroit. “The population was even smaller there for minorities and it was not pleasant. I was called the N-word, I was shoved so I was a little leary [about today] to be honest.”
RELATED: Your Vote, Your Story: Black Voters Share Their Stories Of Casting Their Ballots
Chay said that she also had an issue with an absentee ballot being sent to her house without her knowledge but election workers were very diligent about getting the ballot thrown out and assisting her with casting a valid ballot. 

She said her mother has a pre-existing heart condition, but poll workers accommodated them and offered seating for her because she has difficulty walking far.. But Theresa Pettaway, 54, was determined to cast her ballot because she does not see a future with the current president.
“I’m really not a political person but I don’t think I can live with another Donald Trump,” she said, noting it was the second time she had cast a ballot in 30 years. “I had to put my personal issues aside just off the strength of [that].”
She did not go into detail about her heart condition but they said they were concerned about in-person voting during a pandemic that puts people with pre-existing conditions at a higher risk. 

“I don’t think we can survive another four years of this,” Theresa said. “But I’ll risk my life to fix it.”