Young voters cite abortion, climate change as important issues for this upcoming election
Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 7 from 6 a.m. through 7 p.m. Illustration by Olivia McCabe.
Tarazha Jenkins, Contributing Writer
Maeve Bauer, Contributing Writer
Virginia voters and candidates are prepping for an odd-year state election, with reproductive rights, education and a cluster of candidates on this November’s ballot.
23% of eligible young people cast a vote in the 2022 midterm election, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE.
“It would be unfortunate — because young people aren’t voting or getting involved for us to go backwards, for us to not keep all the amazing progress we made,” Arrington Evans, an undergraduate student and former intern for Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan said.
Evans said she wants to get more young people involved and informed.
“It’s about spreading information like wildfire, I don’t think people are aware of the incumbents and the work the incumbents have done that we should be fearful of,” Evans said.
For many students on campus, like Planned Parenthood Generation Action member Ray Balleisen and Ella Cabel, this is their first time voting.
When selecting a voter, Belleisen said they want someone who is focused on abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and the environment.
Cabel, a first-year student who is registered in Henrico, shared similar concerns to Balleisen, saying she wants “people that want to save the planet and treat people like humans.”
“Abortion, abortion 1000%, it’s a big topic right now. Abortion. Women’s health rights,” said Cabelt. “I want a pro-choice candidate.”
Each seat in the Republican-led House of Delegates and Democratic-led Senate are up for election, and each legislative chamber is up for grabs as Democrats or Republicans could become the majority of each.
The GOP currently holds a slim majority in the House with 49 Republicans and 46 Democrats, and the Democrats lead the Senate with 22 to 18, the General Assembly website states.
Senate Democrats jammed Republicans’ efforts to repeal restoring voting rights to individuals who were convicted of a felony, advancements toward Youngkin’s parental agenda, and bans on reproductive healthcare access, during the Governor’s first two years in office, according to the Washington Post.
Virginia is the only state in the South that has not restricted or banned abortion access since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade ruling. Gov. Youngkin and GOP legislators seek to change the state’s direction on abortion.
The Republican governor pushed for a 15-week abortion ban a day after the Roe decision was overturned. The ban would have exceptions for rape, incest and the mother’s life, according to Virginia’s Legislative Information System. Abortion is still legal in Virginia, however, the state bans abortion after 26 weeks and six days of pregnancy, Planned Parenthood website states.
Abortion and healthcare have been a “get-out-and-vote” topic amongst Virginia Democrats.
Susanna Gibson, a nurse practitioner, won the Democratic primary in June for House District 57. Lauren Chou, a spokesperson for Emily’s List, told the Associated Press the overturning of Roe v. Wade sparked Gibson’s political career.
Gibson is running against Republican David Owens, a businessman, to represent District 57 in a critical House race. The district includes suburbs outside of Richmond in Goochland and Henrico counties.
Screenshots of Gibson on Chaturbate, a pornographic website where viewers can watch a webcam livestream, were shared to the Associated Press, causing a scandal in one of the state’s most closely watched races. The videos showed Gibson and her husband having sex.
Gibson told the Associated Press that spreading the videos were “an illegal invasion of my privacy designed to humiliate me and my family,” and “the worst gutter politics.”
The Democratic candidate will push for “common-sense gun laws,” and increased compensation for educators in Virginia, according to her campaign website.
Owen supports Youngkin’s 15-week abortion restrictions.
“For us to think that it will never get to the point — with the current makeup we have now — of outlawing abortion, I don’t think we’ll get there,” Owen said in a recording obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “And personally, I am pro-life, and we need to start saving some of the unborn children.”
In the same recording, the GOP candidate said he will have “conversations” with State Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-12, about how they could change the current laws if he were elected to the House of Delegates.
Dunnavant, a practicing OB-GYN, will face Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-72, in Senate District 16, another high stake race over Henrico County.
Dunnavant supports abortion restrictions but “not a ban,” she said in a forum with VanValkenburg last week.
VanValkenburg said he supports the legalization of abortion.
“Rather than focusing on and prioritizing taking away women’s rights, we should be focusing on other issues like lowering healthcare costs,” VanValkenburg said at the forum.
Incumbent Del. Rodney Willett, D-73, debated with opponent Republican Riley Shaia this past Monday. Both candidates are running for House District 58.
Both candidates are against Youngkin’s 15-week abortion ban.
“While I respect everyone in my party’s opinion, I believe that we should allow abortion through the second trimester and then in the third trimester for the life or health of the mother,” Shaia said at the debate.
Republican Juan Pablo Segura will face Democratic prosecutor and former CIA officer Russet Perry, in one of the most expensive Virginia state elections. The candidates are vying to represent Northern Virginia Senate District 31, which includes parts of Loudoun and Fauquier county, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
Early in-person voting begins on Friday, Sept. 22. Voters can apply for an absentee ballot until 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27. The last day to register to vote and update voting information is Monday, Oct. 16, and Saturday, Nov. 4 is the last day to vote early.
Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 7 from 6 a.m. through 7 p.m.
More Races to Watch:
House District 82: Republican Del. Kim Taylor and Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams
(Petersburg and Dinwiddie County)
House District 21: Democrat Josh Thomas and Republican John Stirrup
(Prince William County)
House District 97: Republican Del. Karen Greenhalgh and Democrat Michael Feggans
(Virginia Beach)
Senate District 24: Democratic Sen. Monty Mason and Republican challenger Danny Diggs
(York County and portion of Newport News)
