Multiple students vote blue on Tuesday with reproductive rights in mind
Emily wood give a thumbs up after voting at the University Student Commons. Photo by Jay Stonefield
Katrina Lee, Contributing Writer
Campaign signs for both Democrat incumbent Donald McEachin and Republican Leon Benjamin surrounded the University Student Commons Tuesday morning, as students and Richmond residents gathered to vote for the 2022 midterm elections.
VCU’s campus resides in the 4th Congressional District, which has been represented by McEachin since 2017. The congressional seat was the only race on the ballot this year in the city of Richmond.
VCU alum Tahjana Shields said she has voted in every election since she turned 18. Shields said she was motivated to return to the polls once again on Tuesday to exercise her right and have her voice heard.
“I just feel like, you know, specifically Black Americans have always been underrepresented. So if I can offer my ability to seize the rights that were won by my ancestors, I feel like I can contribute to what they were fighting for,” Shields said.
Along with many others at the commons, Shields said she was there to vote for the incumbent, with reproductive rights as the issue on the forefront of her mind.
“My biggest issue is that a lot of Republican candidates never match up with my beliefs. And it’s not to say all democrats do,” Shields said. “But right now, that’s the best way to combat the right.”
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, dismantling the federal right for individual’s access to abortion and giving individual states the power to limit, ban or protect abortion rights.
Senior English student Chandler Girman shared Shields’ concern over the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Girman said she is personally affected by the decision, for she has an illness that can cause difficult pregnancies.
“There’s a high chance that I, at some point in my life, if I do get pregnant, I will need like an abortion for my own safety. And I’m really scared about the fact that might not be able to happen. So I figured that we should get a representative in there,” Girman said.
Girman said although she felt a responsibility to vote in this election, she sometimes feels like her vote is a “drop in the bucket.”
“I guess sometimes it doesn’t feel like it really does make a difference, but I’d rather take time out of my day especially on a day like this where we don’t have classes,” Girman said. “The university gave us the day off, specifically giving us time to do this. Yeah, I think it’s important just to give it a shot, why not try?”
Others at the polls felt more optimistic about their vote. Junior voice performance student Lilliana Dunn said she was motivated to vote on Tuesday because she hopes to change the current voting trends.
“Our generation is the worst to vote. So I am trying to make a difference as cheesy as that sounds,” Dunn said. “Everyone is like ‘it’s one person’ but this one person can change everything.”
In the 2020 presidential election, 18-24 year olds had the lowest voter turnout among voting-aged people at 48%. However, this was an 8.6 percentage point increase from 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Students were able to vote at other polling locations near campus, such as the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU and George W. Carver Elementary School, according to the student’s registered address on campus, according to the City of Richmond’s website.
Polling locations were open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to the Virginia Department of Elections website.
Richmond resident Kinsely Vamzamet said he decided to vote to maintain “basic human rights” and said he is worried about the state of our country. Vamzamet voted for McEachin, in opposition to the republican candidate, Leon Benjamin.
“My primary reason for voting is just to have a Democratic majority, so we can retain some of those rights,” Vamzamet said.
A total of 470 seats, 35 Senate seats and 435 House of Representatives seats were up for election, according to BallotPedia.
Interdisiplinary tsudies senior Emily Wood said she came early to the polls in order to “vote blue.”
“Especially at the local level, I feel like that’s where the most change will be and have the most direct effects,” Wood said.
