By Lily Arnold, Christina Han and Sutton Travis
There was a sense of urgency as voters eagerly waited 45 minutes to cast their votes in Lexington, Va. The line outside the Piovano Building extended down the block and cars lined both ides of the road, creating heavy traffic on Spotswood Drive.
“We had a huge turnout,” said polling supervisor Bob Lera. “We’re processing about 150 voters per hour.”
Toward the front of the line, Lexington mayoral candidates Frank Friedman and Chuck Smith campaigned to voters.
Lexington City Manager Noah Simon assisted senior residents who were unable to wait in the long line by bringing polling machines to their vehicles.
Virginia Military Institute cadets and Washington and Lee students set aside time to vote between classes. An organized effort by Heritage Hall senior living facility transported residents to vote.
“We don’t get to leave until the last person who is in line at 7 o’clock has voted,” said Lera, “so we’ll probably be here till 9.”
At Faith Mountain Baptist Church in Rockbridge County there was very little waiting to vote, but people were just as enthusiastic to cast their ballots. Elleanor Dorsey, chief of the voting precinct there, said more than half their registered voters had already come out by 4 p.m. today.
“I think we’ve had a better turnout this year than we’ve had in the past,” said Dorsey.Many residents expressed patriotic sentiments, saying it was their civic duty to vote. “This election is so important that everybody get out and vote,” said Rockbridge County resident John S. Lewis. “Without voting, you don’t have any rights. You’re throwing away your rights.”