The State of the Race - Fredericksburg
Voters are worried about the results of the election, but excited about doing their civic duty.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Email Adele
Nervous. Anxious. Stressed.
That’s how many voters in Fredericksburg this morning described how they were feeling about the election.
“I’m feeling true anxiety,” said Kim Bastress. She voted early but accompanied her husband, Brian Kistler, to the Dorothy Hart Community Center so he could vote on Election Day.
“I actually feel more nervous now that I’ve voted,” Kistler said. The couple planned to spend the day going on a long hike or bike ride with their sons to calm their nerves.
Carrie Sheffield, a volunteer with the Fredericksburg Republican Committee, described turnout as “slow but steady.” Poll workers said people were in line to vote before polls opened this morning, but there was no line by mid-morning.
“I think early voting has played a part in that,” Sheffield said.
Some voters, such as Emily Taylor, said they prefer to carry on the tradition of casting their ballots on Election Day. That part of the process “feels fun,” Taylor said, but she had a difficult time describing her feelings about this election.
“I feel … that’s a hard question,” she said. “I want to feel hopeful, but I also don’t want to feel unrealistic.”
Taylor was accompanied on Tuesday by her 13-year-old daughter, Sage Taylor-Bonds. Sage was in kindergarten during the 2016 election, Taylor said, and she and her husband told their daughter when she went to bed that Hilary Clinton would be president when she woke up.
“When that didn’t happen, it was pretty crushing,” Taylor said. So this time, she said, they’re trying to feel hopeful, but not too hopeful.
“If the election does not come out the way I want, I will still fight for what I believe in,” Taylor said.
Nate Copeland, 18, voted for the first time on Tuesday and said the process was “very stressful.”
“It’s our country,” he said. He identified his top issues as immigration and public education.
Theo Zotos was the only voter the Advance spoke with at Dorothy Hart who said he was “feeling good,” about the election.
“This election is important, but every election is important,” he said. He said “censorship and free speech” were the most important issues to him.
Hugh Mercer Elementary
People were in line to vote when polls opened at Hugh Mercer Elementary School as well and were voting at a rate of “about two or three per minute” by mid-morning, a student volunteer said.
Susan Brown, who was working at the Republican Committee table, described the mood as “cheerful.”
“I’m feeling hopeful,” she said. “There’s been a lot of enthusiasm at the early voting location in the past few days.”
But here as well, voters described feeling nervous and anxious.
“I feel this election is pretty important,” said Graham G, who asked not to use his full last name. “I’m nervous.”
He identified his top issues as “women’s bodily autonomy, gay marriage, and transgender rights.”
These are also important issues for Olivia Fowler, 18, a first-time voter, though she said there are “too many issues to choose from.”
She listed some more: “cutting taxes for servers, affordable housing…”
“She’s done her research,” Fowler’s mother said proudly, adding, “I hope it goes smoothly no matter what who wins. We have to respect our democracy.”
Another voter who did not give her name didn’t have any trouble coming up with her top issue.
“The economy, the economy, the economy,” the woman said. But on top of her worries about the economy are her worries about whether both sides will accept the results of this election.
“I’m for Trump personally, but that’s my opinion,” she said. “I have friends who are for Kamala. We need to accept the results, no matter who wins.”
But for one group of voters at Hugh Mercer, the very act of voting was the most significant part of the day. They were three new Americans, a man and two women, who gained citizenship in 2021 and were voting for the first time.
“We are very happy,” the man said. “Very happy and proud.”
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