+
upworthy
More

These 3 voters were either undecided or not voting. That changed after the debate.

The third presidential debate was dominated by loud disagreements between the candidates on guns, abortion rights, and — most unusually — whether or not it was important for the loser to concede the election.

Photos by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images (left) and Win McNamee/Getty Images.

For the third time, we asked our social media followers if the debate convinced them to switch their vote. While most remained set in the choice they had made before — and none said they switched from one major candidate to the other — a few who were previously undecided or planning not to vote were persuaded to come off the fence.


Here's why:

(Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Maegan Martinez, student, McAllen, Texas

Was voting for: Undecided, leaning Jill Stein

Now voting for: Hillary Clinton

Photos by Win McNamee/Getty Images (left) and Rick Wilking/AFP/Getty Images.

Her thoughts on the election, prior to the debate: "Ideologically, I was leaning toward Jill Stein after having been a staunch Bernie supporter. The choice was — and to some extent, still is — difficult because on one end I'm given a narcissist with no political experience, and on the other someone who seems a bit ingenuine. Then, in between, someone who didn't know what Aleppo was, and finally, Jill Stein."

"My questions were: Does [Stein] really have a chance? Is a vote for her an indirect vote for Trump? Should I just submit to the two party system after all?"

What convinced her to commit to Clinton: "Hillary conducted herself so magnificently last night — can words even describe it? She was poised, prepared, articulate, calm, and overall comported herself with dignity befitting of a president. She is everything a nasty woman like myself could ever hope to be and even her mistakes, I think, pale in comparison to what I saw on television yesterday."

Why she was never considering Trump — and why his performance in the debate reaffirmed her choice: "[Trump] has been absolutely erratic his entire campaign. Leaning forward to whisper insults into the microphone? Will he do that during roundtables with other world leaders?"

The two words from Trump that really hurt — and pushed her into the Clinton column: "Bad hombres."

"I am a Chicana woman living on the border of Texas and Mexico. My town is 98% hispanic and tons of the people I know are undocumented. Trump has been spewing hate speech about Hispanic people for months now and the things he says simply do not match up with what I see in my day to day life."

Her bottom line? "Last night he used the language of my people as an insult against my people in a way that was so incredibly shocking, I'm still in disbelief. The 'bad hombres' that need to get out? He wasn't talking about bad people in general. He was talking about Latinx people."

Jason Etgen, sales, Junction City, Kansas

Was voting for: Undecided

Now writing in: Bernie Sanders

Photos by Alex Wong/Getty Images (left) and Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Why he watched the debate: "I actually tuned in hoping Clinton could convince me to vote for her. I hadn't decided what I was going to do. With Bernie out and Jill Stein not anywhere close to a realistic option, I was just hoping something would get me excited to go out and vote in a few weeks."

What he was hoping for from Clinton: "I was just hoping for something genuine. Something that would make me say 'Ok. Maybe I can trust her to do what she says and what our country needs.'"

"But I didn't get that. And the more she talked the more I thought of her Wall Street ties, and of course the Clinton foundation scandals, and all the 'you're dreaming' talk during the primaries."

What he thought of Trump's performance: "The only thing Trump has ever said that I've been forced to agree with is that our trade policies have been disasters for the middle class, and that a woman who claims to be about women's rights shouldn't allow her charity to take money from countries whose human rights records and treatment of women is deplorable. And in no way do I think Trump can fix out trade problems. Ultimately, Trump is an unqualified twisted ball of hate shoved inside an orange peel."

What he plans to do now: "I live in a red state. Kansas is not going to anyone but Trump. I'm actually extremely sad by the number of Kansans I have talked to that support Trump. There's no room for a progressive voter in Kansas. So I'll do what's best for my conscience and just write in Bernie. Either way my vote doesn't count so why compromise?"

"It really bothers me that I can't vote for Hillary. I suppose I'm a feminist and I would love nothing more than to vote for the first female president. But I just can't vote for her."

If he lived in a swing state? "I would probably do what was necessary and vote for Hillary. I would hate myself, but I'd probably do it."

Corynne Jones, therapist, Cleveland, Georgia

Was planning on: Not voting

Now voting for: Hillary Clinton

Photos by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images (left) and Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images.

Why staying home on Election Day initially seemed like best option: "If you look at [Trump's] history, he's always been shady. From housing discrimination, to terrible business deals, to objectifying women. But I've been no great fan of [Clinton] either."

"They weren't comparable. As she said very succinctly herself last night, she has done much more for others over her professional career while his motives have largely been self-motivated. But she and her husband did enact legislation that have specifically led to the increased mass incarceration of black males. And the whole 'bring them to heel' thing. That disturbs me in a real way."

What she saw in Clinton's answers at the third debate: "I saw a woman who used facts to present her positions. I saw a woman with a plan. I saw a woman willing to learn. I saw a woman willing to reach out and speak to 'the lesser of our brothers' to figure out the best way toward viable solutions. I was also impressed that her closing statements was one of unity. Democrat, Republican. Libertarian, Green. Doesn't matter."

"We are all in this together. This election has brought out the very worst in people and we are going to get nowhere unless we are willing to listen and empathize. She did that repeatedly."

What she saw in Trump's performance: "A clueless man who had no idea how government functions or how laws are made, a man who could not take criticisms and would never admit clear wrongdoings, and a man that so clearly devalues women. The last straw for me was, when asked to make a unifying statement, he came out with that cringe worthy appeal to blacks and Latinos. It's clear he's never asked either group what their actual struggles are."

Why she finds Trump particularly unacceptable, now that she's preparing to be a mom: "By winning the election he would set this country back years upon years for LGBT, women, minorities, and science. It was a scary future. I absolutely could not sit home and call myself a good mother and provide any window for this man to dictate my daughter's future."

Early voting is already open in many states. Here's a handy guide to doing that, if you're among the lucky who can. For the rest of us, be sure to vote on Nov. 8!

Community

How to end hunger, according to the people who face it daily

Here’s what people facing food insecurity want you to know about solving the hunger problem in America

True

Even though America is the world’s wealthiest nation, about 1 in 6 of our neighbors turned to food banks and community programs in order to feed themselves and their families last year. Think about it: More than 9 million children faced hunger in 2021 (1 in 8 children).

In order to solve a problem, we must first understand it. Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, released its second annual Elevating Voices: Insights Report and turned to the experts—people experiencing hunger—to find out how this issue can be solved once and for all.

Here are the four most important things people facing hunger want you to know.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pets

Family brings home the wrong dog from daycare until their cats saved the day

A quick trip to the vet confirmed the cats' and family's suspicions.

Family accidentally brings wrong dog home but their cats knew

It's not a secret that nearly all golden retrievers are identical. Honestly, magic has to be involved for owners to know which one belongs to them when more than one golden retriever is around. Seriously, how do they all seem have the same face? It's like someone fell asleep on the copy machine when they were being created.

Outside of collars, harnesses and bandanas, immediately identifying the dog that belongs to you has to be a secret skill because at first glance, their personalities are also super similar. That's why it's not surprising when one family dropped off their sweet golden pooch at daycare and to be groomed, they didn't notice the daycare sent out the wrong dog.

See, not even their human parents can tell them apart because when the swapped dog got home, nothing seemed odd to the owners at first. She was freshly groomed so any small differences were quickly brushed off. But this accidental doppelgänger wasn't fooling her feline siblings.

Keep ReadingShow less
Photo by Long Truong on Unsplash
woman in white sleeveless dress kissing man in blue dress shirt


"It may be the most important thing we do in life; learn how to love and be loved."

At least, that's according to Harvard psychologist and researcher Rick Weissbourd.

He's been collecting data on the sex and love habits of young people for years through surveys, interviews, and even informal conversation — with teens and the important people in their lives.

Through it all, one thing has been abundantly clear:

"We spend enormous amount of attention helping parents prepare their kids for work and school," Weissbourd says. "We do almost nothing to prepare them for the tender, tough, subtle, generous, focused work of developing mature healthy relationships. I'm troubled by that."

Keep ReadingShow less
Sandra Maria/Youtube, Official Lives & Music Videos/Youtube

You can't not sing this song.

The music of Queen has a profound visceral effect on everyone. Few pieces of art can cause complete strangers to put aside their differences and come together in song, but by golly, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is one of them. It would be cheesy if it weren’t so absolutely beautiful.

This pertains even to non-English-speaking countries, it appears. Recently, thousands of Harry Styles concertgoers in Warsaw, Poland, began cheering as those iconic beginning piano notes penetrated the air.
Keep ReadingShow less

Mom shares PSA on about being a sports mom while also working

Being a mom can be challenging enough, but when you add in working full time and kids activities, it feels like you need a few clones to help you out. Recently we signed our youngest up for soccer, he's 5-years-old and happens to be ten years younger than his closest sibling, so I've done the sports stuff.

At one point I was working full-time while my daughter took tap, ballet and jazz while also on a soccer team and my two older boys played soccer, baseball and football. We rarely saw the inside of our home unless it was to sleep, I'm not even sure I knew how my stove worked during those years. Now here we are starting all over again.

So when Mo, a mom running the TikTok page Rex & Mo posted a video ranting about how impossible it feels to add organized activities for kids into the mix, parents everywhere related, myself included.

Keep ReadingShow less
@mychal3ts/TikTok

This is "the power of the library"

Editor's Note: This story discusses suicide. If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is in need of help, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.


Libraries aren’t just a place to score free books. For many, they provide safe refuge.

This secondary offering has lately been overshadowed by political controversy, as there has been a laser focus from conservatives on the types of literature libraries provide, especially titles that pertain to LGBTQ and racial topics.

But one librarian’s retelling of a life saving encounter reminds us of how essential these community spaces really are—and it has nothing to do with books at all.

Keep ReadingShow less

When founder Zack Gazzaniga decided to start his own tortilla chip company, Zack's Mighty, his mission was to create a delicious chip that didn’t break in guacamole.

His quest to create the perfect chip took him to Italy, where he acquired Otto File flint corn (a very flavorful variety of flint corn now mostly grown in Italy for polenta), and then back to the U.S. to plant and grow it.

When connecting with farms to partner with to grow the corn, Zack began learning about regenerative agriculture and its benefits for the soil and climate. “Regenerative agriculture made so much sense to me that I decided then that this would be a pillar of our business and a mandate that everyone who grows our corn follows regenerative practices,” he says.

Regenerative agriculture combines conservation and rehabilitation practices to improve farmland soil and combat climate change. These practices include less tillage, crop rotation, cover cropping, and composting.

One of the farmers Zack connected with to grow organic and regenerative corn was Bryce Irlbeck in Manning, Iowa. “We began [fully] regenerative farming in 2019, but have been doing different aspects such as cover cropping and crop rotation for 10 years.”

Bryce’s farm in Iowa was one of Zack’s Mighty’s partner farms that spent two years in partnership with A Greener World, evaluating farm standards, plans, and auditing procedures to receive Certified Regenerative certification. This certification provides a whole-farm assurance of regeneration and sustainability, measuring benefits for soil, water, air, biodiversity, infrastructure, animal welfare, and social responsibility. As of August 2022, all of Zack’s Mighty partner farms were officially certified.

Bryce’s advice to farmers looking to begin regenerative practices is to first “focus on figuring out a [crop] rotation since each area of the country will be different due to markets and weather patterns.”

Zack’s Mighty is thrilled to have cultivated a supply chain that uses organic ingredients and Certified Regenerative corn — ensuring its customers can be proud to align their values with their purchase.

“Our mission to make the best tortilla chip on the market starts with our ingredients and how they are produced. We want to assure our customers that we value transparency and source only high-quality ingredients to create delicious products that are truly good for the planet,” says Zack.