Election Day!

🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny. High of 74, low of 51.

🎧 Sounds like: "People Have the Power" by Patti Smith.

🎂 Happy belated birthday to our members Michele Kelton and Sara Ullman!

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Today’s newsletter is 1,079 words — a 4-minute read.

Election Day is here.

Why it matters: The outcome today could reshape the state constitution on abortion, marriage equality and voting rights — and help determine control of the House.

The big picture: Today, voters decide three constitutional amendments and pick members of Congress while Richmond and Chesterfield voters weigh new taxes for school construction.

• Some Richmonders and Chesterfield residents will also choose a School Board member.
• Find your voting sites here and look up your congressional district here.
• Polls are open from 6am-7pm.

Here's what to know:

📜 The constitutional amendments

Reproductive rights: Would protect abortion and reproductive health care decisions, including birth control and miscarriage management.

Marriage equality: Would constitutionally protect gay and interracial marriage.

Voting rights: Would automatically restore voting rights after someone convicted of a felony completes their prison sentence.

🗳️ Who's on the ballot?

Every Richmond-area voter will see races for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House.

U.S. Senate: Democratic Sen. Mark Warner is seeking his fourth and final term against Republican Bert Mizusawa.

U.S. House: Most Richmond-area voters are in the 1st and 4th Congressional Districts, with Goochland and parts of Hanover in the 5th.

• 1st District: Incumbent Republican Rep. Rob Wittman faces Democrat and Henrico's Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor.
• 4th District: Democratic incumbent Rep. Jennifer McClellan faces Republican Robert Murray Jr. and independent Joan Bell.
• 5th District: Republican incumbent John McGuire is up against attorney and former congressman Tom Perriello and independent Cooke Harvey.

💰 1% sales hike for school construction

Richmond and Chesterfield voters — along those with 45 other localities — will decide whether to give their governments the authority to add up to a 1% sales tax dedicated to public school construction and major renovations.

What we're watching: For the results, as soon as the polls close.

Keep reading for the Richmond and Chesterfield School Board races

If Virginia's ballot questions make you feel like you need to go back to school, you're not alone.

Why it matters: Virginia's statewide ballot measures average a 25th-grade reading level, well above the national average of 17th grade, according to a new Ballotpedia analysis.

• That's nine grade levels beyond a bachelor's degree — at least theoretically.

By the numbers: Of the three constitutional amendments before Virginians:

• Question 1 — reproductive rights — comes in at a 20th-grade level.
• Question 2 — which would remove the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage — is the easiest to read: a 13th-grade level (aka, some college).
• But Question 3 — restoring voting rights to people convicted of felonies — clocks in at a staggering 42nd-grade reading level, per Ballotpedia. We think that's like three lifetimes of school.

😵‍💫 Stunning stat: At 93 words, Question 3 is also one long sentence packed with legal language about voter qualifications, incarceration and mental competency.

The bottom line: Virginians won't need a doctorate to vote today, but brushing up with a little homework before you head to the polls couldn't hurt.

Full story

A driver crashed into a utility pole last night, triggering a power outage that knocked out streetlights and caused low water pressure in the Fan, Museum District and Northside, Sabrina reports.

• Water remains safe to drink. The driver's condition is unknown.

📸 Henrico workers removed the county's 120+ Flock cameras Saturday after the company missed its deadline to do so, weeks after canceling its contract. (X)

• Flock must still remove the poles and cover the county's removal cost, per the county.

💸 A Colorado data center firm paid nearly $10 million for a 180-acre site on the Powhatan-Chesterfield line approved for a data center campus last year. (BizSense)

👏 Gov. Spanberger clapped back at Elon Musk after he called her "racist and sexist" due to the lack of white men in her Cabinet, saying it "says a lot more about him" than her administration. (Times-Dispatch)

🍳 The Texas Inn will reopen this week as the Lynchburg-based diner's first franchise after a group of employees agreed to buy the Museum District location. (BizSense)

🌉 Speaking of Texas, the Texas Beach pedestrian bridge is open for the first time since 2022 — for now. The city still needs to do work on it and said it will close it again, possibly without notice. (The Richmonder)

Richmond-area voters cast more early ballots in this year's midterms than in last year's governor's race, per an Axios analysis of Virginia Public Access Project data.

Stunning stat: Nearly 30,000 ballots were recorded across the region in the final two days of early voting alone — the busiest stretch so far.

By the numbers: More than 219,000 early ballots were cast across Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover, which include parts of the competitive 1st and 5th Districts.

• That's nearly 12,000 more than last year's gubernatorial election and an 82% jump from the 2022 midterms, per VPAP.

What we're watching: More early votes doesn't necessarily mean higher overall turnout.

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Regardless of the outcome of today's elections, Richmonders have something to look forward to: this weekend's inaugural Richmond Pickle Party.

Why it matters: The briny bash takes over the Arts District and Jackson Ward for three days of pickle-themed food, drinks, art and entertainment.

Here are five ways to relish the festivities:

🥒 Dilly dallying: The fun kicks off with a First Friday block party featuring more than 40 vendors serving and selling all things pickle.

🎸 Pickle performances: Catch a pickle-themed rock opera Friday at Gallery5 or join the pickle parade outside GWARbar.

🎨 Pickle art: Gallery5 will have an Art of the Pickle exhibition.

🍕 Pickle dishes: Grab some pickle pizza at Bar Solita and a "What's the Dilly" cocktail at Lillie Pearl.

💐 Pickle your fancy: Get a pickle tattoo or enter to win a vibrating pickle.

The bottom line: This weekend's festival is sure to be a big dill.

Keep reading for all the deets

🍕 Karri is looking forward to Election night pizza, because that's the only food any working journalist is allowed to eat on the first Tuesday in November.

👑 Sabrina is obsessed with the Richmonders who dressed up as the state's boob flag for Halloween this weekend.

Thanks to Alexa Mencia Orozco for editing today's edition