In photos: Virginians line up for hours on first day of early voting
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A long line of voters wait to cast their ballots at the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax, Virginia, for the November presidential election on Friday, the first day of early voting in the state. Photo: John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images
In some parts of Virginia, people waited in line up to four hours to cast their ballots on the first day of early voting, according to the Washington Post.
The big picture: The COVID-19 pandemic seems to already have an impact on how people cast their votes this election season. As many as 80 million Americans are expected to vote early, by mail or in person, Tom Bonier, CEO of TargetSmart, a Democratic political data firm, told Axios in August.
- Many of the voters who spoke with the Post said they planned to vote for Joe Biden.
- Because of the pandemic, more people could vote-by-mail. However, President Trump has consistently railed against vote-by-mail and made unsubstantiated accusations that mailed ballots will lead to rampant voter fraud.
- "I don't want my vote to be thrown away," Adam Pierre told the Post, saying he feared Trump undermining the process and that it was better to vote in person.
Voters were able to cast their ballots beginning Friday in four states: Virginia, South Dakota, Wyoming and Minnesota.
