The Rev. Hashmel Turner may no longer serve on the Fredericksburg City Council, but that doesn’t mean he’s stopped being involved in civic affairs.
The two-term councilman, who’s also a past president of the city’s branch of the NAACP, spent part of his Tuesday hanging out with members of the Democratic party after voting at New City Fellowship Church.
He was one of thousands of Fredericksburg-area residents who came to the polls to exercise their right to vote.
Turner said he appreciates what his ancestors endured to allow him to have that right, so he is a regular voter. He was wearing a black T-shirt with white letters that read, “Black Voters Matter” on the front and “It’s about us” on the back.
He said he agrees with Vice President Kamala Harris’ policy of promoting national unity, and he hopes she can bring young people into the realm of public policy, maybe through picking some of them for a future presidential cabinet.
“We definitely need to move the country forward and not back,” said Turner, who will be 75 on Nov. 15. “We will not go back. We will not go back. No, no indeed.”
Tameisha Carter also voted for Harris at New City Fellowship — but she said her choice was not so much about being for the Democratic nominee as it was about standing against Republican ideas.
She was particularly concerned about a woman’s right to choose abortion.
“That was the big deal for me because I have daughters, and I want them to be able to always have a right to choose,” said Carter, 43.
She spoke while standing in front of a Democratic tent where party members were handing out beaded bracelets that said “Kamala” on them.
Farther down the sidewalk in front of the church was a cluster of Republicans, who, not to be outdone, had brought along a cardboard cutout of former President Donald Trump.
Near them was Richard Griffith, who said abortion is also the big issue for him. He’s against it.
The 88-year-old didn’t want to reveal his choice for president, and he said he doesn’t vote strictly for one party or another.
“It depends on the person,” he said.
Pamela Watkins came to the church to vote for Harris, and she said she’s concerned about Trump being a convicted felon. She also is against Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for government that’s been controversial during this election cycle.
“That’s ludicrous,” Watkins said. “It is disrespectful. It’s not American. It targeted certain groups — that’s not American. It separates the ethnic groups, the genders — that’s not American.”
As if to illustrate the closeness of this year’s presidential race, voters interviewed by the Free Press at the Lee Hill Community Center in Spotsylvania County were split 50-50 between Harris and Trump.
Braheim Reaves said he filled in his ballot for Harris in only his second time voting. The 41-year-old is retired from the Army, and he said sometimes it was hard to vote while deployed.
He said one issue that concerns him is inflation.
“I don’t live check to check, but I know some people across the nation do,” he said.
Fitzhugh Johnson III and Andrew Hall, meanwhile, cast their ballots for Trump.
The two are coworkers at Johnson Realty Advisors, and they said they previously voted for Trump twice.
“I think he supports what America was founded on, more so than Kamala Harris,” said the 29-year-old Johnson.
At the White Oak Volunteer Fire Department in southern Stafford County, Cliff Heinzer was promoting Democrats, including Eugene Vindman, who seeks Virginia’s 7th Congressional District seat.
Heinzer was one of several candidates who vied for the Democratic nomination in the 7th District, but now he supports his former foe Vindman, who faces Republican Derrick Anderson.
The polling place in White Oak usually sees a turnout that’s 60 to 65 percent Republican consistently, he said, but Democrats were turning out Tuesday, too.
“Not only is turnout heavy, but it’s heavy on both sides,” he said.
A total of 1,305 voters had cast ballots at the fire station as of a few minutes after 2 p.m., election officials said.
Those officials and voters also had to deal with a slight hiccup Tuesday. The machine that counts completed ballots was jamming in the morning.
That caused a delay, but voters stuck it out until the problem was fixed, said Sheila Harrell, who was in charge of the precinct.
“No one’s vote was affected,” she said.
