Brookland voters weigh in on several races

Brookland District polling locations have had voters flowing in and out since 6 a.m.

Healthcare, the nation’s economy and President Donald Trump are among the many issues that encouraged voters to come out to the polls today.

Voters in the Brookland District are selecting a new representative to the Henrico Board of Supervisors during this election (either Democrat Danny Plaugher or Republican Dan Schmitt), and they are also part of the Seventh Congressional District, meaning their votes will help determine the outcome of the Dave Brat - Abigail Spanberger race.

“We just need a change,” said Willia Robinson, who has been closely watching and listening to the current candidates. “Things just have to be better. It’s so much now, I can’t really even think about it, but there has to be a change.”

Robinson was happy about her vote, and hoped her wish for a change would come true as a result of voting today.

Brookland District voter Kim Sorboen echoed Robinson’s hope for alterations in the government after today’s election.

Sorboen’s reason for casting her ballot this morning was Trump, in general. The country’s current political climate completely influenced her decision to vote, she said.

Other Seventh Congressional District voters came out to show their support for the president and to ensure that his agenda remains on track after today.

Stella Luck was one of them.

“I wanted the Republicans to have a better chance because I think the more we have on Trump’s side, the more that he can get done,” she said. “I just felt like every vote counts.”

José Perez, too, emphasized the importance of President Trump’s supporters coming out and voting today -- especially in Virginia.

“I want to keep the economy going the way it is now,” he said. “We need to get the Senate back completely, and we’ve got to keep the House so that the Trump agenda keeps moving forward. I know this state’s a little bit purple, but I’m hoping that the other ones tag along and at least keep the House and the Senate.”

Arnold Woodruff, another Seventh Congressional District voter and self-proclaimed information junkie, explained that although a lot of issues brought him out to the polls, President Trump was certainly a catalyst.

“I vote all the time, anway,” Woodruff said. “But for sure, this time, to go against him. To be against Trump and his minions.”

Woodruff’s works in the public mental health field, so he hoped for the expansion of Medicaid, which he believes Brat and the Trump administration are threatening to dismantle, if they can.

“There’s not very many issues where I wouldn’t be on the side of Abigail Spanberger,” he said.

For Billy Goff, today is the most excited he has been to vote in the last 40 years. He walked out of his polling location at Johnson Elementary School proudly, with a smile spread across his face.

Also a frequent voter, Goff similarly attributed casting his ballot today to the Trump administration. Goff believes the government needs a functioning system of checks and balances, and that common decency is lacking in the government as well. He stated his frustration for his Native American brothers, many of whom are dealing with voter suppression at the moment.

“Are we gonna look at our brother and turn our back on our brother that is hungry?” Goff asked. “I don’t think so. That’s not what America is all about.”

Young voters in Brookland District are also well aware of the impact their votes could have on tonight’s election results.

Nusreta Passe thinks that because she is young, people quickly tend to assume that she is uneducated. This is why she believed it was crucial to cast her ballot this morning. Passe hopes for people to realize that Virginia is here for everyone, not just a specific group of people, she said.

Many of today’s voters expressed their satisfaction with the voter turnout they were witnessing at the polls.

“By the look of what I’m seeing here, I feel like we’re gonna take our country back today, and put it back where it’s supposed to be, where our allies respect us again, where the world respects us again,” Goff said.