ELECTION 2021: Cold, rain give a chilly start to Election Day in Henrico

Rain and slight wind created a brisk Election Day fall morning as voters from various Virginia districts went to the Henrico Recreation and Parks officers to cast their votes.

The Recreation and Parks Center polling place at 6800 Staples Mill Road in included ballots for the 7th Congressional District, 12th Senate District, and 72th and 73rd House of Delegates districts.

Outside, a large number of candidate signs surrounded the building. Voters frequently came and went and three people stood outside the entrance handing out Republican and Democrat sample ballots.

One of the voters who cast her ballot at the rec center was Chelsey Dixon. She works as a project assistant for a company that helps serve intellectually and developmentally disabled people and is recently married. Despite being skeptical toward the significance of voting when she was younger, she now tries her best to vote in every election.

“When I was younger I thought that my vote didn’t make a difference,” Dixon said. “As I got older and I really started to understand, [that] it’s my own little way of being able to contribute to the greater good.”

Another voter who cast her ballot at the rec center was Rose Fauntleroy. She is a retired litigation paralegal and has one daughter.

She has voted every election day since she was 18 and emphasized that a citizen’s vote is a way to use their voice.

“[Voting] is your voice, it’s your power, it’s your freedom,” Fauntleroy said. “You should exercise your voice regardless of who you vote for or what you stand for. It’s your voice. Yours. No one else’s, and no one can take that from you.”