RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – At the Henrico Western Government Center, hundreds of people showed up and waited in line to cast a ballot on the first day of early voting in Virginia.
The voter registrar there says more than 350 people showed up before 9:30 in the morning.
“Early voting is doing great. It’s an exciting time in elections,” said Mark Coakley, Henrico County voter registrar.
It’s the same story at the Office of Elections in Richmond with droves of people wanting their voices heard.
“When I got here this morning, the parking lot was packed. A lot of people in line,” said Keith Balmer, Richmond Office of Elections.
Voting officials are hoping for turnout levels like we saw in 2020.
That’s when more than 75% of registered voters showed up to vote.
“It’s super exciting to see all these people here on the first day of voting absolutely,” said Melissa Logsdon, an early voter in Richmond.
Voters point to a variety of issues that brought them out.
“What brings me out here today is my fight for democracy. There are people who are not taking it seriously,” said Logsdon.
And they are all on the same page about the importance of voting.
“I don’t like to waste time. You know I really want to get ahead of the curve. I want my vote to count,” said Queon Martin, an early voter in Richmond.
“I hope Americans have an excellent mind to make a good choice because it’s very, very significant,” said Yolanda Russo-Menna, an early voter in Henrico County.
On the ballot this year in Virginia are races for president, all 11 congressional districts, a Senate seat, an amendment to the Virginia Constitution, and a variety of local offices.
If you can’t make it in-person, you can also request an absentee ballot to put in the mail or in an official dropbox.
Those in line are thankful the kickoff to early voting didn’t come with any challenges.
“It went smooth. It went totally smooth. All the workers, they were very helpful and it didn’t take long at all,” said Martin.
“Very very easy. there’s no difficulties,” said Russo-Menna.
“Pretty easy, it was nice,” said Judy Fulton, an early voter in Henrico.
Early voting runs until Nov. 2, with Election Day on Nov. 5.
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