It was a busy morning at Central High School in Shenandoah County on election day as voters made their way to the polls. WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports.
Voters on both sides of the aisle were jovial as they cast their ballots Tuesday morning. Republican and Democrat volunteers outside the precinct said voters seemed excited to participate.
Tara Nelson voted for Kamala Harris. Neither a Democrat nor a Republican, Nelson says she has consistently voted for the candidate, rather than the party. Nelson said the preservation of democracy was her main concern.
TARA NELSON: Mainly because I value the Constitution, and I value what America stands for. And it’s deeply threatened with the other party. Many people may not have cared for Kamala Harris, but I think it was more important that we need to vote for what we really do not need. We do not need that in office. He’s already proven himself to be traitorous and he is a convicted felon, so… I think the choice is kind of simple.
One voter, who asked to remain anonymous, said she voted for Trump because of his positions on smaller government and state’s rights.
VOTER: I stand behind the values of Mr. Trump, and I think he did a very good job in running our country for four years. And I think he did a very good job of keeping -- and attempting to keep -- the government smaller and recognizes now that we have a huge problem with big government.
Sabrina Schneibel, who volunteers for the Republicans, is the event chair for the Shenandoah County Freedom Caucus. She was happy with the early turnout.
SABRINA SCHNEIBEL: Oh, we have had great voter response. The same amount of enthusiasm, we’ve seen great support. We’ve seen some from both sides, but I’d say it’s probably leaning a little more Republican at this point. We’ve seen a lot of thumbs up, so I’m feeling very, very optimistic.
Karen Caspersen Is the precinct captain for the Democrats at Central High. She said that women’s reproductive health is on the ballot for many voters she’s talked to.
KAREN CASPERSEN: Women’s reproductive rights are important to a lot of people. One of the other precinct captains and I have been texting. He said one of the first people who came up was an elderly woman with a cane, and she went to the table and said, “I’m about to do something I’ve never done before.” The first time she’s ever voted for a Democrat. So I think women are a kind of big deal this year.
