Voters readied their ballots this past Tuesday at Virginia’s General Elections.
The nominees for Virginia’s GubernatorialElection included Democrat Terry McAuliffe, Republican Kenneth Thomas “Ken” Cuccinelli II and Libertarian Robert Christopher Sarvis.
ThenomineesforVirginia’s LieutenantGovernor Election included Democrat Ralph Shearer Northam and Republican Earl Walker Jackson, Sr.
The nominees for Virginia’s Attorney General Election included Republican Mark D. Obenshain and Democrat Mark R. Herring. Over the course of
Tuesday, Nov. 5, Greenwood Library broadcasted election coverage through the digital monitor in the atrium.
Throughout the fall semester,theStudent Government Association influenced students to utilize the online voter registration tool, TurboVote.
By 11:20 p.m. on Tuesday, with 99 percent of the precincts reporting, the live election results posted on Huffington Post reported that McAuliffe won as Virginia Governor with 47.9 percent of the votes, totaling 1,059,524 votes.
Cuccinelli lost with 45.5 percent of the votes with 1,004,993 total votes, and Sarvis lost with 6.6 percent of the votes with 145,756 total votes.
For Virginia Lieutenant Governor, Northam won 55.5 percent of the votes with 1,209,393 total votes and Jackson lost with 44.5 percent of the votes with 969,547 total votes.
For Virginia Attorney General, Obenshain won with 50.27 percent of the votes and Herring lost with 49.52 percent of the votes.
Longwood freshman Aleena Gharib voted on Tuesday. She said, “Voting is important because I feel that as a young person, I have most of the impact for the next four years, and I feel it’s important to just do my civic duty to vote.”
Gharib said,“All throughout high school, I was in a bunch of different clubs. I was in Young Democrats, and I’ve been influenced by my family as well to vote.” Speaking on why she believes students should vote, she said, “I think that more students should vote because so far ... elderly people vote the most, and by the time things kick in and the system starts rebuilding itself with a new governor, these people might not even be here anymore, so their decisions are what we’re going to have to deal with as younger kids.”
Longwood sophomore Thomas Seavey said that he did not vote in the General Election, saying, “I had no idea the election went on.”
“I don’t hate voting. I just don’t have a strong knowledge base in politics ... to make an educated choice on a candidate, plus I haven’t been keeping up with the news,” Seavey said, commenting that responsibilities like schoolwork kept him distracted.
Longwood sophomore Matthew Harrington said that he did not vote in the General Election, but added, “I like politics. I just didn’t vote. I don’t know why.”
Harrington commented that he will probably vote during the next election. He said that if students and professors spoke more about this latest election that he would have been more inclined to vote.
Gharib commented on how she felt about students’ opinions on the General Election, saying, “Of all the people I talk to ... I was the only person who cared.”
Gharib added, “It just makes me angry because I think it’s so important.”
Read more below to learn more about the nominees who ran for Virginia’s General Election:According to the Terry McAuliffe website, “McAuliffe is a businessman, entrepreneur and dad who has lived in Fairfax County, Va. for over 20 years.”
He was born in Syracuse, N.Y. and currently resides in McLean, Va. with his wife rebuilding itself with a new governor, these people might not even be here anymore, so their decisions are what we’re going to have to deal with as younger kids.”
Longwood sophomore Thomas Seavey said that he did not vote in the General Election, saying, “I had no idea the election went on.”
“I don’t hate voting. I just don’t have a strong knowledge base in politics ... to make an educated choice on a candidate, plus I haven’t been keeping up with the news,” Seavey said, commenting that responsibilities like schoolwork kept him distracted.
Longwood sophomore Matthew Harrington said that he did not vote in the General Election, but added, “I like politics. I just didn’t vote. I don’t know why.”
Harrington commented that he will probably vote during the next election. He said that if students and professors spoke more about this latest election that he would have been more inclined to vote.
Gharib commented on how she felt about students’ opinions on the General Election, saying, “Of all the people I talk to ... I was the only person who cared.”
Gharib added, “It just makes me angry because I think it’s so important.”
Read more below to learn more about the nominees who ran for Virginia’s General Election:
According to the Terry McAuliffewebsite, “McAuliffe is a businessman, entrepreneur and dad who has lived in Fairfax County, Va. for over 20 years.”
He was born in Syracuse, N.Y. and currently resides in McLean, Va. with his wife and five children. According to the Ken Cuccinelli website, “His experience as a small business owner and an attorney had uniquely prepared him for his role in the General Assembly.” He was born in Edison, N.J. and currently resides in Nokesville, Va. with his wife and seven children.
According to the Robert Sarvis website, “He has a diverse professional background, with experience as an entrepreneur and small- business owner, a software engineer and mobile-app developer, a math teacher, and a lawyer.” He was born in Fairfax, Va. and currently resides in Annandale, Va. with his wife and two children.
According to the Ralph Northam website, “Ralph Northam has a record in the Virginia Senate that uniquely qualifies him to effectively navigate the legislative process and protect our values that have too often been under attack with Republican control in Richmond.”
He was born in Nassawadox, Va. and currently resides in Norfolk, Va. with his wife and two children. Eastern Virginia Medical School. According to the E.W. Jackson website, he was born in Chester, Penn. and currently resides in Chesapeake, Va. with his wife.
According to the Mark Obenshain website, he was born in Richmond, Va. and currently resides in Harrisonburg, Va. with his wife.
According to the Mark Herring website, he was born in Johnson City, Tenn. and currently resides in Loudoun County, Va. with his wife and two children.
