Election Day brought a range of scenes to polling places across the United States, from memorial tributes to live DJs, donated pizzas and voters arriving on horseback.

In Houston, hundreds of Texas voters paid tribute to Lorenzo Salgado Araújo, a Mexican citizen killed in an ICE operation in July. His son, Ronaldo, had voted early on October 19 and placed his “I Voted!” sticker at the site where his father died, alongside flowers, drinks and a shirt from his favorite football team. Other voters later left stickers and messages including “Get revenge with your vote” and “We voted for a better future.” Ronaldo told The Washington Post he was deeply moved that the community and city had voted with his father in mind.

Voters in Minneapolis also placed voting stickers at memorials for Alex Pretti and Renée Good, who were killed in ICE operations in the city in January.

Elsewhere, music gave some polling places a more festive atmosphere. At the Mountain Creek Branch Library in southwest Dallas, DJ Jazmine Baylor, known as DJ 4.0, played live music. She told NBC News the aim was to make voting exciting and joyful, adding that voters stopped to congratulate her and bring small gifts. The nonpartisan DJs at the Polls initiative brought performers to polling sites in 24 states to encourage people to vote.

The Pizza to the Polls initiative offered another kind of support: people could report lines longer than an hour and request free pizza. Priscilla Lopez, a 35-year-old healthcare worker, learned about the program on TikTok. After waiting an hour at a polling place in Los Angeles County, California, she ordered eight cheese pizzas and shared them with voters and poll workers.

In Arizona’s Coconino County, authorities used horses and mules to carry ballot boxes, a Starlink satellite and other equipment along a nearly 13-kilometer route to set up a polling place in Supai Village, within a Native American reservation. County officials said 38 polling locations were established in the reservation.

In rural Wisconsin, voter Jaime Mercado rode his horse about five kilometers from home to his polling place. He said the ride was partly intended to draw attention to the importance of voting, while also noting that fuel prices had played a role in his decision.

Sources: Observador.