A tearful New Jersey mother went to vote Tuesday morning wearing a scarlet robe and oversized white hood straight out of the dystopian Hulu series “The Handmaid's Tale.”
“What this outfit means to me is a way for me to fight back,” said Veronica McGrogan, a 50-year-old optician after voting at Bloomfield Middle School in Bloomfield, Essex County.
The acclaimed series' macabre costumes have become a symbol of protest against women's rights, particularly when it comes to abortion, and Ms. McGrogan believes that these rights are being threatened by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. He said he was concerned that this might be the case.
“I have a blended family. I have a wife. I have a transgender daughter. Everything [Trump’s supporters] I'm against it, so I'm checking off everything on the list,'' said the married mother of two, wiping away tears.
“And it's terrifying,” the woman said.
“I'm emotional because this is not a movie, this is not a series, this is not a show. This is actually real life,” she said.
“When I wake up tomorrow, this might not be my costume,” McGrogan said, grabbing a bright red robe. “This may be reality.
“I don't feel safe,” she said. “And to come here today and vote; [Kamala Harris]I'm contributing to her counting the votes and hopefully she'll be our next president,'' she said of Veep and the Democratic presidential nominee.
New Jersey receives 14 electors in the Electoral College. President Biden won the Garden State in 2020 with 57.34% of the vote.
