What issues are bringing record numbers of Virginia voters to the polls?
The ongoing federal government shutdown, increased immigration enforcement and the role parents play in public schools in Virginia were among the issues on local voters’ minds during a recent WTOP sampling at a Loudoun County early voting satellite center.
The number of early ballots cast so far this year is at a record high for a nonpresidential election in Virginia, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, or VPAP.
During a mid-morning visit with voters outside the Dulles South Recreation Center, one of Loudoun County Office of Elections’ four early voting satellite locations, WTOP asked voters which issues prompted them to cast their ballots before the Nov. 4 general election.
Most cited convenience as the reason they decided to vote early in person, but the issues they cared about most varied.
One voter specified the ongoing federal government shutdown as his prime reason for voting, because it affects his livelihood.
“When the government gets shut down, contractors also get shut down,” he said. “I had skin in the game, to be honest.”
Another voter characterized himself as a retired civil servant: “I’ve been through many, many shutdowns before, but this one is just very different, and very bad.”
He said he has family and friends working in the federal government, which has traditionally been a predictable, stable work environment.
“They never thought they’d ever be impacted, even if it shut down. Usually, there’s an answer that’s in the works, but nobody’s working it,” he said.
The role of parents in schools
One husband and wife, who introduced themselves as conservative Christians, said their votes reflected the candidates’ positions “on the more conservative issues — obviously abortion, and also current issues in some of our public schools, as far as gender identity and locker rooms.”
His wife concurred: “As parents, we want our voices heard. And we want to fight for our kids, to have a say in our kids’ education and any kind of policies that affect them, especially within the confines of school.”
The retired civil servant said that his children are now grown. He questions whether children are actually benefiting from the “parents matter” issue that buoyed Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s election and gubernatorial term.
“Parents first? Some get too involved. I think it’s either crossed the line or has touched the line too much,” he said.
Another man said that he doesn’t have any children, “but I do recognize it as something that is important to the rest of the community.”
Internal conflicts about immigration
Most of the people WTOP spoke with said the increased law and immigration enforcement agents around the country is an intensely political issue.
“I would like to see discussions and real solutions, rather than some of what I’ve seen,” said the government contractor.
“Most of the people that are getting deported are getting their lives torn up,” he said. “They’re as American as we are, I think — it’s just that somewhere either their parents didn’t have the papers or didn’t necessarily do things right.”
The conservative husband and wife both said they believe there’s “a right way to come into the country.”
According to the wife, “By coming to the country illegally, you already are breaking the law by coming in.”
And while she “has no problem with criminals going the right way,” she doesn’t believe the increased enforcement has been limited to criminals.
“I do have a hard time with that. I feel like the Trump administration said they were going after the criminals first, and they have, but I also think that they have opened that up,” she said.
“I don’t think they’ve been as honest that they’ve been coming after people who are hard-working parents that are probably working double jobs and trying to keep their family afloat,” she said. “As a mom of a lot of kids, it’s heartbreaking to see families pulled apart.”
She said she feels for families that are being impacted by the increased enforcement: “The truth is, we let them come in illegally, that’s our fault for doing that. So you can’t even blame them.”
When asked if the immigration issue was important to him, the retired civil servant’s guttural reaction suggested saying it was important to him was an understatement: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement isn’t being monitored. The lack of oversight across the administration is just awful.”
As for how long the increased immigration enforcement might last, “I would pay attention to what the governor says, whoever the governor turns out to be. That, and sending National Guard from Virginia into another state,” he said.