A circuit court judge has ordered the Waynesboro electoral board to certify the city's election results after canvassing is complete. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi caught up with voters and poll workers there on Election Day.
Just over 500 people had cast their vote in person at the Waynesboro Public Library as of 11 a.m. Pages from the Fishburne Military School directed voters to the polls. Latrona Garnett is the chief official there.
LATRONA GARNETT: All I can say is here in Waynesboro, we are very, very dedicated to making sure your vote counts correctly. We do not do anything that is against any rules, so you can be assured that whatever vote you cast will be counted, and there won't be any discrepancies with it.
Outside, Don Solimini told me he was confident that his vote would be counted accurately. He voted for Kamala Harris for president.
DON SOLIMINI: Whether I agree with her, all of her policies, or not, it is a function of, I'd rather see the democracy go on, and I don't see that going on with him.
Melinda Craig, a 47-year-old realtor, came to vote with her 21-year-old daughter, Savannah. As they walked out of the library, they joked that their votes probably canceled each other out.
SAVANNAH CRAIG: As a woman, I think that the woman's right to their own body is important, and I think that certain candidates are less, have less of an importance on female autonomy than others.
MELINDA CRAIG: I'm selfish, I'm looking at it from a financial standpoint, a lot of it. I've watched how much my financial situation has changed in the last several years, and I'm trying to find a way out of that. So that's a very big thing for me. I'm also very big into the church. So it leans me one way – the opposite.
Melinda said she gives her kids the freedom to choose whatever they think is best.
A steady stream of voters motivated by a variety of issues turned out to Buford Middle School in Charlottesville on Election Day. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi has more.
Construction and the democratic process were underway at the middle school on Tuesday. Chief Official Amy Mack said about 600 regular ballots and 70 provisional ballots had been cast as of 1 p.m. Several first-time voters were at the precinct, including 19-year-old Rosé Solomon. She voted for Kamala Harris and is a member of the trans community.
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ROSÉ SOLOMON: I feel honored, because I always thought that this time would come, but I didn't think it was going to come right now. … It's really empowering to see … people of my community trying to vote for another woman who stands for their rights.
Her mother, Danielle Solomon, made sure she got to the polls.
ROSÉ SOLOMON: She kept waking me up being like, it's your first time to vote, come on! Come on, hurry up!
DANIELLE SOLOMON: It was very important, because I wanted to make sure that my daughter comes for her first time voting, be a big support of her community. … I'm very big on making sure that a female gets in. I voted for Hillary, and am trying to give another woman another shot, type of thing.
Ryan Emison, a recent University of Virginia grad, said he voted for Donald Trump, although he wasn't happy about the choice.
RYAN EMISON: I'm more concerned about the economy and stopping World War III from breaking out. So I voted based off of how I thought his policies are going to affect me and our country at large, rather than on the human being that he is. … He's the only president in the last 50 years to get Israel to sign a peace deal with another Arab country … and I don't have confidence in our current administration to settle what's going on in the Middle East.
Nana Akygampong-Ghartey came out with his family to vote for Kamala Harris. He said leaders must be wise enough to make decisions that benefit the people.
NANA AKYGAMPONG-GHARTEY: Somebody may ask – "let's make America great again." When did America become great? When we were having slavery? Or … when we were dealing with the Japanese, was it when we were great? At what particular point did America become great so that we should become great again?
The reliably blue Charlottesville electorate went for Joe Biden in 2020 with 86% of the vote.
The economy was on the top of voters' minds at one Albemarle County polling place today. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
At Crozet Elementary School, Chief Official Lynn Rutherford-Snow said there was a line out the door when they opened at 6 a.m. Nearly 200 people voted in that first hour. Since then, it's been –
LYNN RUTHERFORD-SNOW: Very steady. Constant, constant, one right after another. … We're thinking anywhere between 1,500 to 2,000 are probably going to roll through Crozet 601 today.
That would be at least half of the active registered voters in the precinct. The three voters I spoke with all cast their ballots for Donald Trump. They were primarily concerned about the economy.
Christine Von Lewinski wants –
CHRISTINE VON LEWINSKI: Definitely for inflation to decrease, and just for the economy to get back on track. … The grocery store – it's incredible. Like, eight dollars for cream cheese is just ridiculous.
Twenty-year-old Eli Scarbrough is a student at Christopher Newport University. He drove three hours to come vote, motivated by –
ELI SCARBROUGH: The gas prices and also, just the economy by itself … and even with COVID, he still did a pretty good job, even though – if he just shuts up sometimes. That's my main thing, but I just think under the economy, we were a lot better and we were making a lot more money.
Rachel Collins agreed, it's about –
RACHEL COLLINS: The economy, absolutely, the economy. I have three grandchildren, seven children, so yeah, I'm worried about their future. … The border, that's another thing.
In 2020, over 65% of Albemarle County went for Biden – but the Crozet precinct favored Trump two to one, based on in-person votes.
