Americans in a divided nation weigh in on the 2024 election

Tayo Daniel, Amy Garner, Kari Gordon and Christine Mann live in different states of the United States, have different professions and adhere to different political beliefs.

But this September, they were among millions of Americans doing the same thing: watching the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Their reaction, as well as that of four others featured in the new FRONTLINE documentary: American Voices 2024 — unfolds in the clip above, offering a panoramic view of voters’ feelings about the 2024 election, ranging from excitement to anger and, for some people, disillusionment with the US political system and both major party candidates.

That’s the case for Carey Gordon, a church pastor in Sioux City, Iowa, who says he can’t “vote in good conscience” for either Trump or Harris and will “probably” vote for a third party.

“Prepare to be annoyed,” Gordon says in the clip before the debate begins.

FRONTLINE first began following these Americans in 2020 as they navigated a year of extraordinary upheaval, from the pandemic to protests and elections. Their diverse perspectives and experiences as they battled COVID-19 in their communities that spring, responded to the murder of George Floyd that summer, and then participated in a divisive election and its aftermath that fall were chronicled in a documentary released in November 2020 year. American voices: a nation in turmoil.

Four years later, in the midst of another controversial and turbulent election season, American Voices 2024 updates the stories of those same Americans, exploring how their lives, hopes and fears have changed since 2020 in a country that remains deeply divided.

For Bryant Moore, watching the debate from the barbershop where he works in Portland, Oregon, the 2024 election is a matter of voting for “the lesser of both evils.”

Others express enthusiasm for Harris or Trump—like Christine Mann, a doctor who wears a Harris T-shirt at a debate watch party in Texas, and Amy Garner, a mom whose family home in Missouri is decorated with a Trump 2024 flag flying outside.

During the debate, Tayo Daniel, co-founder of a Minnesota nonprofit dedicated to digital equality, expresses his belief in the importance of supporting people who are working for change at the community level.

“We can’t sit and look at Republicans or Democrats—we have to look at ourselves and think, ‘What are we doing in our community, in our internal community?’ – he says.

See full story American Voices 2024. The documentary will premiere Oct. 29, a week before the presidential election, on PBS and online. Filmed by filmmakers from across the country, it’s a journey through geography, race and politics that sheds light on where the country has been—and where it’s going.

American Voices 2024 The full version can be viewed on the website pbs.org/frontline and in PBS app starting October 29, 2024 at 7/6c. It will premiere on PBS stations (check local listings) and further YouTube channel FRONTLINE that night at 9.10 and will also be available on PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel. American Voices 2024 is a FRONTLINE Production by Five O’Clock Films in association with DEC8 Productions and Mike Shum Productions. Producers: Qinling Li and Arthur Nazaryan. Writers: Qinling Li and Mike Shum. Directed by Mike Shum. Senior producers are Callie T. Weiser and Frank Kogan. FRONTLINE’s editor-in-chief and executive producer is Rainey Aronson-Rath.

Patrice Taddonio, Senior Digital Writer, FRONT LINE