This year, moms Sarah Koeppel, Cynthia Yossef, and Katherine Kopeland, take their part in a 35-year tradition of offering an election day bake sale at the Hunt Valley School precinct to support a 6th grade class end of school party.
On Election Day morning, The Connection turned out at the polls at several precincts to talk to voters. We asked why they chose to come out on Nov. 7, Election Day itself rather than for early voting. Here’s what they told us.
Zia Ullah who came to vote after his night shift, says “It’s our duty to vote as a citizen, and it’s easier to go to vote, and then go to sleep.”
Eddie Patton, who moved to the area in August, says, “I try to vote on Election Day to see if anyone else shows up on an off election year.”
Sisters, Lucy Little, a sophomore at Edison High School and Abi Little, a senior at Thomas Jefferson, were at the polls to be involved in the democratic process and support their candidate for School Board, Kevin Pinkney
Three year old Remy, a Chocolate Lab, is not eligible to vote, but enthusiastically greeted voters outside the polling place with a nose for the excitement of election day.
Educator Alison Wolfe, with her husband Bryce, and two year old son Asher, who has been to the polls four times though not yet eligible to vote, says it’s important to her to show her son the voting process, just as her mother showed her.
Ed Callahan, a 43 year resident of the area, shared that he likes “the convenience of the location at the school for voting rather than the early voting locations.”
Andrew MacKnight enjoys voting in person versus mailing in a ballot, saying “It feels different and I’ve never had to wait in 34 years of voting in northern Virginia.” He adds, since his wife is a teacher he wants to see Democrats continue on the school board.
Diane Heckert, “didn’t get around to voting early, but also like the tradition of voting on Election Day.” She wants to maintain those in office that are better for the country, and says, “That starts at the local level.”